Full mudguards/fenders pros and cons please?

[Norm]

Oh yeah

That doesn't need the guards to look less cool, having your arse on it will do that whether or not it is wearing guards.

 

[MrJamie]

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

View attachment 10726

Youre a girl youre allowed pretty things

 

[potsy]

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

That pic is from March, it was Summer then

That doesn't need the guards to look less cool, having your arse on it will do that whether or not it is wearing guards.

 

[Mike!]

Full length guards on my commuter keeps the bike and my kit so much cleaner than not having them, wouldn't be without them.

I do have a "best" bike that is guard free for the better days.

If I had only the one bike (like I used to!) it would have full guards fitted without doubt.

 

[wisdom]

For my main commute on a hybrid i have fully fitted lightweight mudguards.I wouldnt expect them to create much wind resistance as they are a close fit.My riding however is 99% road/cycle path with only a little bit of rough track riding and have found them to be fantastic.the bike stays a lot cleaner and in the winter it stops the corrosive salts from covering the frame.
On days where there is only a chance of light rain or a shower i sometimes use the road bike which doesnt have any foul weather protection.But i wont use it in torrential or heavy rain as i would get soaked up my back

 

[Deleted member 1258]

On the fixed I use for commuting I have full guards and mudflaps, on the best bike I have a skinny pair of Raleigh mudguards, I don't like a wet arse.

 

[WhiteEagle197]

Thank you all. I am convinced :-)

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

i had guards on my fixie, but tbh they were doing jack shoot in this weather. i agree about not having a wet arse but my new carradice camper and support frame stops that.

 

[Nebulous]

You're not really getting this cycling thing are you? My bike doesn't have mudguards, which I need for commuting ----> therefore I need a new bike! Simples.

On a more serious note many road bikes just don't have enough clearance to fit guards readily, meaning either leave them off or fit some of the clip on ones.

I have an allez roadbike, and commuted on a hardtail mountain bike, which went to the great graveyard in the sky. I then had a 80's racer, which wouldn't brake in the wet and has a buckled wheel. I was half-heartedly refurbishing a Carrera subway, which needed much more work than I thought, when I was presented with an Edinburgh Bike gift voucher. That and a 15% off sale was enough to persuade me to buy this.

It's only been a week, but so far so good. I expect I'll even use it as a trainer in wet weather. I used to carry my work gear in a backpack, and I also bought panniers, again so far I'm very pleased with them.

 

[vickster]

A dirty wet bum and back looks far less cool than mudguards

 

[GrasB]

Pros:
-Less spray onto your drive chain can lead to longer service life of cassette/chain etc

Actually this isn't necessarily so. Under the right, or wrong depending on your point of view, conditions water gets trapped between the guard & the tyre bouncing around in turbulent are which turns it into a fine mist which liberally douses your drive train in a fine mist of gritty water.

 

[HovR]

Actually this isn't necessarily so. Under the right, or wrong depending on your point of view, conditions water gets trapped between the guard & the tyre bouncing around in turbulent are which turns it into a fine mist which liberally douses your drive train in a fine mist of gritty water.

Fair enough. I suppose it depends on the conditions and coverage of the guard.

 

[SquareDaff]

One more Con: if you have quick release wheels having mudguards fitted negates the space saving if you need to take the front wheel off the put your bike in the car.

+1 for SKS Chromos though. I have them fitted to my bike

 

[GrasB]

Fair enough. I suppose it depends on the conditions and coverage of the guard.

One thing you can do to help mitigate this spray build up is to attach a bit of scotch-brite to the mud-guard on the chain-stay edge. It doesn't have to touch the tyre but it does help just stop lose water bouncing about on the leading edge.