Full mudguards when riding off road?

[Bicycler]

I've been riding an old mountain bike to which I have fitted wide SKS 65mm Chromoplastic mudguards. A couple of people have called the wisdom of that into question with all sorts of horror stories of mangled guards and bodies caused by twigs etc. OTOH I notice that traditional roughstuff tourers like those used (and designed) by Colin have mudguards. What is the consensus about using proper guards for off-road riding? Also, what do we think to be an acceptable clearance? I'm currently using long armed v-brakes which offer decent clearance but would swapping to cantilevers provide more? The brakes are definitely the limiting factor because there is tonnes of space under the crown and a long top tube so no risk of toeverlap. Then again, surely there has to be a distance at which mudguards stop providing any real benefit?

A few caveats, even with the v-brakes I do have over 1cm of clearance throughout and also have Secuclips on the front mudguard. Tyres are 1.9" Landcruisers. I'm not doing jumps, trail centres, races or any kind of competitive mountain biking, it's bridleways and tracks mainly but it can get very muddy. The v-brake vs canti issue is purely a question of clearance rather than performance. I have never had a problem with cantis.

I am a bit reluctant to ditch the guards because I can't really justify a one trick pony in my stable and I'm not the type to drive my bikes to somewhere to go for a ride, so I do like my bikes to be versatile. It's also nice to be allowed in pubs at the end of a wet ride. That said, if the consensus is that it is dangerous I will remove them.

[honesty]

I can think of 2 problems with guards, 1 mud buildup clogging the guard, and 2 something jamming between the guard. The second is resolved by having those breakaway guard mounts isn't it? As to the first clearance required is going to depend on the type of terrain cycled and how regularly you get off and clear it out!

[mercalia]

if it is that muddy then I get off and walk any way. I have rim brakes and dont want the mud on the rims - the brakes dont work well that way anyway? IF you ride mainly muddy/wet ground then disc brakes and no mud guards, I have seen many bikes ridden such caked in mud, that type of riding is specialised anyway? Only you can decide what how much mud is too much. I did once try and cycle on a grass bank of a canal on my Dawes 1-Down ( a rough stuff type tourer?) and the back mudguard clogged up fast with the mud & grass on the tyre. You can get flat type mudguards, mainly metal?

[Vantage]

In the almost 4 years I've had the tourer, I've yet to have anything big enough stick to the tyres that would stop the bike in its tracks through being caught in the guards.
I'm sure it's perfectly possible, but nothings come even remotely close to causing that issue.
I have had the guards clog up with so much muck that it slowed me quite considerably, but it was only once, going through very thick clay like mud, with little clearance between guard and tyre and using Landcruisers.
I'd keep them on and just maybe be a little more attentive on what you ride over.
It's one of those "there's a remote possibility" decisions. But like there's a chance of being in a car wreck, it doesn't stop you driving.

[iandriver]

Schwalbe Landcruisers aren't full on off road orientated. With full on nobble tyres on my old 1980s mountain bikes, you had to worry about a build of of clay mud. This was as much of a problem for the vee brake clagging up. You'd get a mix of mud and grass in there and end up with a mud brick back end. Another reason I went discs for full on off road.

Can't see any good reason to ditch the guards on that setup. When you're running Schwalbe Dirty Dans, start to worry.

[Brucey]

mudguards can be fine on an offroader



having said this I would fit cantis (or a hub brake) and have as much clearance at the front as possible. A ghetto solution is to cut slot in the front mudguard so that the brake does not foul it even when it is raised.

cheers

[Mattyfez]

I have some SKS beavertail, they work well for me for moderate riding, i.e bridalway dirt track etc., don't seem clog up.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
In all the years I have been riding (48) I have only come to grief once when a stick went into the front spokes..................that was the fine stick I carried in my right hand with drops and on applying the front brake...........well the lamp post was two foot from my head

Even in thick mud unless you have a full on mtb tyre and vegetation moderate clearance will do.
Just remember the safety chain stays bits as mentioned.

[Colin_P]

I also run Schwalbe Landcruisers on a 700c hybrid with full guards.

I do 50%+ of my riding (on the bike below) off road and have never had a problem with things getting stuck and locking up a wheel.

What does cause massive problems in the winter is mud clogging. The clearances on my bike are quite small so clogging may be exacerbated by that. I avoid mud at all costs and stick to gravel tracks during the winter.

For the other 50% riding on road or puddled tracks in the wet, the guards keep me dry and are well worth not being able to go in the mud. Riding in mud is horrible anyway as it saps your energy like nothing else

[jimlews]

Personally, I would not listen to advice based on fashion or what is perceived to be 'cool' or 'uncool'. Mudguards are perennially 'uncool' with 'fashionistas' of any era.
They keep my aspidistra dry so I use them.

Any cycle ridden on or off road, whether with mudguards or without, can pick up debris that MAY cause a wheel to jam. It comes with the territory, so to speak.

Others have suggested Q/R thingies on the M.G. stays. Another possibility ( if you are having a steel bike built or resprayed ) is to have M.G. eyes brazed to the rear face of the forks aprox 4'' above the dropout. Then if anything gets caught betwixt tyre and mudguard the gap between them increases and the obstruction drops out. But of course, that may look old fashioned.

[mattsccm]

I bung guards onto my CX/roughstuff bike every year. Occasionally the 10mm gap fills but rarely and only with sticky mud and leaves. Never had anything jam in the guards, doesn't seem likely to me.

[Vorpal]

I'd say... it depends. Full mudguards are fine for most circumstances. If it's very muddy, though or mud and gravel, or mud with twigs and leaves and stuff, knobblies and MTB mudguards (or none at all) are needed. Also, snow with gravel in it goes round better if the mudguards are well away from the tyre.

I have jammed stuff between the tyre and mudguard on my hybrid a few times, though never anything big enough to cause an accident.

[DaveP]

One thing you could try is setting up your mudguards so that the rearmost end is closer to the tyres than the rest of the guard so that the tip of the guard tends to dislodge anything coming up stuck to the tyre. Anything that gets past it should be able to go right round without causing any problems.
And quick release stays on the front!

[531colin]

There are 2 things to think about here, mud and sticks.

Mud buildup is a "death of a thousand cuts", the mud builds up slowly and relentlessly brings you to a standstill. However, with about 15mm between my tyres and guards, this is an extremely rare occurrence. It tends to be when the mud is mixed with straw or something to bind it together.....even then, the buildup that stops me is between tyre and vee brake arms, or chainstays, not tyre and guard, because the mud builds up more on the edge of the tread than on the top of the tread. Years since this has happened.

The worst "stick in wheel" fall I have seen was on the road, and the stick went in a back wheel. The mudguard metalwork was dragged round until it locked the wheel up, resulting in an impressive skid and nasty fall. I always thought it was daft to have mudguard stays and a carrier, so my guards are now fixed like this.....



I don't think any of that metalwork can lock the wheel, even if it gets dragged round.

I had a stick in my front wheel, on grass, luckily.....the guard folded up, the stays released.....unfortunately the guard came up next to the down tube, so I could only steer one way.......the best laid schemes of mice and men.......

"Roughstuff" is a subset of touring.......I wouldn't expect "mountain bikers" to understand it, any more than I would expect the Strava brigade to use a Carradice saddlebag

[Rich_Clements]

"Roughstuff" is a subset of touring.......I wouldn't expect "mountain bikers" to understand it, any more than I would expect the Strava brigade to use a Carradice saddlebag

I have a strava account and own/use three Carradice saddlebags


I have never had a problem with mudguards and sticks, the only time I have had one jam in the front wheel was when I put my dirty great hoof onto it.