Giant Defy Mudguard Repair

[Deleted member 35268]

Giant Defy mudguards have a tendency to break around the rivet points, usually the rear guard, with rivets working loose over time then shearing through the plastic mudguard. The other failure is usually the mudguard itself snapping near the rivet joints. See circled area on rear.

I managed to save my self £20 for a new set by drilling two new rivet holes in a slightly shortened mudguard, and re-attached to the metal mount using small bolts. I am expecting the bolt to want to work loose over time, so I will keep an eye on it.

 

[festival]

Done something similar myself, didn't last long.
I know the company very well from within the trade and admire their bikes and some accessories and parts which are of the highest quality and design and yet some accessories are just very poor and in almost every way crap.
Funny that!

 

[andytheflyer]

Done something similar myself, didn't last long.
I know the company very well from within the trade and admire their bikes and some accessories and parts which are of the highest quality and design and yet some accessories are just very poor and in almost every way crap.
Funny that!

I have a thread on here about repairing Defy 'guards. They also break at the top stay mount on the rear - funnily enough the front has never broken.

I've repaired my rear by cannibalising 2 old sets and beefing up the bracketry. I've also reinforced the area around the top stay by fabricating a GRP doubler inside the 'guard (so it does not show). It works, looks OK, but we should not have to do it. Why can't Giant make a guard that survives for more than a few months? Or maybe it's a reflection that they make 'guards for world-standard roads, and ours are all much poorer surfaces.

So, you can get Giant Defy 'guards to work, but maybe we should not have to? But the Defy is otherwise a good bike IMHO.

 

[Deleted member 35268]

Yes, they are not really up to the challenge of a few months cycling. They disintegrate with ease. I am reluctant to use non-giant guards though, as the fit is perfect. I have another old set which is broken but not yet repaired. I will fix these if I need them later in the year. Maybe we will have a dry Sept / October, to make up for the terrible summer.

 

[Deleted member 35268]

Ugly, but necessary ....

 

[Arjimlad]

My Defy guard was so rattly and unstable that it sucked up into the rear wheel on some rough tarmac, jammed under the brake which stopped the wheel abruptly. The chain snapped the mech hanger and borked the derailleur. It was the second set of Defy mudguards I had owned after the first set snapped where shown above. I have decided not to bother with mudguards on it, and will use a seatpost-mounted guard if I need to. I am keeping the Defy for summer/sunny best/leisure riding.