Plastic mudguards- how long do they last?

[cycle tramp]

So plastic mudguards get brittle with age and sunlight exposure and then crack...

..however, is it a case that they crack because they've not been supplied with decent enough mounting parts to begin with, with has subjected them to more vibration than if they were fitted with decent rubber mounted frame attachments and perhaps more thought to the stay mounting?

If you're using plastic mudguards I'd be interested in knowing how many years you've got out of them so far.

[hamster]

I've got 20 years out of some (the others are still going!) Usually it's a stick or bit of road debris that finishes them off.

[alexnharvey]

My tortec black mudguards were bought in 2015 and are used for commuting daily. Currently stored in the garage, the bike they are on was kept outside for several years during that time.

[Carlton green]

It depends a bit on what type of plastic. I’ve some chromoplastic esge (SKS) ones on one bike that are decades old. Modern plastic (if well treated) lasts long enough for us not to be worry about it (ie. It’ll last longer than we will). The alloy guards on my 1980’s Raleigh are good for another forty years and more, fit and forget.

[Paulkentuk]

I purchased my Zefal Classic Mudguard Set from Halfords for £8.50 back in 2016.

Neither came with mudguard stays at either end, and have mounts midway along the guard. To be honest at the time I thought that was a flimsy mounting mechanism, however they are still going strong.

The bike was my daily commute for several years, and the guards fitted primarily to comply with the legal requirement.

[Mike Sales]

The bike was my daily commute for several years, and the guards fitted primarily to comply with the legal requirement.

What law would that be?

[axel_knutt]

My Horizon still has the original SKS mudguards on it after 22 years and ~47,000 miles. They aren't pretty, because the moisture has got into them and corroded the aluminium foil that's laminated between two layers of clear plastic, but they're functionally intact, no breaks or cracks anywhere. Along with seatpin, brakes & levers, they're the only original bits left on the bike.

[2_i]

The cracking can depend on mounting and stress points that the mounting can produce. Otherwise, some brittleness can be good. I witness a friend taking off into the air when his mudguard locked the front. That mudguard was made from a very resilient plastic and lacked safety releases. If it were made from brittle plastic, it might have saved his fork, helmet and laptop and spared the visit to an emergency room. Maybe safety releases could have been sufficient, but double protection may be good too.

[gaz]

So far I've always managed to write mine off (through some form of unfortunate encounter for which secu-clips were invented) long before there's any risk of failure by old age .

[mjr]

I've some on a 1983 bike that I think are almost as old as the bike. Chromoplastic rather than pure plastic, though.

[iandusud]

I have bikes with chromoplastic guards that have seen regular use over 30 years. The blades are as good as new but I've had refabricate and replace brackets that have corroded through.

[mumbojumbo]

Mine last 5 years, used daily.

[ed.lazda]

I had a rear SKS mudguard that broke clean across in two places, but I'm almost sure that was down to me fiddling with the mountings and putting undue stress on them. Otherwise, they seem to go on for ever.

[brianleach]

The front one on my Kona, used frequently from 2009 to 2020 then not so much, cracked across the the bottom fixing bolt earlier this year. The rear is still going strong

I witness a friend taking off into the air when his mudguard locked the front.

That almost happened to me a while back. An interesting experience when the front wheel locks on a speedy descent!! Not the mudguard's fault , inept fixing I'm afraid. Originally fixed over a 25 tyre and there just wasn't enough clearance for a 32! Of course it might have been a twig or something that caused it but the mudguard was in such a mess it was necessary to take the brake off to release it so any offending item would have dropped out with the mudguard..

[PH]

I've broke a couple of chromoplastics on Audax style bikes, close fitting guards over 28mm tyres, can't remember how long, though certainly less than five years. Never had one break on any other type of bike, other than accident damage. Though I don't tend to keep bikes for decades, seven years is probably the longest I've had the same guards, they were still OK when I passed them on.