New commuter - Disc Trucker

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andrew_s
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Re: New commuter - Disc Trucker

Post by andrew_s »

PeterBL wrote:Andrew, are you satisfied with the mudguards? The Berthoud's look nice but I have also read reports about difficult fitting, not very flexible for later adjustment once fitted and them being in need of more struts/stays. What is your take?

I didn't find them any more difficult to fit than SKS, apart from finding a bigger washer for the bottom of the steerer.
The fork crown fitting uses an eyebolt threaded onto the brake bolt, or any other bolt between the front and back fork crown holes (the one that holds the front light on in my case), and the washer supplied to stop the mudguard being pulled into the steerer as you tighten the bolt is sized for a 1" steerer. Obviously this would differ on a different bike.
I found it a lot easier to get the stay to pass below the front disc caliper than it would be with 2 stays like on SKS, which generally need spacing out and/or bending to get round the caliper.
One thing to note when fitting is that you shouldn't have the mudguard under stress at the fork crown or seatstay bridge, otherwise it will crack in due course. It's the seatstay bridge where this is most likely to be a problem, so fit this first, and enlarge the hole at the chainstay bridge if required, rather than persuading a slightly misplaced hole to fit.

The stays are trimmed at the dropout end, so it's usually more difficult to leave spare for later adjustment than it would be at the mudguard end. Any spare has got to keep clear of the QR, or the space below that it drops into as you remove the wheel. I've not got any useful amount of spare, so bigger tyres would have to come out of existing clearance. Replacement stays are available from Berthoud if necessary.
Actually trimming the stays is easy - just cut with your normal cable cutter. SKS stays are generally too tough for this, hence hacksaws, dremels or bolt cutters being used.

The mudguards themselves are quite a lot stiffer than plastic ones, so the single pair of stays seems to be OK to me.
irc
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Re: New commuter - Disc Trucker

Post by irc »

You'll love it. I've had a V brake Trucker since 2008 - built from the frame up. Flawless loaded handling. Last year I was crossing Nevada and loaded up my Trucker with 14.5L of fluids on top of usual camping gear and food to cover a 2 day 180 mile section with no water sources. While I could feel the bike was heavy (I'm 16 stone) it handled absolutely fine.

Fully loaded in Nevada 2L in each front pannier, 3.5 in frame bottles, and 7 split between the rear panniers.

a-surly-loaded.JPG
PeterBL
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Re: New commuter - Disc Trucker

Post by PeterBL »

andrew_s wrote:I didn't find them any more difficult to fit than SKS, apart from finding a bigger washer for the bottom of the.....

...The mudguards themselves are quite a lot stiffer than plastic ones, so the single pair of stays seems to be OK to me.

Thanks for the report. Maybe I should consider them. They definitely look nice :)
PeterBL
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Re: New commuter - Disc Trucker

Post by PeterBL »

irc wrote:You'll love it. I've had a V brake Trucker since 2008 - built from the frame up. Flawless loaded handling. Last year I was crossing Nevada and loaded up my Trucker with 14.5L of fluids on top of usual camping gear and food to cover a 2 day 180 mile section with no water sources. While I could feel the bike was heavy (I'm 16 stone) it handled absolutely fine.

Fully loaded in Nevada 2L in each front pannier, 3.5 in frame bottles, and 7 split between the rear panniers.

a-surly-loaded.JPG

Thank you, I'm sure I will. And it surely handles fine loaded. I commute with an Ortlieb Office Bag, so I only have a load on one side, and the stiffer rear end on the Surly compared to the previous frame is very noticeable.
Brucey
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Re: New commuter - Disc Trucker

Post by Brucey »

PeterBL wrote:
andrew_s wrote:I didn't find them any more difficult to fit than SKS, apart from finding a bigger washer for the bottom of the.....

...The mudguards themselves are quite a lot stiffer than plastic ones, so the single pair of stays seems to be OK to me.

Thanks for the report. Maybe I should consider them. They definitely look nice :)


They are also a bit heavier than typical SKS mudguards of similar width. I've seen enough break (crack) at the seatstay bridge to be wary of mounting them without an additional set of stays. I note with interest that on French-style machines with such mudguards and a rear carrier fitted, they almost invariably take the opportunity to connect the two, thus greatly improving the rigidity of the whole affair.

One of the features of very many mudguards with a single set of stays is that (front or rear) they can sometimes vibrate/oscillate in a way that mudguards with two stays don't; the oscillation can take the form of a twisting motion about the fork crown/seatstay bridge mounting. I think that part of the rationale of mounting with a leather or rubber washer in this location is to damp this motion and therefore suppress this oscillation. If you push the mudguard to one side at the midpoint between the mountings/stays then you will get an idea of how the movement looks.

cheers
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fausto99
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Re: New commuter - Disc Trucker

Post by fausto99 »

PeterBL wrote:...they are 45mm which really is to narrow for the tyres I run ATM. 50/53 would be better, .

+1 on the mudguards and flaps. Does anyone make ones wider than 45mm?
reohn2
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Re: New commuter - Disc Trucker

Post by reohn2 »

fausto99 wrote:
PeterBL wrote:...they are 45mm which really is to narrow for the tyres I run ATM. 50/53 would be better, .

+1 on the mudguards and flaps. Does anyone make ones wider than 45mm?

SKS mudguards are available upto 65mm.
Mudflaps can be very easily be made from old car or truck inner tubes or building DPC cut to size and fitted with one bolt through the mudguard,to make mud flaps best effective cut them a little wider than the mudguard and to within 25mm of the road surface on the front wheel,DPC and inner tube flaps tend to trail behind at about 45degs to the road surface but still catch 90%+ whatever's thrown up off the front wheel.
I dont like stiff material for a front flap as it can break off the bottom part of the guard below the stay bracket if caught on a kerb,rear flaps are best made from stiffer plastic such as old 5ltr oil containers,or the rolls Royce of rear mudflaps are these though I dont like them on the front for reasons given :- https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/mudguards/4 ... g-mudflap/
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/mudguards/s ... y-mudflap/
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andrew_s
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Re: New commuter - Disc Trucker

Post by andrew_s »

reohn2 wrote:,to make mud flaps best effective cut them a little wider than the mudguard and to within 25mm of the road surface on the front wheel.

Front flaps have to be quite a bit wider than the mudguard, as they have to catch whatever the tyre splashes out of puddles as well as what's thrown off the middle of the tyre.
Commercial flaps like those two from St John Street are generally too narrow for a good front flap and too short for a good rear flap.
(we did flaps back on page one)
PeterBL
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Re: New commuter - Disc Trucker

Post by PeterBL »

reohn2 wrote:SKS mudguards are available upto 65mm.

Yes, the have a nice range. But unfortunately the extra long Longboards are only available up to 45mm.
joshua3
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Re: New commuter - Disc Trucker

Post by joshua3 »

I had a disc trucker, it made a fine touring bike loaded up. Unfortunately I found the top tube a bit too long for me, being longer in the legs and shorter in the upper body. Also unloaded I found the frame a bit stiff for comfort. But hay it is a touring bike, a nice frame, well built and finished.
reohn2
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Re: New commuter - Disc Trucker

Post by reohn2 »

andrew_s wrote:
reohn2 wrote:,to make mud flaps best effective cut them a little wider than the mudguard and to within 25mm of the road surface on the front wheel.

Front flaps have to be quite a bit wider than the mudguard, as they have to catch whatever the tyre splashes out of puddles as well as what's thrown off the middle of the tyre.
Commercial flaps like those two from St John Street are generally too narrow for a good front flap and too short for a good rear flap.
(we did flaps back on page one)

I disagree about the width of mudflaps,I ride road and roughstuff on my Vaya and find a front flap about 65mm width,enough to catch 90+% of side overspill which keeps me and the bike clean and dry.
Rear flaps on standard SKS and Bluemels m/guards needn't be as long or as wide,I reckon width of the mudguard and about 25 to 30cm long is enough to effect any following riders.

BTW,we've been discussing mudflaps on here for surpassed 10 years I been on here so another round of discussion won't harm anyone :wink:
Last edited by reohn2 on 8 Jan 2018, 10:33am, edited 1 time in total.
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reohn2
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Re: New commuter - Disc Trucker

Post by reohn2 »

PeterBL wrote:
reohn2 wrote:SKS mudguards are available upto 65mm.

Yes, the have a nice range. But unfortunately the extra long Longboards are only available up to 45mm.

Yes its a pity their whole range aren't as long as Longboards,and the front Longboard mudflap isn't long or flexible enough IME.
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
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PeterBL
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Re: New commuter - Disc Trucker

Post by PeterBL »

No, the front flap isn’t optimal but the guard itself is still rather long, so you can take it off and mount something appropriate + then you have a spare for the rear:-)
reohn2
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Re: New commuter - Disc Trucker

Post by reohn2 »

PeterBL wrote:No, the front flap isn’t optimal but the guard itself is still rather long, so you can take it off and mount something appropriate + then you have a spare for the rear:-)

Yep I did that on the Vaya I sold last year,which was built for road/light trail use only,I still have the spare SKS flap :)
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
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