Mudguards- do they make a difference

[threebikesmcginty]

Let it go Bonj!

 

[jimboalee]

Mudguards on their own keep you a little bit drier, but not as dry as mudguards with a 'proper' splash flap.

 

[ColinJ]

Mudguards on their own keep you a little bit drier, but not as dry as mudguards with a 'proper' splash flap.

And if you care about the riders behind you, add one on the rear guard too!

 

[HJ]

Anyone seen these yet? Being a bit of a fashion victim they're the first mudguards I'd be happy to fit to my good bike. I'm genuinely quite excited about them.

A better question would be has anyone see them in a shop yet, look like they won't be available for a few weeks yet. Maybe you could be the first to get a pair kyuss and let us know how you get on...

I will be keeping an eye out for a fixie with roadracer on...

 

[dodgy]

Think they've been available to buy from All Terrain cycles for a few days.

 

[bonj2]

the problem with flaps is they do just that, flap. from side to side.

 

[jimboalee]

the problem with flaps is they do just that, flap. from side to side.

To prove your theory, follow ColinJ on a rainy day.

 

[Jonathan M]

well, cycling in work clothes = shirt and tie, that's effectively the same as cycling in a suit - just 'cos you haven't got a jacket, you're still cycling like a politician. Your reasons for cycling is something other than the sheer enjoyment of cycling - if it was, you wouldn't bother with mudguards.
You are right, for medical reasons i can't drive for at least a year, so the bike is my primary form of transport. I've ridden road & MTB for 15 years so I do ride for the enjoyment of riding - you cannot say otherwise, you don't know me.



Translation: "I really hope that mudguards breaking is something that only happens to other people."
Had one bad accident when the secu-clip on the front did its job, so am still waiting to break a guard. I've never said they don't break.

Translation: "I don't notice the difference myself so I'd like to think other cyclists do".
You have no respect for others riding with you, and are not arsed about others anyway

Translation: "I daren't take them off in good weather in case I can't put them back on again, or if I do they break."
I have no need to take them off, I have two bikes. If I did take them off it wouldn't be a struggle. Some of us don't have an issue with our own mechanical appititude, Bonj.


Translation: "Yes, they look bad, but I like to pretend that if I didn't have them my bike would 'wear out' faster."
The bike hasn't been washed for a year or more. Had a new chain 6 months ago. Just becuase your opinion is they don't look good, doesn't mean the rest of us are @rsed in your opinion Cycling isn't a fashion statement.



Translation: "Mudguards are a convenient excuse for why I'm a slow cyclist."
I make no excuses for being a slow cyclist Bonj. Some people ride for fun, not for ego massaging purposes.

Translation: "I like to pretend it isn't a race."
Yep, pretty much that's right.

If I want to ride fast then I'll use my other bike, without guards, and that weighs alot less.

Translation: "There needs to be as many differences as possible between my summer bike and my winter bike."
They are two different bikes Bonj, the winter bike has a rack & dynamo lights. Not all of us are concerned what you look like on a bike Bonj.

 

[bonj2]

Mudguards on their own keep you a little bit drier, but not as dry as mudguards with a 'proper' splash flap.

what's that huge great rod thing stuck to the stem?

 

[Jonathan M]

what's that huge great rod thing stuck to the stem?

Looks like a Maglite torch to me??

 

[bonj2]

I lay the charge to all mudguard users that the reason they use mudguards is simply because they like the *idea* of them. Someone, i believe it was randochap, summed this attitude perfectly when he once exclaimed, "oooh, they're a nice pair of mudguards - I'm already planning a bike around them". but indeed, it is one of the reasons that has in the past drawn me to having mudguards on my winter bike.
Just things like, the neatness of something really close to the wheel without actually touching it, something exactly the same shape as the wheel but while having no rotational velocity, the satisfaction of using up all the screws on the bike, having an extra 'thing' fitted to the bike, and of course, a status symbol - a 'my mudguards are better than yours' type thing.
I will say that the above would have to be among my main reason for fitting mudguards, nothing to do with actual practicality.
And I wont' pretend those factors don't exist and have an influence, even if they are completely nonsensical in practical terms.
Other people, however, won't admit this, preferring instead to pretend that they have some actual practical value.

 

[bonj2]

Looks like a Maglite torch to me??

But it's *masive*! :!

 

[eldudino]

But it's *masive*! :!

Could be a 12" black mamba...

 

[Joe24]

Full mudguards are being fitted to my bike when it gets to winter.
I was given a written off bike and told to strip off it what i wanted, and there were some full SKS mudguards on it.
So they are going on the fixed when it gets to winter, maybe ill add on a flap to the back for when im in a club ride.
But last year i didnt have mudguards on often, just put race blades on when i needed them, which wasnt often, but there was times when it rained and i didnt have them on.
Now, if they make much of a difference, enough for me to put them on next year i dont know.

I have thought about putting a rear rack on the bike aswell to give it the look, and to maybe carry stuff, but i cant afford one

 

[RedBike]

I lay the charge to all mudguard users that the reason they use mudguards is simply because they like the *idea* of them.

Yep, I love the idea of dry backside and feet when it rains.

Someone, i believe it was randochap, summed this attitude perfectly when he once exclaimed, "oooh, they're a nice pair of mudguards - I'm already planning a bike around them". but indeed, it is one of the reasons that has in the past drawn me to having mudguards on my winter bike.
Just things like, the neatness of something really close to the wheel without actually touching it, something exactly the same shape as the wheel but while having no rotational velocity, the satisfaction of using up all the screws on the bike, having an extra 'thing' fitted to the bike, and of course, a status symbol - a 'my mudguards are better than yours' type thing.

Errrm, no!
No wonder you hate guards. I dislike having something so close to my roating wheel, I dislike having more things on the bike. I don't use guards for the status. I use them to keep myself and others clean and dry!

I will say that the above would have to be among my main reason for fitting mudguards, nothing to do with actual practicality.
And I wont' pretend those factors don't exist and have an influence, even if they are completely nonsensical in practical terms.
Other people, however, won't admit this, preferring instead to pretend that they have some actual practical value.

Of course they have a practival value! If you'd ever been on a wet club ride when nobody is using guards you'd know this. If the guys infront haven't got guards then it's like being in a cold power shower for several hours.