SKS Longboard mudguards are no more :(

[Dadam]

The rivets holding the stay bridges on my sks guards on my winter bike have failed after 2 winters so I’ve had to replace with nut and bolt fixings.

That's unfortunate - do you know how many miles that took / whether there were any other factors involved? IIRC they're stainless so shouldn't corrode.

Can't really fault mine so far but they might not have had the life yours have..

The ones on my Chromoplastics on the hybrid went south last year. I just cabled tied them on.

Not 100% but I've a feeling they were alloy not stainless. The rivets I drilled out on the new Bluemels Matt to fit to the Felt bike were dead easy to drill. The bit went through them like butter.

 

[hobo]

Thanks - will give them a squiz


That's unfortunate - do you know how many miles that took / whether there were any other factors involved? IIRC they're stainless so shouldn't corrode.

Can't really fault mine so far but they might not have had the life yours have..

Within about 2 or 3 hundred miles, they all broke within a few weeks of each other though I’ve got a 10 year old set on a tourer and there fine.

 

[wafter]

The ones on my Chromoplastics on the hybrid went south last year. I just cabled tied them on.

Not 100% but I've a feeling they were alloy not stainless. The rivets I drilled out on the new Bluemels Matt to fit to the Felt bike were dead easy to drill. The bit went through them like butter.
View attachment 764282

Thanks - those certainly look like ally, as do mine now I've had a look!

Within about 2 or 3 hundred miles, they all broke within a few weeks of each other though I’ve got a 10 year old set on a tourer and there fine.

2-300 miles from new?

If so that's terrible and sounds like a manufacturing defect.. the two pairs on my bikes have covered about 7k miles between them with no suggestion that they're on their way out..

In other news I happened to be passing Mike Vaughn Cycles in a very rare excursion outside the shire so dropped in. Very nice blokes but sadly it transpired that they did in fact have no stock of the Longboards; resorting to trying to flog me any of the options I was already aware of; which of course were discounted.

While I'd have been extremely irritated had I made the trip specially / ordered online and been supplied with not-what-I-wanted, it was no big deal since I was passing, it was nice to seen Kenilworth and I had a nice meal in the pub next door, as well as a for-once enjoyable time in the car driving home along the fosse way

So, it seems that the world's supply of these glorious accessories has been bled well and truly dry, and that I have no other choice than to look at alternatives.

 

[PaulSB]

I don't know anything about SKS, the budget you're considering etc. I have no hesitation in recommending these. Mine are four years old and still going strong.

Kinesis Fend Off

 

[presta]

a different fixings arrangement for the stays (which may or may not be better than the admittedly faffy if reliable setup on the Longboards).

A close up of it here:

 

[ColinJ]

I don't know anything about SKS, the budget you're considering etc. I have no hesitation in recommending these. Mine are four years old and still going strong.

Kinesis Fend Off

Currently available for £49 at Merlin Cycles!

They don't seem to have anything like Secu-clips for the front guard stays though so buy those separately.

 

[si_c]

Currently available for £49 at Merlin Cycles!

They don't seem to have anything like Secu-clips for the front guard stays though so buy those separately.

I can highly recommend the Kinesis Fend-Offs, they are full metal mudguards and very durable, they look good on the bike too. I use mine with a pair of RAW mudflaps - they reach to a centimeter or two off the ground so provide full coverage, better than the longboards I used to use, plus the flaps are fully retroreflective so thats a bonus in winter.

They don't need the secu-clips, they are designed to separate away from the bike with plastic mudguards as if something gets caught in a plastic guard it can break and then fold into the wheel causing a rapid unexpected stop. Because the Fend-Offs are full metal this is not something that would happen with them, breaking or folding into the wheel, the downside is they are a bit heavier than the plastic variety.

 

[HLaB]

Every pair of SKS guards have cracked so the last time I was replacing guards I found M'Part ones on the Freewheel site (https://www.freewheel.co.uk/m-part-primoplastics-mudguards-stainless-fittings-varmgprp).

Ive had them several years now.

 

[ade towell]

I can highly recommend the Kinesis Fend-Offs, they are full metal mudguards and very durable, they look good on the bike too. I use mine with a pair of RAW mudflaps - they reach to a centimeter or two off the ground so provide full coverage, better than the longboards I used to use, plus the flaps are fully retroreflective so thats a bonus in winter.

They don't need the secu-clips, they are designed to separate away from the bike with plastic mudguards as if something gets caught in a plastic guard it can break and then fold into the wheel causing a rapid unexpected stop. Because the Fend-Offs are full metal this is not something that would happen with them, breaking or folding into the wheel, the downside is they are a bit heavier than the plastic variety.

Another recommend for the Fend off's, completely rattle free and look the part - didn't know they didn't need quick release and had put secu clips on anyway, peace of mind I guess

 

[ColinJ]

They don't need the secu-clips, they are designed to separate away from the bike with plastic mudguards as if something gets caught in a plastic guard it can break and then fold into the wheel causing a rapid unexpected stop. Because the Fend-Offs are full metal this is not something that would happen with them, breaking or folding into the wheel, the downside is they are a bit heavier than the plastic variety.

Ah, ok.

It is a risk that was forcefully brought home to me when I tried buying mudguards at a small LBS. The owner went into a heated rant about mudguards and how he would never sell them. He said that a mate of his died after his mudguard jammed his front wheel...

Another recommend for the Fend off's, completely rattle free and look the part - didn't know they didn't need quick release and had put secu clips on anyway, peace of mind I guess

I think I would still use Secu-clips too!

I never managed to get my Longboards completely rattle free. I might take them down to fit to my spare bike in Devon and buy some Fend Offs for my CAADX in Yorkshire.

 

[si_c]

Ah, ok.

It is a risk that was forcefully brought home to me when I tried buying mudguards at a small LBS. The owner went into a heated rant about mudguards and how he would never sell them. He said that a mate of his died after his mudguard jammed his front wheel...


I think I would still use Secu-clips too!

I never managed to get my Longboards completely rattle free. I might take them down to fit to my spare bike in Devon and buy some Fend Offs for my CAADX in Yorkshire.

It sure wouldn't hurt to have them fitted but I'd be concerned about adding potential failure points/rattles. The way the mudguards are designed they cannot fold up in the same way a plastic mudguard can, the flanges down the side prevent this making them really stiff, whilst also allowing the mudguard to get really close to the tyre.

 

[ade towell]

No rattle on mine with the secu-clips. Am actually using the narrower 40mm version of the Fend-offs (which came with my 2nd hand bike) on 43mm tyres at the moment, but they still seems to keep the wet off - been waiting to find a nicely priced used pair of the wider 50mm version (cause I'm cheap like that) but in no rush although that £49 deal is pretty good