Mudgaurds (Fenders)

[axel_knutt]

My Horizon's still got the SKS ones it came with 25 years ago. The aluminium foil sandwiched inside them is looking a bit corroded and shabby near the cut edges where the water gets in, but that's just cosmetic, they're fine otherwise.

[cycle tramp]

I have Flinger polycarbonate mudguards and they are coming up to 6 years without issue.

don't expect this state of affairs to persist indefinitely.

Matthew Hokins With finder General;
I accuse your polycarbonate mudguards of premature enbrittlement, and being in league with Lucifer the devil - you must remove them immediately so they can be burnt at the stake! - that will be 3 florins and a copper piece please, as payment to warn you of your peril...
Incidently, I can sell you some wooden mudguards, said to be made from the very cross itself, and twice blessed by his holiness.... 4 gold coin and I'll thrown in the quick release safety stays for free... although the mudflap made from the pig bladder is extra.. sorry.... apparently you only get one pig bladder per pig...

Accused witch;
I denounce your proclamation, and your wooden mudguards. I have guarded against such premature enbrittlement by rubbing a secret compound of Turkey fat and woodland herbs over my mudguards every full moon, at the site of the old stones, whilst being completely sky clad...

Witchfinder General;
I believe you not! Never have I heard of such a practise, and call it false, a hoax and without mechanical merit, unless I can witness such an act... which is convenient because I believe next Saturday evening is the next full moon.....I could bring wine....?

..for the readers' sensitivity, we'll draw a veil over this scenario....

[Brucey]

I feel cheated, inasmuch as for mere pennies more, my mudguards could have been made from a better material. You should all feel cheated too.

Still, some good has come of it, in that it provoked me to design better ones; my novel design is lighter (in most cases, comfortably lighter than CF ones), more damage-tolerant and longer-lasting than anything seen before. It also fits much better to bikes, even if they have little clearance. It is designed to be repaired rather than replaced, and repair costs are not expected to be high in most instances. Nor is it likely to be difficult.

[Blondie]

I have Flinger polycarbonate mudguards and they are coming up to 6 years without issue.

don't expect this state of affairs to persist indefinitely.

Nothing persists indefinitely

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust”

[Cyclothesist]

Just checked. All my mudguards are still in one piece and the sky hasn't fallen in...Yet!
Loved the Mudguard Witch Fender General story cycle tramp. Can you post the herb recipe? I'm worried that Brucey Hopkins has hexed my fenders.

[TrevA]

One of my silver SKS Chromoplastics on my Dawes Super Galaxy shattered during a ride in the summer. The bike fell over and the front stay and part of the guard separated from the rest of it. These date from 2009, so 16 years old. The rear one has gone very brittle and I expect it to break very soon if not replaced.

The black SKS Longboard guards on my winter bike date from 2017 and are still usable, but on their way out. The rear one has split a little but not catastrophically. I find the Longboards do give better coverage than normal guards. My wife’s bike gets grimy around the bottom bracket area, with normal length guards, but mine stays much cleaner. It a pity the Longboards seem to be no longer made.

I’ve always found the rivets on plastic guards to be not very durable, and have replaced all of mine with proper pop-rivets, that have more depth to them and are more durable.

My son in law has some “Fend Off” metal guards. These look good, though a bit more expensive than plastic guards. I’ll consider these when I next buy some.

On the subject of mud flaps, I had several attempts at making my own out plastic milk and washing up bottles. These were OK but not very durable. I bought a long rear flap from a company called Rawflaps, and can recommend them. Under £10, they do various shapes and designs. My wife insists that I have a long rear flap so that she doesn’t get splashed when riding behind me.

[Brucey]

.....Nothing persists indefinitely .......

it very probably doesn't. However, there is presently a huge disparity between the longevity of the stays (which are often made of stainless steel) and the longevity of the rest of the mudguard. The stays, in fact, might last indefinitely; certainly in comparison to everything else.

[Bmblbzzz]

The Fend Off guards are indeed good. Mine are only six years old but they show virtually no signs of wear. They're from Kinesis.

SKS make an aluminium guard set called Edge, which also look pretty good and have wider options.

In contrast, I've had metal mudguards from Velo Orange and they were a disaster; they didn't corrode or break but design assumptions, based I think on VO's own forks, meant they wouldn't really fit properly on forks with the common fitting into a drilled fork crown.

[Brucey]

......In contrast, I've had metal mudguards from Velo Orange and they were a disaster; they didn't corrode or break but design assumptions, based I think on VO's own forks, meant they wouldn't really fit properly on forks with the common fitting into a drilled fork crown.

give them a chance, they can crack too, largely because there aren't enough rear stays, really.

[Bmblbzzz]

......In contrast, I've had metal mudguards from Velo Orange and they were a disaster; they didn't corrode or break but design assumptions, based I think on VO's own forks, meant they wouldn't really fit properly on forks with the common fitting into a drilled fork crown.

give them a chance, they can crack too, largely because there aren't enough rear stays, really.

They've long since gone to the recycling.

[cycle tramp]

I have Flinger polycarbonate mudguards and they are coming up to 6 years without issue.

don't expect this state of affairs to persist indefinitely.

Nothing persists indefinitely

I've still got my ignorance and stupidity...

[Brucey]

don't expect this state of affairs to persist indefinitely.

Nothing persists indefinitely

I've still got my ignorance and stupidity...

that aside, it doesn't really explain or justify the huge disparity between the expected longevity of the stays vs. the rest of it.....?

[cycle tramp]

Nothing persists indefinitely

I've still got my ignorance and stupidity...

that aside, it doesn't really explain or justify the huge disparity between the expected longevity of the stays vs. the rest of it.....?

I'm wanting to say vibrational frequency. Mudguard stays are round and thick and the vibrations through them travel at the same frequency...
..Mudguard blades (metal and perhaps hard plastic) are flat and long, which means that at certain points the vibrations may change frequency causing cracks to appear.
It's the reason why I bolt my mudguards to the bike frame via a rubber tap washer- the washer cushions vibrations, but doesn't stop them... if I bolted the mudguard directly to the frame, then at some point the vibrations may change too much and cause issues..

[Brucey]

I agree the system usually lacks an effective damper and that rubber mounts might improve matters (my own design contains provision for this, for this exact reason).

However, it hardly needs to be said that vibrations do not cause embrittlement; they are merely a means to an end; in this case the end of an inherently unsuitable mudguard.

[cycle tramp]

I agree the system usually lacks an effective damper and that rubber mounts might improve matters (my own design contains provision for this, for this exact reason).

However, it hardly needs to be said that vibrations do not cause embrittlement; they are merely a means to an end; in this case the end of an inherently unsuitable mudguard.

Yes absolutely... however if you have bolted an embrittled mudguard blade directly to the bike frame and allowed the blade to move at the other end, then somewhere between the frame mount and the end of the blade will be a point where the mudguard stay will be asked to become a hinge, and the embrittled mudguard may then break at this point..