Mini Mud Guards

[Spafsack]

Hi everyone. I suspect i know the answer to my question but perhaps there is a small percentage of peeps who use these small mini front mud guards, fenders, which are happy....I dont expect it to stop everything like hectic mud, but who has fitted these and what are your thoughts. What are the pro's and con's, then again, at R150 i guess i cant expect full protection. I am looking at one of these C6 ones for my sid ultimate fork. Which i had the newer forks which have the screws in so you can properly mount the syncros mini fender, but such is life, please advise. 

[ChrisF]

These look nice -

 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.syncros.com/us/en/product/syncros-trail-fender-34sc&ved=2ahUKEwiC9PXizKHyAhWfpZUCHb0_CKwQFnoECAYQAg&sqi=2&usg=AOvVaw3Bb9oWcAuvE0gtp7GGkDUG

 

PS ... different models depending on the screw configuration on the fork.

[BSG]

23 minutes ago, Spafsack said:

Hi everyone. I suspect i know the answer to my question but perhaps there is a small percentage of peeps who use these small mini front mud guards, fenders, which are happy....I dont expect it to stop everything like hectic mud, but who has fitted these and what are your thoughts. What are the pro's and con's, then again, at R150 i guess i cant expect full protection. I am looking at one of these C6 ones for my sid ultimate fork. Which i had the newer forks which have the screws in so you can properly mount the syncros mini fender, but such is life, please advise. 

These are good enough for basic needs and weighs next to nothing (if you're a weight weenie)

[Spafsack]

12 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

These look nice -

 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.syncros.com/us/en/product/syncros-trail-fender-34sc&ved=2ahUKEwiC9PXizKHyAhWfpZUCHb0_CKwQFnoECAYQAg&sqi=2&usg=AOvVaw3Bb9oWcAuvE0gtp7GGkDUG

 

PS ... different models depending on the screw configuration on the fork.

Hi Chris, if only my fork had the screws, mine doesn't, so can't use that Syncros ????

[BSG]

18 minutes ago, Spafsack said:

Hi Chris, if only my fork had the screws, mine doesn't, so can't use that Syncros ????

I don't mind weight and I bought one of these in the UK because I like the look of it and it works way better than any small ones.

[Trashy]

I'm super happy with mine.

For the price, it does a great job of keeping mud away from fork seals.

As long as you're not expecting full protection you can't really go wrong with one of those.

[Alouette3]

Lots of those cheap plastic mud guards out on the trails. I've got a CSixx on my Pike and happy with it, keeps a lot of crud out my face and some of the dynamic parts up front. Can't go wrong for the money. Most bike shops will have some form of that guard sold at the counter.

I used to years back get the templates off the net and cut them out of plastic chopping mats that you get from a China shop for R25 a pack of 2/3.

 

[Mountain Bru]

8 hours ago, Spafsack said:

Hi everyone. I suspect i know the answer to my question but perhaps there is a small percentage of peeps who use these small mini front mud guards, fenders, which are happy....I dont expect it to stop everything like hectic mud, but who has fitted these and what are your thoughts. What are the pro's and con's, then again, at R150 i guess i cant expect full protection. I am looking at one of these C6 ones for my sid ultimate fork. Which i had the newer forks which have the screws in so you can properly mount the syncros mini fender, but such is life, please advise. 

Here's a piece of art to show why they work, and why they don't need to be bigger:

 

Science tells us that whatever mud/water/cow poop/stone is flung off the tyre while it spins will fly off mostly tangentially to the rotation of the tyre (black arrows). (I know this isn't 100% true due to centrifugal force, but lets pretend it is because this isn't engineering class, and the concept is the same)

The stuff in the green zone will hit the frame/fork crown, and possibly build up there, but not hit you in the face assuming your wheel is straight. If your wheel is turned, good chance it flies past you and your face remains cow poop and mud free. 

There probably wont be too much stuff flung off in the blue zone as most things would have already been flung off. In any case, this stuff will just land in front of you or hit your head tube/tyre as you move forward.

Red zone is the problem zone. Remember you're travelling forward (lets say at a constant speed), but the stuff that's been flung up is decelerating and not moving forward as fast anymore. You're therefore gonna hit that red zone with your face / body and end up with face full of poop or whatever you just rode through. If you're a new parent, maybe this is normal, but I prefer to keep my face poop free. 

But from my super detailed artwork, you can see that the only stuff you really need to worry about is the red zone stuff, and so your mudguard only really needs to block this stuff and therefore doesn't have to be that long to keep the majority of the crud your tyre picks up out of your teeth and off your stanchions. 

Edited August 8, 2021 by Mountain Bru

[patches]

I think Mucky Nutz were one of the fist companies to make these style fenders. I remember seeing them on a French Alps DH trip in 2012 for 10 Euro (which seemed ridiculous for what it was),

On a subsequent Alps trip (2014) we decided to buy 1 and use it as a template to cut out some copies from cheap plastic chopping boards (almost the same material).

We used them on the front and back of our DH bikes. We underestimated the mud.

Rear mud guard didn't last much past day 1. got so caked up that it ripped through the cable-tie holes and flew off into the countryside.

My legs 1/2 day into the trip.

(me foolishly thinking that despite the water the ground underneath was settled, semi-firm, and ridable)

 

Edited August 8, 2021 by patches

[DJR]

Somewhere here on Bikehub is a thread with a template you can use to cut out a fender from an old discarded plastic container. It works very well. Just can't seem to find it. My memory seems better than the search function today. 

Sure Google will have a thousand answers too, but I don't feel crossing swords with her today.????

Edited August 9, 2021 by DJR

[Spafsack]

7 hours ago, Mountain Bru said:

Here's a piece of art to show why they work, and why they don't need to be bigger:

 

Science tells us that whatever mud/water/cow poop/stone is flung off the tyre while it spins will fly off mostly tangentially to the rotation of the tyre (black arrows). (I know this isn't 100% true due to centrifugal force, but lets pretend it is because this isn't engineering class, and the concept is the same)

The stuff in the green zone will hit the frame/fork crown, and possibly build up there, but not hit you in the face assuming your wheel is straight. If your wheel is turned, good chance it flies past you and your face remains cow poop and mud free. 

There probably wont be too much stuff flung off in the blue zone as most things would have already been flung off. In any case, this stuff will just land in front of you or hit your head tube/tyre as you move forward.

Red zone is the problem zone. Remember you're travelling forward (lets say at a constant speed), but the stuff that's been flung up is decelerating and not moving forward as fast anymore. You're therefore gonna hit that red zone with your face / body and end up with face full of poop or whatever you just rode through. If you're a new parent, maybe this is normal, but I prefer to keep my face poop free. 

But from my super detailed artwork, you can see that the only stuff you really need to worry about is the red zone stuff, and so your mudguard only really needs to block this stuff and therefore doesn't have to be that long to keep the majority of the crud your tyre picks up out of your teeth and off your stanchions. 

Hey MB, thanx for this detailed explanation ???? I see the c6 ones are only R150, rockshocks on takealot are R250, i think for R150 you cant go wrong. Will cost me more time and effort to make one up myself, so will order and try get delivery this week, then i can test.  

[MORNE]

Just as a side note after that detailed explanation by Bru, these don't work that well on a rigid fork bike. They only really work well on suspension forks(what they are designed for)) or if they really hug the tire closely.

I tried one on my rigid fork last winter and because you basically have to mount it closer to the crown with a bigger gap between the tire and the mudguard…it’s too high up to stop alot of the stuff that wants to hit you in the face, and the crud inevitably ends up in your face…even though it is still in the ‘red zone’ as pictured in detailed explanation.

[Eddy Gordo]

Those floppy guards are just too short. decent at keeping dust off the stanchions, but mud goes everywhere.

Currently I am shopping for the RRP pro guard and I found this at sportsmanwarehouse. 

https://www.sportsmanswarehouse.co.za/product/polisport-x-cape-front-mudguard/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsKCpraej8gIVysLtCh1KVgrYEAQYASABEgJGCfD_BwE

I didnt buy as I want the direct mount option that the RRP guards have. They must have a reason why they make a big and small guard. Mudhugger are similar in design.

Edited August 9, 2021 by Eddy Gordo

[ChrisF]

7 minutes ago, Eddy Gordo said:

Those floppy guards are just too short. decent at keeping dust off the stanchions, but mud goes everywhere.

Currently I am shopping for the RRP pro guard and I found this at sportsmanwarehouse. 

https://www.sportsmanswarehouse.co.za/product/polisport-x-cape-front-mudguard/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsKCpraej8gIVysLtCh1KVgrYEAQYASABEgJGCfD_BwE

I didnt buy as I want the direct mount option that the RRP guards have. They must have a reason why they make a big and small guard. Mudhugger are similar in design.

Think I should give this a try on my HT roadie bike ... tired of riding into the grit flung up by the front wheel.

[Jewbacca]

The real trick is to have another hobby that you do when it rains and only ride your bikes when the weather is good......

Any sign of rain or a green wind block on Windguru an my trail running shoes or surfboard get excited. 

Mud..... pffft. Peasants

[Spafsack]

15 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

Think I should give this a try on my HT roadie bike ... tired of riding into the grit flung up by the front wheel.

Hi Eddie, this polysport one looks nice, how do you recon it mounts?