if you have mudguards.....

[Racing roadkill]

please get breakaway clips on the front.
These enable the stays to easily detach, should a twig or anything else get caught in there, which causes the front wheel to stop.
My friend, did not have breakaway clips. Something got caught up, the front mudguard folded up under the fork crown causing the wheel to jam. It brought him to a sudden halt and he flew over his handlebars in the direction of travel. He landed awkwardly and heavily and broke his neck.
He died eight days later.
He had four daughters.

Get breakaway clips.
Please.

This is precisely the reason I won’t ride with mudguards. Even with breakaway clips, you still get a second or two where the clips are breaking, and that’s enough to put you into the path of something you don’t want to be facing, in my experience. They are just too risky. “Ohhh you’re getting water on me” shove it, it’s just water, I don’t want to get flipped over my bars, which is much worse.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

This is precisely the reason I won’t ride with mudguards. Even with breakaway clips, you still get a second or two where the clips are breaking, and that’s enough to put you into the path of something you don’t want to be facing, in my experience. They are just too risky. “Ohhh you’re getting water on me” shove it, it’s just water, I don’t want to get flipped over my bars, which is much worse.

I don't normally ride without mudguards.

 

[tom73]

How sad and bad luck condolences to you and the family. My last bike I've just got came with a set on the front already on. Which at the time i thought that's handy. When the muds go back on they are too. Think I may get another set for back muds just in case or is that a bit much?

 

[Deleted member 1258]

How sad and bad luck condolences to you and the family. My last bike I've just got came with a set on the front already on. Which at the time i thought that's handy. When the muds go back on they are too. Think I may get another set for back muds just in case or is that a bit much?

I use them on the back of my fixed, the bike has rear facing track ends and they make getting the wheel out easier

 

[robgul]

Club run in October 2007 and exactly the same thing happened to one of our members - that was the Wednesday .... ambulanced to hospital with broken neck or back - had a stroke on the operating table - life support machines - family had to decide to switch it off on the Saturday. Tragic - we now ALL have mudguard breakaway stays.

Rob

 

[Drago]

Even the more modern mudguards are no help once any obstruction rams itself against the rear of the fork crown. Seen that happen to a rider with what looked like a splinter of pallet wood, and he kissed tarmac good, so don't go thinking breakaway stays will save you - only diligence and good observation drills will do that. The gent learned to spend less time gassing and more time paying attention to the road ahead.

Sorry to hear the news about your chum

 

[Smokin Joe]

One thing to make sure of when fitting guards is to have the minimum possible clearance with the tyre at the bottom of the guard and as much as you can under the fork crown in order to prevent the chance of something being rolled up under the guard before jamming.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The clips don't break, the stays just come out with not that much force. I have the clips on all my front mudguards.

 

[HLaB]

 

[Soltydog]

This is precisely the reason I won’t ride with mudguards.

It's a very tragic accident & hopefully people will take note & learn lessons from this, but I'm sure more cyclists are killed by motorists each year than something lodged in their mudguard Do you still ride on roads?

I have bikes with & without mudguards, but I'll be checking 1st thing in the morning that all mudguards are fitted with breakaway clips

 

[MichaelW2]

My breakaway clips have activated twice, saving me from who knows what.
Chris Juden, tech editor of the CTC magazine was a big proponent of breakaway clips.
www.cyclinguk.org/article/technical-guide/mudguard-safety%3famp

I am surprised that you can still buy tough plastic 'guards without them. In the olden days, plastic 'guards were brittle and would shatter. ESGE introduced the chromoplastic 'guard and then the breakaway clip.

 

[andrew_s]

The SKS/ESGE 'guards have breakaway clips because the German safety people paid attention when Chris Juden originally kicked up a fuss about the issue, 25 years ago or whenever it was, and made them compulsory.

 

[cyberknight]

Similar happened to me a couple of years back although i was only doing a couple of mph at the time, ended up with 15 stitches in my face

 

[Drago]

The SKS/ESGE 'guards have breakaway clips because the German safety people paid attention when Chris Juden originally kicked up a fuss about the issue, 25 years ago or whenever it was, and made them compulsory.

I loom forward to their breakaway fork crowns.

 

[fossyant]

I use them on the back of my fixed, the bike has rear facing track ends and they make getting the wheel out easier

Same here on my fixed, clips front and back.