Bluemels Mudguards fixing puzzle

[JonMcD]

I've been fitting a pair of Bluemels mudguards that I bought 8 years ago (26", 53mm). All the SKS/Bluemels mudguards I have fitted in the past have two holes at either end of the fixed bridges to take the stay and eyelet bolt:

Usual attachment

These Bluemels mudguards have just one oddly shaped hole at either end of the fixed bridges:

Bluemels attachment

So when I attach the stay I can either have the nut on the eyelet bolt on the outside and lose all adjustment:

Nut outside

or I can have the nut on the inside:

Nut inside

With the nut inside I can adjust the fit more easily but it is a real pain. As well as having to work by feel rather than sight, the bend in the bridge near the hole means a ring spanner won't go on the nut and even an open spanner can only be swung in a short arc.

Looking at the fitting instructions for Bluemels mudguards on the SKS site they show the conventional bridge stay with two holes at each end.

So, did SKS go through a period of having a bad design for fixing the stays on their Bluemels mudguards, or am I missing something obvious?

[Brucey]

IIRC there are different (headed) bolts that allow both the nut and the stay to lie outside the bracket. Whether these were ever supplied with the mudguards I am not sure, but they do exist.

cheers

[JonMcD]

Ah, that makes sense - a bolt head with "wings" to engage with the cut outs each side of the circular bit of the hole so that the bolt wouldn't turn. Just a pity they weren't supplied with the mudguards!