Fitting SKS mudguards - should it be this hard?

[skicat]

Well, I've just spent a fun 2 hours fitting HALF of a pair (just the front one) of SKS mudguards to my Claud Butler Urban 400. I've seen criticism of the instructions on here before, but I never imagined it would take that long. There are a number of things I'm still not happy about so I thought I'd seek some opinions here.

The mudguards I have are these, size 700 x 35-38 WIDE, which the man from Wiggle said would be fine for my 700x37 tyres (Panaselas). When fitted the mudguard doesn't seem to be much wider than the tyre though. Maybe that's how it's supposed to be

This is how it looks (ok, I may need to do some further adjustment, which probably means hacksawing a bit extra off the bottom stays). I can't seem to get it to follow the shape of the wheel. Also, the stays are bent. Should I take them off and splay them out a bit before refitting them?

Secondly, the plastic bits that are attached to the forks are supposed to be screwed on according to instructions. The lugs on the Urban aren't threaded so I've had to pinch a couple of bolts from the bag, which I hope aren't going to be needed for the back one tomorrow .
Also, I wonder if the plastic bits would be better mounted inside the lugs rather than outside.

And finally, there didn't seem to be an appropriate length bolt for fitting to the fork, but perhaps that's because the Urban's suspension fork is just an odd size. I've used the long bolt supplied but it's about 1.5cm too long and may also get some treatment with the hacksaw.

[willcee]

There's a post on here somewhere about the woes of fitting guards, i remember posting on it and having scorn cast at my lengthy diatribe and the time it takes.. yes to do it correctly you need the proper guards ..what you have would suit a 28/32mm tyre.. eg a tourer better... i would go for 45 /50 mm guards better suited to a hybrid with 37mm rubber.. that said its not an innocents job , ime to do it correctly ie where you're not fettling every week to keep them tight or aligned takes some time.. those break out clips are best on the outside and yes bolts have to be shortened ,use nylock nuts and preferably stainless fittings on everything..will

[Valbrona]

1/ You have found out that you would have been better off with the wider 38-45 mudguards, because these would have provided more wrap-around. And that wasn't a man that you were asking at Wiggle, it was probabbly a kid. But it was your responsibility to find out which size would have fitted best, I think. Or you should have got them from somewhere like Spa Cycles.

You ideally need heavy duty bolt cutters to cut those stays rather than a hacksaw. ANd mudguards do require a lot of adjustment to get them fitting well.

2/ The plastic bits should go on the outside, as you have done. I've not come across many frames with unthreaded eyelets (are you sure?), but the easiest alternative is to fit a threaded bolt.

3/ You are very lucky if either of the two bolts that SKS supply fit perfectly. They invariably need cutting down.

[pete75]

You're not so far out with that - it just needs a bit of adjustment. Fitting mudguards is not a difficult job but it is a fiddly one. These instructions may help http://www.jstreetley.co.uk/?p=533

[skicat]

1/ You have found out that you would have been better off with the wider 38-45 mudguards, because these would have provided more wrap-around.

What are the consequences? If it just means a bit more side spray I can live with that. I can't send these back now as I've cut the stays.

I've not come across many frames with unthreaded eyelets (are you sure?), but the easiest alternative is to fit a threaded bolt.

Definitely. The bolt that would normally be used for attachment to lugs goes through the hole without touching the sides.

[skicat]

You're not so far out with that - it just needs a bit of adjustment. Fitting mudguards is not a difficult job but it is a fiddly one. These instructions may help http://www.jstreetley.co.uk/?p=533

I wish I had seen those instructions before I started. Having said that, that is pretty much the procedure I used, apart from needing to remove the wheel and brakes. I'm slightly confused by 3A - " Clip in the 4 black plastic caps into the fixed bridges on the mudguard". I can't see how they could clip in. They seem to be retained there by the stays, and if the stay is removed the black bit falls out. Its possible the design has changed recently I suppose.

[Brucey]

FWIW

a) I might have chosen that mudguard width (rather than the wider ones) for your bike, but perhaps not if the mudguard clearance wasn't generous radially. Wider ones might well act like little sails in the wind.

b) if you choose a mudguard that is very much wider than the tyre, very often it won't fit under the fork crown or the brake bridge on many bikes. Choosing a mudguard that is a similar width to the tyre but + ~2-4mm (vs actual tyre width) makes such a clash less likely.

c) Mudguard stays always need to be set to the correct angle, in order that there isn't strain on the mudguard when fitted. SKS stays are especially hard steel and difficult to cut with below-average tools.

d) SKS mudguards are unusual in that you do get most of the bolts you need. Most other mudguards don't come with any of the bolts that you need to attach them to the bike, only the ones that attach the stays to the guards. Bicycles vary enormously; no one mudguard kit could allow for every permutation of fittings on every bike (or the instructions allow for every skill/experience level of the fitter, come to that); it would be slightly naïve to suppose this might be the case.

e) With the amount of clearance that you have, and no threads in the fork eyes, I'd be tempted to mount the secu-clips to the inside of the eyes, not the outside. Using nylocs on secu-clips is a good idea. You might need to use shallow headed bolts, fitted the other way round. If you need more bolts, suitable M5 ones are available nearly everywhere.

f) If the mudguard doesn't fit the curve of the wheel very well, this can usually be addressed by bending the fork crown bracket slightly, or in extremis heating and reshaping the mudguard itself.

g) No-one ever said that mudguards would be super-easy to fit, did they? I know a lot of people think that this should be the case, but usually this is just an assumption of the 'how hard can it be?' variety. If you get it wrong you can get a front wheel jam, go over the bars, and break your neck. [ No, I am not exaggerating.]

If it is any consolation, you are not far off now, and you will be a lot faster at it the next time!

cheers

[skicat]

Thanks Brucey, very useful information. All the nuts supplied with the guards are nylocs.

If it is any consolation, you are not far off now, and you will be a lot faster at it the next time!

Ha ha, I'm tackling the back one tomorrow and its going to be fighting for space with a rack.

[Kenn]

I use a Dremel with cutting disk to cut things like mudguard stays, brake cables (with a bit of tape around the cable to keep the strands together) etc. Cuts hard steels quickly and cleanly. Wear goggles though!

[gaz]

The mudguards I have are these, size 700 x 35-38 WIDE, which the man from Wiggle said would be fine for my 700x37 tyres (Panaselas). When fitted the mudguard doesn't seem to be much wider than the tyre though. Maybe that's how it's supposed to be

Hmm, Wiggle and mudguards.

I ordered some SKS chromoplastic mudguards from Wiggle last year.

I can't recall the available sizing options on Wiggle at the time, I do recall that the options did not match SKS size ranges. I ordered 700 x 35-38 which seemed most likely to get me some P45s, which I'd decided to be the appropriate size for my own 700x32s.

The mudguards arrived, Wiggle's packing note said P45, hooray I'd guessed right . They looked wider than I'd thought . The SKS packaging said P50 .

So I sent them back, explaining the problem and received P45s in their place.


If you feel these are not the right size then check the Wiggle dispatch note and the SKS packaging. If both say P45 then you are certainly on the limit but within the manufacturer's stated range of tyre sizes. If the Wiggle dispatch note says P50 and the packaging is P45 then its time to e-mail Wiggle.

[skicat]

pete75, re my earlier comment about the black clips. I've just found a video on the SKS website here showing assembly and I can see I haven't put the clips on properly.

[Psamathe]

I ordered some SKS chromoplastic mudguards from Wiggle last year.

I can't recall the available sizing options on Wiggle at the time, I do recall that the options did not match SKS size ranges. I ordered 700 x 35-38 which seemed most likely to get me some P45s, which I'd decided to be the appropriate size for my own 700x32s.

The mudguards arrived, Wiggle's packing note said P45, hooray I'd guessed right . They looked wider than I'd thought . The SKS packaging said P50 .

So I sent them back, explaining the problem and received P45s in their place.


If you feel these are not the right size then check the Wiggle dispatch note and the SKS packaging. If both say P45 then you are certainly on the limit but within the manufacturer's stated range of tyre sizes. If the Wiggle dispatch note says P50 and the packaging is P45 then its time to e-mail Wiggle.

When I got my SKS Chromoplastics recently I had the same problem with the width/Pxx. I found SKS's web site gives tyre side range (e.g. 35-38) and mudguard width (Pxx). From which I managed to work out which Amazon were offering and managed to get the correct size. That said I found SKSs web site not very useful as a lot of their mudguard sizes/variants seem to be missing and the version I ended-up getting from Amazon was not actually on SKSs web site!

Ian

[Psamathe]

Oh, I also found you can buy just the stays if you need to. However, they are not cheap (the ones I saw were £10-£12 for a set).

Ian

[ukdodger]

Well, I've just spent a fun 2 hours fitting HALF of a pair (just the front one) of SKS mudguards to my Claud Butler Urban 400. I've seen criticism of the instructions on here before, but I never imagined it would take that long. There are a number of things I'm still not happy about so I thought I'd seek some opinions here.

The mudguards I have are these, size 700 x 35-38 WIDE, which the man from Wiggle said would be fine for my 700x37 tyres (Panaselas). When fitted the mudguard doesn't seem to be much wider than the tyre though. Maybe that's how it's supposed to be

This is how it looks (ok, I may need to do some further adjustment, which probably means hacksawing a bit extra off the bottom stays). I can't seem to get it to follow the shape of the wheel. Also, the stays are bent. Should I take them off and splay them out a bit before refitting them?

DSC_0086.jpg

Secondly, the plastic bits that are attached to the forks are supposed to be screwed on according to instructions. The lugs on the Urban aren't threaded so I've had to pinch a couple of bolts from the bag, which I hope aren't going to be needed for the back one tomorrow .
Also, I wonder if the plastic bits would be better mounted inside the lugs rather than outside.

DSC_0087.jpg

And finally, there didn't seem to be an appropriate length bolt for fitting to the fork, but perhaps that's because the Urban's suspension fork is just an odd size. I've used the long bolt supplied but it's about 1.5cm too long and may also get some treatment with the hacksaw.

DSC_0088.jpg

It doesnt follow the shape because they say they are 700c when what they mean is they will do for a 700c. They're a fitall job the arc is bigger than a 700c. I got round it by bending the connection to the fork crown backwards a bit. Not perfect but it improves it. The only truly 700c mudguards I've found are the GB ones.

[skicat]

Things are looking much better today. Moved the strut mounts inboard of the forks. Took another cm or so off the stays. Adjusted and readjusted and am now happy with the result. Tackled the back one this afternoon and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. There are 2 pairs of lug mounts at the back. It worked better by moving the existing rack to the higher pair and using the lower pair for the guards. Oddly, the back mounts are threaded (the front ones are not ). All as per the instructions apart from using a shorter bolt on the chain side to prevent it from poking through and fouling the smallest cog. The job is not quite finished yet as rain stopped play.

Thanks to all who replied and contributed to the collective wisdom