I have always worn mudguards on my commuting bikes – except when I was a student when, if it was wet, I just stayed in bed. 

Personally, I find the wet bum experience pretty bad.

However, my new to me racer looks pretty sporty without guards.

But, with the great summer we’re having and the Around Down 200 Audax event coming up, I had a think (read Google) about mudguards.

Choosing

Some requirements:

• must be full guards
• light weight and unobtrusive
• fit without eyelets
• be easy to remove when not required

So, I settled on some Crud Roadracer Mark II’s that I purchases from CRC for about £26

Fitting

Initial fitting was a bit fiddly  - the instructions didn’t quite seem to match my guards and didn’t mention that front and back were different and that there were spare end bits.

The main hindrance, though, was my dog stealing bagged bits and having to chase him round the garden and the wind blowing the instructions with all the small thumbscrews and nuts on it across my drive which took me about 20 minutes or so to find.

Neither of these were covered in the instructions or online tutorials!

These mounts are held on by a couple of rubber bands!

The guards are in three sections which are held together with a thumbscrew and in some joints a “sticky” pad. 

stick on pads hold the guards off the frame/bike.  The instructions indicated assembling the whole guard and then taking off the wheels.  I left the wheels on, partially assembled guards fitting stick joints and then fitted the remaining bits in situ before tightening everything up.

They are held on to brake fixing by tie wrap – the on supplied was short and fiddly so I just used a longer one.

Rear was a bit fiddly – with hindsight I would have pushed the tie wraps through first.  The other side is nicely shaped to protect the front derailleur.

Although I haven’t unfitted and refitted yet – I reckon it would take about 10 minutes off, 15 on.  I’d just cut the tie wraps, take the wheels off and remove.

Road Test

So I went out for a spin.  Northern Ireland obliged with a couple of good downpours and they seemed to do the job well.

Overall Verdict

Audax ready with cheap handlebar bag for food!

They are nicely engineered, light and fit the requirements.  I am a bit concerned that I’ll break them when I take the wheels off to change a tube as they are light and flimsy.

I am pleased with their appearance and, since I’m pretty lazy, I will probably leave them on!  Will wait and see how long they last.