reohn2 wrote:mjr wrote:reohn2 wrote:Race blades IMO are an accident waiting to happen and are wholly inappropriate for any kind of cycling let alone any kind of gravel road riding.
I know that many people who use them will have a pop at that statement but I stand by it.
Why? I'm pretty sure that race blades will snap the glorified rubber bands holding them to the forks long before they deform enough to jam a wheel - as-is, they can pass under the fork bridge. It's also quite likely that the mudguard itself will break up before jamming, as I've seen one snap across the stay attachment even without any impact, just from rough roads.
TBH I wouldn't fit them if they were being given away free,there's more chance of one breaking free and jamming under the bridge because they're designed to be fitted to bikes with tight clearances ie; bike not intended for mudguards in the first place.
Race blades deal with the tight clearances by not going through the bit with the tight clearance at all, resulting in similar clearance to my old Bluemels, so surely they're at no more risk of breaking free?
Actually there's a chance that they'll hit the back of the fork and bounce off instead of passing under it and jamming, which conventional mudguards only do if they snap across a bridge attached behind the forks (instead of the too-frequent habit of people attaching them in front).
reohn2 wrote:Also their effectiveness is slight compared no mudguards at all.
It's less, but good enough to avoid wearing a skunk stripe.
reohn2 wrote:The answer to keeping bike and rider dry in wet weather is to buy a bike with enough clearance to fit proper full length mudguards in the first place,removing them in the drier warmer months if you wish.
Race blades are and have always been an ineffective and potentially dangerous bodge more so on unsealed gravel roads ,YVMV mine won't
As I wrote earlier, buyers don't seem to value mudguard space enough. I think "potentially dangerous" is crying wolf, though.