Mudguards and winter club rides

[TonyC]

Dear all, I'm conscious that as we aproach the cruddy winter riding conditions the subject of mudguards and their use on club rides is something on a lot of peoples minds. I also understand it was raised at the last club meeting so thought it might be a good idea to raise the subject on here too so that we could capture the wider thoughts of the membership base...albeit at the risk of opening a can of worms!!!

As most of you who know me I am a big advocate of the use of mudguards during winter riding and cannot find any reasonable arguement to not fit them. Most clubs I have came across over the years tend to have a policy of stipulatuing the fitment of mudguards during the winters months when riding in club rides. Personnally I'd like to the club adopt a policy that asks riders to use mudguards when riding in groups in the winter for all the reasons highlighted below in a recent article on the subject. If however, I'm alone in my view then I am happy to go with the majority but simply wanted to put it out there for all to comment so we can at least try and put it to bed!

The below article is well written and clearly explains the benefits of using mudguards in the winter.

Tony

Riding without mudguards during a winter of “getting the miles in” really is a terribly miserable experience, it likely leads to plenty of riders becoming big sellers on ebay & gumtree while taking up snooker, darts or some other indoor pastime. This also allows them to indulge in their new-found alcoholism from having the after effects of repeatedly chilled wet feet & bumhole. It doesn’t have to be this way, fit some bloody mudguards & your winter of misery turns into an experience that a little bit of freezing rain can’t dampen.

The Advantages of Mudguards

Protects frame & parts from salt corrosion – If you ride your ‘good bike’ during winter without mudguards, it won’t be any good by March, you’ll be needing a new one, or at least some new parts. The roads are soon to be covered in grit & salt to keep the ice at bay, your bike will suffer hugely from this. Under the accumulated dirt, the components will start to corrode, as the winter progresses & you clean off the surface dirt, underneath the bearings, springs & moving parts in your drivetrain & brakes will deteriorate to the point they’ll need replaced.
Protects cycle clothing from degeneration & discolouring – Your expensive state of the art winter kit is going to suffer from getting repeatedly sprayed with road dirt & salt, so is your chamois, it’ll take a beating from repeated attack from salty gritty water. Treated fabrics lose their waterproof coating much quicker & you’ll also have to wash your outer layers on a continual basis to avoid looking like you’re a minger. Forget wearing anything white, it won’t be white for long.

Keeps you warm – Summer road spray is much more tolerable, winter road spray is a different beast altogether. Winter spray is generally just a few degrees above freezing, which makes all the difference. In summer on the worst of days a rain jacket will protect you, sometimes you’ll even be too hot. In winter the spray causes a constant chill which your body has to fight, it also costs you energy. Your body uses additional fuel to attempt to keep your body at the correct temperature while it’s extremities & your backside are to a continuous tap of water at chilled-beer temperature.

Stops feet from getting soaked (with addition of mudflap) – Mudguards without the addition of a mudflap will lose you one of the best & most useful advantages of mudguards. A correctly sized & positioned mudflap bolted onto the rear end of your front mudguard will protect your feet from all but the worst of soakings. Without the mudflap, the spray from your wheel seems to spray under the back of the mudguard & disperse directly onto your toes. Fit the mudflap & make it yourself from a plastic bottle, just cut it out & bolt it on, it’s easy & will make things much more pleasurable.

Makes the cafe stop a pleasant experience – With mudguards, you can sit in relative luxury sipping your coffee at the cafe stop, while your ‘road washed’ comrades are soaked through to their base layers & want to leave as quickly as possible before you’ve stuffed a cake down your gob. The water has been thrown up & drained over-the-top of collars & overshoes, having fully waterproof kit doesn’t make a difference in this situation, the water finds its alternative route in.

Chaffing – Grit ingressed & soaking wet chamois & pedalling don’t make happy companions, your bits & pieces won’t be happy for too long & your partner may ask you where you got that nasty rash, answering “the club run” is going to throw up more questions than answers. If anybody left a baby in a wet nappy for the period of time that your club run takes, the social services would be called in, it’s just not going to be good for you, fit some mudguards.

Allows you to train with mudguard-users without becoming a social leper – People with mudguards hate riding with people without mudguards in winter. It’s disrespectful, all the above issues become problems for the mudguarded riders due to inconsiderate riders who inflict their freezing cold spray on others. The reasons are often lazyness, vanity (they think it ruins the look of their bike, but don’t care that it covers them & others in dirt). For extra brownie points with other riders, the addition of a rear mudflap doesn’t protect you, but it sends out a message, it means you consider others by preventing any water at all spraying up into your club-mates faces, it’ll make you the most popular wheel to follow.

Fitting Options

If you’ve got mudguard eyes & a bit of clearance, you’re laughing, if not, you still have some options if you want to fit the best option of full mudguards with stays. Personally, I’d only fit the ‘race-blade’ type of mudguards if it was my last option, I’ve tried a few & they’re not nearly as secure & don’t offer the best protection for yourself & your ride-buddies. But ‘race-blades’ may be the only option if you’ve got very little clearance to fit mudguard between your fork crown & tyre on the front, or between your brake bridge & tyre at the rear.

Additional Fittings – These come in two options, fitted to either end of your quick-release skewer as seen HERE, or as metal clips with a plastic or rubber coating that clip round your frame HERE. Once you’ve got these fitted, you can fit any of the traditional mudguards that are available in your local bike shop (assuming you’ve got that necessary clearance). These fitting parts are hit-and-miss whether they’re in stock at you local bike shop, but they’ll all stock mudguards. They’ll also be able to tell you if it’s possible to fit mudguards, so if they give you their free advice, buy the mudguards from them regardless of whether they’ll supply you the fittings.
Clip-On Plastic Mudguards – If you really have to use a close clearance race type bike in the winter, these are your only options. You’ll often see them waving about in crosswinds & while mostly offering protection to the owner, other will sometimes get a face full of winter road dirt. It’s also less easy to fit effective mudflaps to these as they’re less secure. You’ll get these in your local bike shop & the most popular are branded ‘race-blades’, but plenty of options appearing on the market. A bit of advice I’d give is to forget the rubber fittings that allow you to take them on-and-off easily. You’ll get a much more secure fitting if you use cable ties to fix them on your bike for the whole winter, they tend to move a lot less & provide the protection from the elements you need in the middle of winter. It’ll also remove the need to constantly move them & the incessant rubbing can cause a bit of annoyance to you & others.

The Gist Of It

You’ll see photos & articles about the pro riders riding on training camps on their race bikes, that’s unrealistic for the amateur or club rider. They go somewhere warm, you might too, for just a week in the spring maybe, but the rest of the time you’re on the UK roads, the further north & west you get the worse the weather is. Fitting mudguards won’t make you look Italian, but over time it will save you money & help avoid time off the bike feeling unwell or with the bike requiring spares. It also protects others from your spray, it’s generally the inexperienced or inconsiderate riders who choose not to have mudguards, perhaps some just haven’t thought about it, so let them know, show them this & you may get a much cleaner bike ride next week. Fit some mudguards this winter, you’ll never go back.

[Dominic]

Have to agree Tony, but I fear we may be in the minority. This is currently being discussed on the TT forum at the moment. Some clubs even make it a requirement before people are allowed to take part in club runs in t
he winter or at the very least riders without have to stay at the back of groups.

Good luck with it though

[wilesm@sky.com]

I am in favour of using mudguards, I fitted mine a few weeks ago on the first sign of autumn wetness. A couple of weeks later the club run was completed without any rain at all but the roads were wet and by the end I was covered from head to foot in road crud from spray thrown up by mudguardless club mates, so I almost wasted my time fitting them as others seem to have benefited from them more than me, although my feet and bum had been protected.

Not sure we should make it compulsory, but a bit of peer pressure goes a long way!

[Andrew G]

Don't understand why anyone wouldn't want mudguards on winter rides / wet roads. Even if you have no consideration for others then it saves your own kit and your body from lot of unpleasant things.

If you can't fit old style full 'guards then Crud Racer II are superb. My winter bike was sent to the skip in the sky earlier this year and I've since been using (commuting but will do winter too) a spare with the Cruds. A bit of care and common sense fitting them and they are pretty much fit and forget and as good as "normal" mudguards.

[Amy]

Hear hear!! I find it funny how people who say they won't ride with mudguards - they don't do anything, you know - enjoy riding behind those who do have mudguards...

[Paul H]

It will never happen.

The club doesn't enforce the rules it has already.

You just cant have rules for everything. What about Helmets, Carbon Wheels, Disc Brakes, TT Bikes, abusive Scots etc

The only time I get cold is waiting for somebody to change a flat which is more often than not by 1 of the 2 riders in the TG who use mudguards but with summer racing tyres worn down to the canvass.

You still get sprayed by following somebody with mudguards.

I wouldn't want to put anybody off from joining the club

You could organise mudguard only groups.

Most of ACC only come out when its dry anyway.

If its raining, youre going to get wet whatever.

If my bike wears out quicker, its a good excuse to buy another.

I think its my Human Right not to fit mudquards.

Ride hard, keep warm and you wont notice.

[Dominic]

Wondered when you would be along

[Keith]

I stayed clean & bone dry when out for a couple of hours this morning on soaking wet, filthy roads.

[img]http://i62.tinypic.com/inv81u.jpg[/img]

I put a longer tail on the rear 'guard for group riding.

[Paul H]

Does your new club have a mudguard policy and can Tony join?

[TonyC]

don't be a cock Paul!

It's an open debate and everybody is entitled to their views just like you so no need to make schniedy comments..

If the majority of club riders believe it's the right thing then maybe you have to accept the need for change.

I don't care either way, but simply putting it out there for all to discuss ..not imposing my views unlike you !

If a simple thing like mudguards is such an issue to you then maybe you could set up your own mudguard, carbon, helmet free club (not to mention your racist comment Scottish comments) ...your own kind of cycling nirvana maybe??

[Paul H]

Ive added a in case you didn't realise I was joking.

Im not imposing anything nor was I racist.

Im simply of the opinion you should keep rules to a minimum.

[Amy]

I would point out that many clubs used to insist on mudguards on club runs but it's harder to enforce a) with greater number or riders b) bikes now most not able to fit proper mudguards (hence the rise in ones like Keith uses) and c) the rise of those who wouldn't be seen dead with mudguards on their bike (let alone panniers...)

[TonyC]

oh in that case its fine!

Still standby my first statement though

[Del]

I'm with you on this Tony, although I guess that we will have to rely on persuasion, common sense, enlightened self-interest and a sense of respect towards fellow members, rather than trying to stipulate this through the club rules.

I've ridden both with and without mudguards in the winter and I just find it more comfortable and a more socially aware thing to do. I don't really get why anybody would choose to soak their own arse and back, shower their components with more salty water and grit than they have to or spray the person behind more than can be helped. I accept that mudguards aren't 100% effective, but they are much more effective than nothing.

I am interested in the concept introduced by Paul that mudguards may in fact breach his human rights, so I've adapted articles 1 to 5 of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen to cover off this risk.

Perhaps we could get these incorporated into our club rules at the next committee meeting?

(I am inserting a smiley face to confirm that I may be joking ------> )

1. Members are born and remain free and equal in rights. The use of mudguards and other items of cycling equipment may be founded only upon the general good.

2. The aim of all cycling clubs is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, choice of frame material, to choose to ride with or without a helmet, the right to ride on worn summer tyres in winter and man's inalienable right to ride without mudguards during winter months.

3. The principle of all cycling clubs resides essentially in the membership. No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the membership.

4. Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each member has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the club the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by club rules, but shall ensure that each member has the right to spray themselves with salty road water and grit during the winter months. Equally those that object may form groups with other like minded riders who wish to remain somewhat drier.

5. Rules can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to club members as a whole. Nothing may be prevented which is not forbidden by club rules, and no one may be forced to fit permanent mudguards, race blades or those odd shaped MTB things that you clamp around your seat post.

[George]

As an advocate for mudguards I always ride the training group in the off season on my heavy old winter training bike with full mudguards.
It tends not to bother me with the other riders in the training group not having mudguards, as I generally ride off the front of the group as they are hanging on for dear life so I don't get sprayed so much, I'm just looking out for them.

Plus I feel sorry for them all, let them have their carbon race bikes, aero wheels without mudguards, they need them to keep up with me!