New mudguards - OK or not?

[lulubel]

I've just bought some Topeak Defender mudguards for my Cube, which I don't think look bad as mudguards go. If you've never come across this style of mudguard for MTBs before, the front one has a bracket with a "plug" that slides up inside the fork steerer tube and expands to secure it (which I think it really clever). There are then 2 mudguards that clip onto the bracket. One is positioned under the downtube, and the other is a short one that goes forward over the top of the wheel, and presumably blocks the "fountain" of water and dirt coming off the front wheel.

Before I put the small one on, the front of the bike looks like this. (You can see the grey bracket already in place.)

When I clip the mudguard on, the cable for the fork remote lockout sits on top of it, which is fine, but the brake cable (hose?) isn't long enough to go round it, and is pushed to the side, like this.

It the brakes were mechanical, I wouldn't worry about it, but I'm not sure if it's OK with hydraulic brakes. I can leave it off, if not, and just use the back one and the one under the downtube, which are the ones that give most of the protection.

(There's plenty of room for the forks to use their full range of travel without hitting the bracket, by the way. It said to make sure of that in the fitting instructions.)

 

[fossyant]

I would put some electrical tape on the hose where it rubs the guard just to be sure, or those rubber anti scratch boots but electrical tape is cheap and quick to replace.

 

[Drago]

I'm not a fan of those under-bottom-yoke guards. Had one come off on me and jam in the wheel, despite it being spot in when I did the pre ride check, and how I didn't face plant big style I don't know to this day. Never trust your life to an expanding wedge made from plastic.

 

[lulubel]

I would put some electrical tape on the hose where it rubs the guard just to be sure, or those rubber anti scratch boots but electrical tape is cheap and quick to replace.

Thanks, I hadn't thought of that.

I'm not a fan of those under-bottom-yoke guards. Had one come off on me and jam in the wheel, despite it being spot in when I did the pre ride check, and how I didn't face plant big style I don't know to this day. Never trust your life to an expanding wedge made from plastic.

You have a point. Once it gets wet, it's certainly more likely to slip out. I think I'll wrap a bit of inner tube round it to make sure it grips properly.

 

[VamP]

Not a fan of guards in general, but this seems to obscure your view of what the front wheel is doing. I would have thought in your terrain in particular seeing where you're putting your wheel is essential?

 

[lulubel]

Not a fan of guards in general, but this seems to obscure your view of what the front wheel is doing. I would have thought in your terrain in particular seeing where you're putting your wheel is essential?

It's very short, so it would only obscure my view if I was looking straight down at the ground (which I've learnt from experience is a bad idea because I tend to end up there). In any case, I doubt I'll do any serious off-roading with them. They're really intended for days when the weather's foul and I'm riding the MTB on mostly unsurfaced roads because visibility's too poor to mix with the traffic on the roadie.

 

[VamP]

It's very short, so it would only obscure my view if I was looking straight down at the ground (which I've learnt from experience is a bad idea because I tend to end up there). In any case, I doubt I'll do any serious off-roading with them. They're really intended for days when the weather's foul and I'm riding the MTB on mostly unsurfaced roads because visibility's too poor to mix with the traffic on the roadie.

Fair enough...

 

[Pale Rider]

Nothing wrong with the tape idea, but you could cut a small u-shaped slot in the mudguard to allow the brake cable/pipe to sit in its natural position.

Or a loose cable tie would pull the cable away from the mudguard, but still allow the fork to move - assuming it's not a downhiller with eight inches of travel.

 

[Brandane]

Or a loose cable tie would pull the cable away from the mudguard, but still allow the fork to move - assuming it's not a downhiller with eight inches of travel.

This ^ ^ ^. I have the same mudguards on my MTB and hydraulic brakes. I use a cable tie to secure the brake hose to the outside of the fork stanchion, and that holds the brake hose away from the mudguard. It shouldn't interfere with your suspension travel.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Mucky nuts or one of those RPR neoguard things for me, with or without a crud catcher.

fork mounted guards look, to me, like a crash waiting to happen, and i need no help to have those.

 

[Hardrock93]

I fitted a Topeak Defender to my rigid forked mountain bike. Unfortunately, as can be seen in the first pic above, there is very little metal reinforcement incorporated into the plastic bracket. On a long, fast descent on very rough tarmac, a combination of the mudguard front section catching the wind and the constant hammering from the forks led to the tip of the ‘guard rising to a near vertical position, at which point it snapped off and disappeared over my shoulder.

The front part has now been replaced with a rather fetching section cut from an HP sauce bottle, cable tied to the remains of the bracket.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

The front part has now been replaced with a rather fetching section cut from an HP sauce bottle, cable tied to the remains of the bracket.

Useless without pictures....

 

[lulubel]

They got their first use today, and they did the job fine. I secured the brake cable away from the mudguard with a cable tie, so it didn't rub, and went out in heavy rain on roads that were muddy and flooded in places. I didn't get road spray up my back or up my front, so they were a success.

I didn't notice the front one moving about much, but it's very short, and I could see quite a lot of wheel in front of it, so maybe they've changed the design of that now.

 

[Hardrock93]

Useless without pictures....

Ok then,

Clearly, it's still in beta development and is too short. The next upgrade will be to shell out for a larger bottle of saucy delight.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

american bike needs an american sauce surely?