Which road bikes can take mudguards?

[Steve Austin]

There is a lot of nonsense posted on this thread.

ALL bikes will take mudguards. There was picture of Cavendish riding his 8k RACEbike with mudguards on the front page of the comic the other week. You can't its not a racebike because it can take mudguards, as it most definitely is!!

a MTB is not an elaborate Tracker. Jimbolee. That comment of yours right there shows your naivety, and blinkered biased opinions when i to comes to giving advice on bikes.

 

[jimboalee]

It is fabled the 'Mountain bike' was invented by a pair of enterprising chaps in Marin co. California.
Seems strange, as ALL off highway land is privately owned so they must have been riding illegally, ie trespassing.

For one who has been to Marin several times, and spoke to the LBS owners in the area:- Fairfax, Sausalito and Marin City itself. Mountain bikes ( [converted Huffies with Cowhorns] that's their description, not mine ) are NOT popular there. Amongst adult cyclists anyway.

The vast majority of club riders ride ROAD bikes.
I saw a couple of tourers with paniers and mudguards, but these were rare. Guys travelling through along Highway 1.

Hybrids are ridden by the visitors who rent them from the hire shop.
I hired a ROAD bike worthy of a Cat 1 race.

Across the bridge in San Francisco, commuters ride either Sports bikes or fixies, depending whether you are a lady or a gent.

In Palo Alto Bicycles, my LBS in California, the largest turnover for the adult riders are ROAD bikes. Showing photos of my Dawes with full mudguards raises an eyebrow, but is understood when they realise the weather I face here in Britain. With clearance for mudguards, its a SPORTS bike.

 

[Steve Austin]

Your views are incredibly old fashioned Jimbolee

MTBs created back in the good old days have no resemblance to anyhting on the market today. I was riding a flat barred roadbike off road 30 years ago, and then I rode BMXs in the woods as that worked to. The heavy trackers you are referring to as MTB's may have been right 30 years ago.
But if you can describe this carbon racing wonder as an 'elaborate tracker', then i am lost for words and i think you are on the wind up

 

[Crackle]

Your views are incredibly old fashioned Jimbolee

I think that's the nub of it. Jimbo also has many wise words. You just have to be aware Jimbo, that your approach doesn't necessarily suit everyone.

Personally I like reading Jimbo's posts but methods and bikes have changed, you know this Jimbo don't you?

Anyway, I say again, to those who've been rudely dismissive (and to whom I now think less), that being polite costs nothing.

 

[jimboalee]

OK.

26" wheels.
Diamond Frame based on Starley's 'Safety bicycle' concept.
Upswept handlebars.
No mudguards.

Progress has given it -
A plethora of gears, copying the application of the TA short arm spider on early MTBs.
Great big knobbly tyres, reaction to the 'mudsplat' treatment.
Disc brakes - a very clever marketing strategy, cus if there wasn't the machining capability, MTBs would still have cantis.
Carbon fibre frame - Some are willing to pay for it.

 

[jimboalee]

Don't worry Crackle. I'm in the 21st Century with the rest of you.

Its about time there was some healthy debate on this chatboard, rather than unhealthy dismissive rantings.

 

[Steve Austin]

I'm all up for Debate Jimbolee. But you have just dismissed Modern developments in gears, quality XC tyres, Disc brakes and carbon fibre all in one post. The developments in MTB's in the last 20 years is immeasurable.

You seem to be the one not willing to debate.

Can you really say that Scott Scale resembles anything that folk were riding off-road 30 years?
Apart from pedantic points, and some general design principles it has very little in common with some 'tracker bike' that you would describe it as.

 

[Andy in Sig]

Thanks for the replies.

I have also been looking at a touring bike (Ridgeback Voyage) - Is there a huge difference between a tourer and a road bike with a triple that can take mud guards etc?

I am around 19st+ so I don't think the weight of the bike will make a huge difference given the weight it will be carrying!

Any advice appreciated.

A true road bike is quite a specialised bit of kit being really meant for only one thing: going as fast as you can on decent surfaces.

A tourer OTH is IMO the best all round bike you can get. They're fast enough for efficient commuting and training, are designed to take panniers so you can carry a bit of kit around with you and they tend to be very comfortable and stable. Edinburgh bikes do one which is probably around your price level. I would give serious consideration to a tourer if I were you.

Oh and they're perfect for light off road stuff like canal towpaths, woodland paths and most bike paths.

 

[jimboalee]

I have a 1975 Puegeot 531 road bike.
I also have a 2005 Specialized SWorks.

Basically, they are both the same.
The Spesh is made of lighter metals and has more gears, so it is 16.5lb rather than the 22.5lb of the Pug.

I had an adapted 26" upright with cowhorns.
I had a Muddy Fox when they were first imported. It was an easier and more secure ride with derailleur gears and those big knobblies instead of ribbed 26" tyres, but basically the same bike.

I had a test ride on a modern up-to-date downhiller.
http://www.2x2worldwide.com/LR2009/technoDH.html
One of these cus I work for Land Rover.
A lot lighter with a 'staircase climbing' gear. Very nice ride, but I wouldn't buy one because there's nowhere near where I live to take full advantage of it.
There are plenty of roads, so that's where I ride.

 

[Ravenz]

There is a lot of nonsense posted on this thread.

ALL bikes will take mudguards. There was picture of Cavendish riding his 8k RACEbike with mudguards on the front page of the comic the other week. .

.. blimey.. yur right! he is!
Ok Mr J is going to have to concede on the mudguard front at least!

 

[tyred]

Pulls chair up to the fire, opens beer can and sits back to enjoy the argument

 

[jimboalee]

OK, I concede.

How about that. Remembering when I was a impressionable young lad, I bought a pair of 'Halfs'. What use they performed, I don't know, but it was a craze at the time.
Someone once said the UCI regulated their use many years ago, and they were necessary. I cannot find any evidence.

Some of my clubmates have Raceblades on £600 Trek and Spesh (not what we consider a road bike, more like a Winter trainer ( Sports )). They don't stop the rider getting filthy, and certainly don't protect the B/B, cables or front mech. They don't even stop the following rider getting soaked, so Raceblades or not, just be prepared for a wetting.

IMHO, a Road bike shouldn't have mudguards. A Winter trainer ( sports ) bike which has clearances designed in, can have mudguards.

That's my opinion. And in the words of the famous General "Never poo-poo a poo-poo".

 

[jimboalee]

If you read again my initial post where I say a road bike wasn't designed to take mudguards, who can dissagree?

The Raceblade design, albeit not patented or specifically manufactured, was around decades ago. It took some home mechanicking to sort them out and they did a similar job to today's commercial Raceblades.

Many riders, after struggling with hacksaw and rivet gun were dissapointed with the result. Not a lot of guard for all the thought and work.
The design fell out of use until a mudguard manufacturer saw an opportunity to make some money selling their product to owners of close-clearance road bikes who couldn't be bothered ( or hadn't the skills ) to do some mechanicking. ( Or were too afraid of a good old fashioned soaking ).

So now we see close-clearance roadrace bikes with Raceblades.
I will never use them. My sports bike has full SKS.

Does anyone have a chainguard on their road bike? Discuss.

 

[Crackle]

So where are we with the definitions then (any mods to separate this out of DDYB's thread into a new one)?

Road bike for me, now covers a multitude of sins but it basically separates mtn bikes and road bikes with hybrids in-between.

So within roadbikes what do we have:-

race bikes
Sportive bikes
Winter trainers
Audax bikes
Tourers

That would be my thinking with winter trainers, Audax and Tourers definitely having mudguard clearances but the others not.

Geometry wise they could all be quite similar, except the tourer and the race bike is likely to have a much tighter wheelbase.

Yes, no?

 

[Mortiroloboy]

If you read again my initial post where I say a road bike wasn't designed to take mudguards, who can dissagree?

The Raceblade design, albeit not patented or specifically manufactured, was around decades ago. It took some home mechanicking to sort them out and they did a similar job to today's commercial Raceblades.

Many riders, after struggling with hacksaw and rivet gun were dissapointed with the result. Not a lot of guard for all the thought and work.
The design fell out of use until a mudguard manufacturer saw an opportunity to make some money selling their product to owners of close-clearance road bikes who couldn't be bothered ( or hadn't the skills ) to do some mechanicking. ( Or were too afraid of a good old fashioned soaking ).

So now we see close-clearance roadrace bikes with Raceblades.
I will never use them. My sports bike has full SKS.

Does anyone have a chainguard on their road bike? Discuss.

OMG