mudguards on the club run

[Fab Foodie]

We have no club rules about mudguards. In fact we don't have club rules about much at all.
We just MTFU and WTFU and go ride.
AFAIK, it's never been raised as an issue.

 

[cyberknight]

i can understand my ribble r872 (essentially a race-ready frame) not having clearance, but the carrera virtuoso, at £250 when bought new, i would have thought would have had enough…

oh well, let's look forward to when the mudguards can come off…

My virtuoso ran cruds all year around , cant say i tried full on gaurds though.

 

[PaulSB]

Generally speaking people are "encouraged" to use mudguards on the club run but there is no rule / though one of our leaders does get a bit grouchy about it!!! Everyone else is pretty relaxed but do quietly expect it.

This "encouragement" usually takes the form of having the piss taken during the ride for covering everyone else in crap! Just the usual banter but usually works without upsetting anyone.

 

[PaulSB]

is it really reasonable to expect to go out on a wet muddy ride and not get wet and muddy? modern washing machines and detergents will get the muck out of virtually any kit, and if you wear your best white assos kit on a wet winter ride, you deserve all you get.

I feel it's reasonable to expect my cycling friends to understand I don't want to get covered in road spray while at the same time we all understand winter riding can be cold, wet and dirty. It's a matter of courtesy.

While I agree modern detergents will shift most things these detergents can damage your kit and high temperature washes can do the same. Our club kit is good quality and expensive plus I like to keep it as smart as possible. This means a delicate wash setting with non bio powder. Experience tells me that a shirt covered in oily spots after riding through goodness knows what can be difficult to shift.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Very seriously encouraged, just a smidgeon short of being made compulsory - even on the chaingang. And not only mudguards but also MUDFLAPS, as a lot of mudguards do a reasonable job of keeping the crap off the rider of the bike they are fixed too, but not off anyone behind. The club is even holding a mudflap competition, to judge the inventiveness and handiwork of members as such things are not generally commercially available, and are mostly homemade. However something as simple as an Ass Saver zip-tied to theback end of your rear mudguard is very effective!

 

[youngoldbloke]

The other issue to consider is the impression you make on your club run coffee stop - oddly a number of cafe proprietors don't take kindly to the deposit of filth from muddy backsides on the chairs in their establishments - especially if upholstered in tasteful pastel fabrics. We have suggested that if you can't or won't fit guards you should at least carry a bin liner to sit on.

 

[sidevalve]

Not really my thing here but I read this thread with interest. Just a small point I might add - if your riding along and the guy behind gets a sudden facefull of cack because you didn't bother with guards and comes off how would you feel ? If it were me I'd feel pretty sh-t, after all this is not a professional race and these are supposed to your mates.
Still each to their own.

 

[BorderReiver]

How on Earth can 'the experience of riding' be dimished by having mudguards? The asthetic of the bike might be diminished but it won't look great covered in mud (and worse) either.

 

[cyberknight]

Not really my thing here but I read this thread with interest. Just a small point I might add - if your riding along and the guy behind gets a sudden facefull of cack because you didn't bother with guards and comes off how would you feel ? If it were me I'd feel pretty sh-t, after all this is not a professional race and these are supposed to your mates.
Still each to their own.

Even the pros have been known to use ass savers on really bad days

 

[Fab Foodie]

Even the pros have been known to use ass savers on really bad days

Wimps .....

 

[Katherine]

Very seriously encouraged, just a smidgeon short of being made compulsory - even on the chaingang. And not only mudguards but also MUDFLAPS, as a lot of mudguards do a reasonable job of keeping the crap off the rider of the bike they are fixed too, but not off anyone behind. The club is even holding a mudflap competition, to judge the inventiveness and handiwork of members as such things are not generally commercially available, and are mostly homemade. However something as simple as an Ass Saver zip-tied to theback end of your rear mudguard is very effective!

Pics?

 

[youngoldbloke]

Pics?

Here's my latest effort - made from a plastic bottle, zip-tied to the original mudflap.

 

[cyberknight]

Club run certainly. I would go further and make them compulsory on the commute.

The commuter bike has gaurds on all year round .

 

[Ajax Bay]

@youngoldbloke That's a marvellous flap with an aesthetic appeal.

a lot of mudguards do a reasonable job of keeping the crap off the rider of the bike they are fixed to, but not off anyone behind. The club is even holding a mudflap competition . . .

And I subscribe to the notion that most marketed mudguards for racing (as opposed to touring) bikes are not long enough to keep the spray off the rider on one's wheel. So you need to fabricate a flap. But functionally, how far down does it need to go? I remark on this because your marvel seemed to be extreme - maybe you needed the space for the brilliant sticker. Was there some science basis included in the club mudguard flap competition scoring system? However . . .

If one assumes the rider on your wheel will be no closer than one wheel diameter away (it's not a team pursuit) then bare knuckle geometry suggests (to me) that you want to stop the water (+) coming off above about a 40 degree angle (criterion: 'water' thus thrown off will not hit/be hit by the following bike above the handlebar level). This implies that the mudflap needs to be no more than about 15cm above the ground. I've just been out to measure mine (added to SKS Raceblades) - they're 35cm off the ground ie at the 90 degree point. Protects me well but not anyone following closely.

Yours look like they're less than 10cm off the ground, which is probably over kill. But I have more work to do. Morals: 1) When there's a fair bit of water on the road, keep your (following) wheel at least 5 times the distance that the mudguard you're following is off the ground. 2) To be effective (added) mudguard flaps should be longer/lower than you think.

 

[cyberknight]

I was going to take the nice bike sans mudgaurds but the roads look wet so i will be on the old bike with gaurds today .