Which mudguards

[Michelin]

My friend has just bought a cannondale synapse without mudguard mounts. Does anyone know which would be the best full length guards to put on this bike. Thanks in advance

[backnotes]

Are you sure there are no hidden mounting points part way up the stays and inside the forks? These are like threaded bushes and you can attach mudguards with these https://www.westbrookcycles.co.uk/canno ... 18-p333236

I don’t know which years have bushes so you would have to look / search online.

Searching with “fender” as well as “mudguard” may help.

Apologies if you already know there are no hidden mounts as well as no regular mounts, but if there are it may open up more choices of regular rather than clip on guards.

PS there's a diagram here https://www.bike24.com/p2283929.html that shows how this works on the 2018 Synapse. Apparently there's also a seatstay bridge for the rear fender / mudguard that looks a bit like something you might make from bits in the spare parts box. As above - I don't know which model years of Synapse have these mounting points.

[Michelin]

There’s definitely no mounts on it it’s one of the first green and black carbon ones after the all light blue one. I think 2015 or 2016

[backnotes]

Ah OK - sorry for the confusion then.

I had seen them on recent / current versions of the Synapse but didn't realise they only came in in 2018.

Hope you get things sorted with some good advice from others!

[Brucey]

"no mounts" often means "no clearance" as well. Very difficult to advise without knowing what the clearances, tyres etc are.

cheers

[Michelin]

He has GP 5000's on it and they seem to fit fine

[Debs]

The Cannondale Synapse is the wrong bike to buy for easy fitting full length mudguards, however one of these will fit...

[Brucey]

He has GP 5000's on it and they seem to fit fine

which means there is enough clearance for tyres of an unspecified width. Oh, that'll mean it is a bike then....

Needless to say it says little about the practicality of fitting mudguards to the bike. Any chance of photos showing brake drop and clearance under the brakes etc?

As a rule of thumb if the actual brake drop (setting) used is a certain amount this has implications for tyre/ mudguard fitment, roughly as follows;

~45mm; you might only be able to fit 25mm max tyres and full mudguards are not practical.
~50mm; 28mm tyres may be possible without mudguards and it is usually possible to use full mudguards (often with unacceptably tight clearances IMHO) provided 23mm tyres are fitted.
~55mm; 32mm tyres may be possible without mudguards, and it is usually possible to fit 25mm tyres and mudguards, although the clearances will not be generous. 28mm tyres and mudguards can sometimes be fitted but the clearances may well be unacceptably tight.
~60mm; 35mm tyres may be possible without mudguards and 25mm tyres with mudguards usually provides adequate clearance. 32mm tyres with mudguards may be possible but the clearances will be rather tight.

and so on. Actual tyre/mudguard fitment may vary slightly with the model of tyres, mudguard, brake as well as frameset/fork design.

If you don't have enough clearance you either need to fit narrower tyres or mudguards which don't go through the fork itself (and therefore cannot work properly either).

cheers

[Michelin]

It has disc brakes and there’s no hole in the fork where the rim brake calliper would go. He also does have one of the as savers but he wants to put proper mudguards on it for the winter. I realise how lucky I am to have fender mounts on my bike makes everything much simpler

[Brucey]

provided there is enough clearance you can often use P-clips on an undrilled fork crown to hold a mudguard, a bit like this;



but one each side rather than one in the middle. A bit of improvisation can often get a good result.

However if there simply isn't enough clearance then your choices are somewhat limited.

cheers

[Andy Short]

If it has mudguard clearance, I suggest Crud roadracer 2 or 3. These are fairly long and do a good job on two of my bikes.

The roadracer 3 velcro on to the inside of the rear seat stays and the front forks BUT:
I would peel off and throw away ordinary velcro. Use 3M Dual Lock strip (ebay). It is a moulded plastic strip that gives far more rigid attachment so the guards don't flutter or move.

Clean everything well first, ideally with white spirit and dry.

An alternative would be the older Crud roadracer 2 that don't use velcro. They have stay attachments that attach by o-ring straps and the main part with cable ties, but only fit with a rim brake mount or similar to put the cable-tie round. they are a close fit, so only on very narrow tyres.

The only problem I have had is with the roadracer 2 twice is them shattering when a stick is hooked up by the spokes, but sticks happen.......

[deeferdonk]

If no mounts and little clearance, I am appreciating my sks speedrockers that I have recently installed. (Not on same bike model tho)

[Cowsham]

Just fitted these to the young boys bike

Had to cut a wallop off each one but they fit so nice an easy, no jaggy bits sticking out and they're cheap.

These are the lifeline wide type.

Plenty of Tyre clearance even with these nobbley ones on but I have a new set of 2" city type Tyres ordered to make it a bit easier pushed and retain some of the grip.

[Brucey]

...Had to cut a wallop off each one ....

FD will need regular cleaning and lubrication, else you will have a '1x' on your hands before too long....

cheers

[Cowsham]

...Had to cut a wallop off each one ....

FD will need regular cleaning and lubrication, else you will have a '1x' on your hands before too long....

cheers

True but that and the RD gets sprayed with oil every time we get home. Thinned down Recycled engine oil.