On Mudguards (Fenders)

Mudguards (or Fenders, as they're known in the colonies) are perhaps the most essential tool in practical cycling. Without them, you're just a rainshower away from being covered in mud, grime and who-knows-what flung up by your wheels. Unfortunately, bike manufacturers don't seem to have got the message. Many otherwise useful road bikes have no eyelets for mounting mudguards, or have eyelets but lack enough frame or brake clearance. Fortunately there are ways around this, as we'll discuss in this post.

If you do have Eyelets

If the manufacturer of your bicycle was considerate enough to imagine someone riding in the rain, you're in luck. Standard SKS Fenders are inexpensive, durable and will fit on just about any frame with eyelets. The downside is that they're incredibly fiddly to fit properly and it'll probably take you most of an afternoon to get right, but on the plus side it's a job that demands more patience than skill and once they're fitted you shouldn't need to do it again for years. Do make sure that you've got sufficient clearance between your tires and your brakes - you'll need several millimetres of clear space to fit them without rubbing.

You can spend a lot more on mudguards, but you won't get a better product. There are lots of fancy metal fenders available, but they rattle terribly and are much harder to fit into frames with only marginal clearance.

If you don't have Eyelets

You're not stuck if your frame doesn't have mountings for mudguards. You have two real choices - one is to bodge on a pair of standard mudguards using cable ties and p-clips. The other is to use a guard like the SKS Raceblade that is designed to fit without eyelets. Bodging on standard guards is likely to be a real fiddle and involve cutting up your guards to fit them onto the frame, but you're likely to get the best possible protection from spray. Raceblades are easy to fit and remove to your bike so are ideal for racers, but that also makes them very easy to steal if you park your bike. Raceblades also offer fairly basic coverage and although they're infinitely better than nothing, you're likely to get very wet feet. 

Whatever kind of frame you have, mudguards make all the difference for a utility bicycle. Although they won't keep you dry in the rain they will keep your clothes clean, which can mean the difference between carrying a change of clothes and not. If you're dressed suitably a rainshower on the bike is no more inconvenient than if you're walking, but mudguards prevent that 'skunk stripe' of filthy black awfulness up your back that can ruin your day along with your jacket.