Mud guards on a racer

[snorri]

Tbh the way i see it is if its raining your going to get wet anyway.

I don't believe this need apply with modern fabrics and clothing design.

 

[MisterStan]

Mudguards on my bikes.. Thats not very light and aero...

Two very important considerations for a commuter.....

 

[jack smith]

I don't believe this need apply with modern fabrics and clothing design.

Why have mudguards then if your going to stay dry due to the clothing?

 

[MisterStan]

Why have mudguards then if your going to stay dry due to the clothing?

It's a combination of the two - guards protect your feet, the bike (BB area/derailleurs) and your arse. Clothing stops the stuff falling out of the sky getting you wet.

 

[Eribiste]

I've got Crud RoadRacer Mk2's on my Boardman Road Race, fitted for two reasons. I wanted to keep myself clean and dry as possible and prevent besmirching my fellow riders during the occasional organised ride. OK, not the hottest look ever, but they do the aforementioned service very well.

 

[sannesley]

I run something similar to SKS Bluemels Road mudguards all year round on my Giant Defy 3. TBH I value a clean back end and they've been on the bike since it rolled out of the bike shop so I don't notice them.

 

[MisterStan]

Clearly the only sensible option is to have more than one bike.

 

[sannesley]

Clearly the only sensible option is to have more than one bike.

I'd love that but I don't think the Chairwoman of the Board would sanction it

 

[MisterStan]

I'd love that but I don't think the Chairwoman of the Board would sanction it

Some decisions need to be vetoed.

 

[tyred]

Maybe I'm missing something but where is the advantage in designing a frame with ridiculously tight clearances?

Is there an advantage or is it just fashion? I would never buy any frame that can't take proper mudguards as it's not fit for purpose.

 

[sannesley]

Maybe I'm missing something but where is the advantage in designing a frame with ridiculously tight clearances?

Is there an advantage or is it just fashion? I would never buy any frame that can't take proper mudguards as it's not fit for purpose.

Just hazarding guess but maybe it's got something to do with air flow and aerodynamics??

 

[bigjim]

The late Jobst Brandt had something to say on frame clearance.

Not to mention that the brakes currently offered won't take a larger
tire either thanks to the fashion of "tight" and therefore, more rigid
frames...BS. If riders would stop riding on spaghetti sized tires in
the image of, "I'm so fast I need all these gimmicks", people who
actually ride bicycles could walk into a store and get a bicycle that
whose frame will accept a reasonable tires, have clearance for a
little snow or dirt on the tire and have enough clearance between seat
tube and rear wheel to not get a finger jammed in there when lifting
the bicycle. A few years ago, losing a fingernail from "wiping" a
rear tire would have been laughed at. Today road bicycles are all
that short.

Fork crowns on road bicycles today are an insult to anyone who rides
in anything but swept roads. The Campagnolo Delta brake epitomized
that syndrome being so close to the tire that the arch of the brake is
scored by road grit picked up in the wet... and this with small tires.

Jobst Brandt

 

[ayceejay]

Here's a good one: if you want mudguards on your bike - fit them, if you don't - don't. If you fit them, a bike without is a bike without mudguards and if you don't fit them a bike with mudguards is a bike with mudguards. Neither is a big deal.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Mine are on all the time, they arn't heavy, but airflow will be more and probable slow you more than the weight, they don't totally protect me or the bike when its wet (i.e. feet and cable guide) one draw back is in winter the fill up with mud pretty quick round here reducing clearance, another advantage, it helps prevent stones being thrown at the down tube.

 

[Okeydokey]

'Here's a good one: if you want mudguards on your bike - fit them, if you don't - don't.' I was wondering why, if there was a good reason that seasoned racing bike owners don't. Your answer tells me to do what ever I like. I always do what ever I like, but my head keeps asking me questions. I can't help it, maybe I need therapy. It's those little voices in my head... someone help me to stop them!