Full mudguards/fenders pros and cons please?

[WhiteEagle197]

Hi,
I have a 700C hybrid road bicycle, presently without any mud protection. I pondering on installing some good old fashioned full mudguards (the ones that closely follow the tyre, not the plastic "clip on" ones). But the thing is I never had a bicycle that had them, so I have no experience with any mudguards/fenders. I see that approx half of the serious cyclists have them on their cycles why the other half does not, just bare tyres without any mud protection. So I guess that along the pros there are some cons as well, otherwise everybody would have them... Please tell me your experience, your pros and cons.
What I use my bicycle: 15 to 60 miles round trips alone or with friends, with approx 15 mph average speed (so I am not a pro, nor going on Tour de France or C2C :-)). Very often the weather is quite unpredictable in our region (East Anglia). How effective or ineffective these full mudguards/fenders are? Can you notice the extra weight of them? Do they cause any air turbulence? Is it easy to clean them (for example, wont the mud just dry inside them and block the gap between them and the tyres? etc.).
If they worth the money - any recommendation (brand/made/type) for a 700C road bike?
Thank you

 

[HovR]

Cons:
-Some people think they take away from the looks of your bike
-Increases toe overlap on the front wheel
-Improperly fitted, they may rattle
-Small amount of added weight
-Depending on the length of the rear guard, you may not be able to wheel the bike on the rear wheel alone (in a vertical position, bars by your head)

Pros:
-You stay dry on wet roads (if it isn't raining)
-Your bike will stay cleaner with full guards
-Less spray onto your drive chain can lead to longer service life of cassette/chain etc

SKS Chromoplastics are pretty well regarded. If your bike has no guard mounts, Crud Roadracers are ideal. I've probably missed some pros/cons, but those are the basics.

Edited to remove silly mistake.

 

[gaz]

Pretty much summed up well above. In my opinion the Pros out weigh the Cons massively, as such my commuter has full length mudguards on all year round.

 

[WhiteEagle197]

Cons:
-Some people think they take away from the looks of your bike
-Increases toe overlap on the front wheel
-Improperly fitted, they may rattle
-Small amount of added weight
-Depending on the length of the rear guard, you may not be able to wheel the bike on the rear wheel alone (in a horizontal position, bars by your head)
...

Thank you very much. I am not sure what you mean by "you may not be able to wheel the bike on the rear wheel alone (in a horizontal position, bars by your head)". Would you please explain this a bit? Tank you

 

[Sara_H]

I wouldn't be without my mudguards now. I've been using my mountain bike last week with clip on guards - nothing like as effective and quite an unpleasant experience in the wet weather.

 

[MattHB]

I quite often ride with a rear raceblade only in unsettled conditions. But I'd not ride in the rain without one.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Thank you very much. I am not sure what you mean by "you may not be able to wheel the bike on the rear wheel alone (in a horizontal position, bars by your head)". Would you please explain this a bit? Tank you

Sometimes the easiest way to manoeuvre your bike in a tight space, like, for example, a kissing gate, is to lift it onto the back wheel - it turns very easily and takes up a fraction of the room. Full-length guards will stop you getting it fully vertical.

 

[WhiteEagle197]

Sometimes the easiest way to manoeuvre your bike in a tight space, like, for example, a kissing gate, is to lift it onto the back wheel - it turns very easily and takes up a fraction of the room. Full-length guards will stop you getting it fully vertical.

I see now, thank you very much

 

[Spiky Simon]

I have the sks chromoplastics mentioned above on my hybrid, which I mainly use for riding around town. Helps to stop me turning up at the pub with a muddy stripe up my back

 

[HovR]

Thank you very much. I am not sure what you mean by "you may not be able to wheel the bike on the rear wheel alone (in a horizontal position, bars by your head)". Would you please explain this a bit? Tank you

I see deptford has already explained this well, but here's a picture anyway!

Like this bloke is doing:

If the rear guard was a little bit longer, or he lifted the bike to be completely vertical it may strike the ground, inhibiting the movement of the bike and possibly breaking the guard.

Also, I just realised I accidentally wrote "horizontal" instead of "vertical" in my original post.

 

[MrJamie]

They do make hybrids look instantly less cool, but I keep mine on all year around because I dont like having a brown stripe up my back and if you ever get caught riding in winter on wet roads without guards you can get very wet and cold very quickly. Fitting them always seems to be an utter pain, but worth it.

If i had a second bike id probably make it a fair weather guardless bike, which is what i guess a lot of those guys you see without are doing. Others are just too manly for their own good

 

[Gez73]

I've got full mudguards on both my bikes. The SKS Chromoplastic ones are very good but I would advise you to try before you buy as I have had to trim the front of the front mudguard on my Kona Dew Drop on account of not enough clearance and it touching the front wheel well before the highest point of the wheel. I also have to get into the habit of keeping the pedal cranks vertical when turning as there is very little clearance between foot and mudguard. Still worth having and once they're on they stay there all year round. Even on a sunny day there's always someone washing their car on the road you want to cycle on! Worth it but check the fit. Gez

 

[Pat "5mph"]

They do make hybrids look instantly less cool

I respectfully disagree on this one: mudguards are cool, you can attach all sorts of reflective stuff on them to make your bike stand out

 

[potsy]

I respectfully disagree on this one: mudguards are cool, you can attach all sorts of reflective stuff on them to make your bike stand out

Oh yeah

 

[lordloveaduck]

Oh yeah
View attachment 10728

That bike is way to clean, for the summer we are having.....me thinks this is the work of Photoshop