General Cycling Discussion - Do NOT buy ZEFAL mudguards!

Sweet Jesus, I've just bought the worst mudguards in the whole world.

They're ZEFAL cab fenders, for my Specialized Sirrus and they were recommended by the bike shop.

Good points. None. Absolutely none.

Bad points. Instructions are a joke, a complete joke. The parts supplied are made of cheese. The parts supplied do not fit. I eventually found a way to get the front one on, after shearing a bolt and replacing it, despite the instructions. The back one? No chance. None, at all.

I checked on the net to get a few tips or instructions with, um, pictures, but found these instead at http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Extras/product_20949.shtml:-

"These plastic "speed clips" are unreliable. Not recommended!"

"First pair of fenders I had to return - they were with defects and couldn't be installed properly."

"Anyway, installing Zefal fenders was a real pain."

"An occasional light impact is enough to crash all the system."

"I installed the seat post mounted Flamingo, swung my leg to mount up, and *SHATTER*. My foot caught the edge of the piece of crap and it blew up! No give at all. In this age of plastics, Zefal should be able to find a material that's a little more forgiving."

"The instructions suck bigtime, I 've tried every variaton of the sack of clips they give you and none of them work. Of course any form of picture or instruction would help. (Yes I can read and yes I am mechanicaly inclined) They must smoke a lot of pot in the tech writing dept. in France. Don't try their website, no pictures there either, and their "contact us" site crashes when ever you try to email them. I'll be back to the bike shop this weekend."

"I wonder how far I can bat a Twinkie with this piece of sh*t!"

"Worthless pieces of junk!
I've have never seen such inept engineering. They used cheap plastic clips to attach the stays to the CAB fender. Two of the clips broke on the first test drive. Even if they had survived the attachment is incapable of withstanding even the mildest drop off a curb. Zefal should be ashamed of producing such junk and trying to sell it for 30 bucks. My god what were they thinking. They did however do a great job on the packaging which skillfully hides this design feature until you get it home."

"Don't walk, RUN away from these cheeseball fenders."

"This flimsy piece of junk burst into pieces as I did an awesome one inch drop off on the way out of the driveway. Unlike others this did not tangle in my brake or cause anything other than laughter."

"I was riding down the street and the front portion popped off, went in front of my bike, and under my tire. I ran it over, turned around, and found little pieces all over the road, (1 lane) I would not recommend buying this product for any reason. (yes i did install it correctly)"

"I just had a hell of a time with these putting these on my computer and I must b1tch about them .
I wanted full fenders and this was the closest I could get to after several LBS trips. "Clip on" makes the installation sound like a breeze, however, the only thing that clips on is the stays to the plastic. Everything else is fairly arduous. The "instructions" leave a lot of guesswork as there's four bags of hardware and nothing is marked and there's only three diagrams for about 20 steps. Plus, a lack of alternatives within - one part requires latching to the chainstay bridge. My bike doesn't have one (I used a zip tie instead).
The worst part though is the stays bending. They have little more tensile strength than a wire hanger. After installation on both, the fender had bent away from the side I had placed on the eyelet first, so they didn't exactly align themselves up with the tire when I was complete. Try to line it back up, the stay pops out of the mount. Cool feature, huh? The washers hardly cover the required areas and I had to dig up some parts of my own to make this all work. I haven't even had them in the rain yet but I can tell that at very least, the front fender isn't low enough to prevent wet feet and a shower on the bottom bracket. Looks like I still need a mud flap. Groovy! I also don't believe I can steer the bike when my pedals are in the 3/9o'clock position. I also had to find new screws to make the rear fender fit with a rear rack. I may as well have wiped my ass with the $25 and given my money some purpose."

"This product sucks ass."

"poor mounting- fenders fall off struts unless you modify them
don't even come with enough screws for installation
coverage not complete- bottom bracket and feet get soaked
tendency to fall off when you go off curbs or anything bumpy, causing crashes"

"Mounting them is horrible; rubber feet fall off at the slightest bounce- fenders then fall off struts and into your tire, locking wheel. Make sure to break out the locktite and pliers, so nothing has a chance to fall off. No matter what you'll do, they'll rattle and rub against your tires."

"The first time I rode this fender it was -10 degress out (that's celcius people)...It started to vibrate in the wind then shattered all over the trail."

"it's tricky to install it so that it doesn't touch the tires on bumps."








Avoid, like AIDS.

£20 down the tube. I'm going to the bike shop on thursday, returning the back one, in bits. Not asking for a refund, as I've got the front ne installed, and it's not fecking coming off. I'm asking them why they've got the cheek to sell them.

Pi$$ed off. That'll teach me for trusting a bike shop when I get caught in a rain shower, instead of researching on the net.

Don't blame it on the shop after all, you were the one who bought them. So don't complain about it. The answer for good protection from the rain is a rain coat, they do make them that are within a cyclist's needs.

Don't blame it on the shop after all, you were the one who bought them. So don't complain about it.


I was wet, and asked them for a recommendation based on my bike, which I bought from them a few months ago.

They recommended complete rubbish. So I WILL blame it on the shop, thanks. I'll take some of the blame for putting trust in the bike shop.

The answer for good protection from the rain is a rain coat, they do make them that are within a cyclist's needs.


I'm sure they do, but it's not practical for me thanks.

What would you do by researching on the internet, buy the rain gear that goes on DH bikes? There is not a whole lot of options for bad weather gear for the kind of bike you have. And that was probably the closest they had that would suit your bike. In the rain you're going to get soaked no mater what you do to prevent it. While the fenders will protect you some from the spit up from the tires, it won't do a thing for the falling rain. You might want to try making your own. What's not practical about a rain coat?

What would you do by researching on the internet


Sorry I meant research for a mudguard. A "Mr. Crud Race Guard Rear", as recommended by almost everyone who reviews it, has now been ordered from an internet supplier instead.

Internet supplier - One, Local Bike Shop - Zero.

And a rain coat isn't going to do anything for my feet.

While the fenders will protect you some from the spit up from the tires, it won't do a thing for the falling rain.


In the first minute of riding yesterday, my feet were utterly saturated, it was raining very very lightly, but there was so much spray from the front tyre hitting the tube and bottle and deflecting out to my feet.

Rain I can deal with, soaking wet roads are a different matter.

In the first minute of riding yesterday, my feet were utterly saturated, it was raining very very lightly, but there was so much spray from the front tyre hitting the tube and bottle and deflecting out to my feet.

Rain I can deal with, soaking wet roads are a different matter.

There really is not anything that can avoid that.

There really is not anything that can avoid that.


Well I was kinda hoping that a front guard would protect most of my feet and a rear guard would stop spray going up my back.

What are mudguards for, if not to help in these areas?!?

MUd guards are for protecting the clothing, not shoes, but since it is hard to avoid, I find it pointless to use anything to block it.

Fenders are one of my least favorite accessories to install.

First of all, in almost every case, the fender and the bicycle are designed by different people. In other words, you're starting with two dissimilar products from different manufacturers that aren't designed to go together. Customers, on the other hand, having bought a product for a specific purpose, expect them to work together. Most shop employees have little experience with fenders and, consequently, are poorly prepared to advise people as to what will reasonably work. The more certain the sales person is that they will just go on with no problems, the less likely it is that he has ever actually installed a pair.

The only way that I will agree to install a pair of fenders today is on a time and material basis at $60.00 per hour. While it's possible that I may be able to install a pair in 20 minutes or so, in most cases it's going to involve a lot of trial fitting, bending and cutting and possibly fabricating some of the supporting hardware. I've had more experience doing this type of job than most people and consequently I'm faster than most. Never-the-less, I tell people to expect at least a $50.00 labor charge and, if you have an unusual frame configuration or short wheelbase racing geometry, it can run to twice that.

That is the unappealing truth. Like I say, fenders are one of my least favorite accessories to install.

MUd guards are for protecting the clothing, not shoes


Well, the front guard, which I'm keeping, is currently protecting my feet from spray fine. Fitting it was a complete dog, really don't recommend them.

I have Zefal fenders on my bike. They were not fun to install but I've never had a single problem with them for about 2000km so far. Plus they're made of cheese so I can have a snack on the go.

Mine are full fenders with stays, not clip-on.

I've got Zeffels on my commuter. They were a pain to install, but they work like a champ. I added a flexible plastic extension on the front mudguard Link (http://www.phred.org/~alex/bikes/fendermudflap.html) and now even my feet stay dry.

I've had pretty good luck with most Zefal products I've tried but
their fenders didn't get very good reviews here...

http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Extras/product_20949.shtml

I work in a shop and we reccomend a rack with a built in "fender" in the back and a cut down coke bottle, 2-liter, and some zip ties in the front. If you are the kind of nancy boy that needs real fenders :) , we also sell a bunch of different models for those that choose not to listen to us, that would, of course, be most customers

All one will ever need are the ESGE/SKS fenders (plastic laminated aluminum) with splash guards made from cut up water bottles. If your bike doesn't have fender braze-ons then grab some of those rubber covered strap clamps that usually come with cheap pannier racks (any LBS will have 100's in a box if they're smart).

There are all sorts of tricks to get these fenders mounted on to bikes with small clearances between tire and frame but because of the Al core you can cut away a fair bit without weakening the fender.

I've got 1000's of kms with this combo and it's the dryest you can be in the rain.

Don't blame it on the shop after all, you were the one who bought them. So don't complain about it. The answer for good protection from the rain is a rain coat, they do make them that are within a cyclist's needs.

perhaps he primarily wanted them to lessen mud and other junk spraying a rat's tail on his back ... obviously they werent going to prevent his clothes from wetting due to the rain

I have these (http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?productId=2390194&storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&langId=-1&color=&img=/largeimages/647046.jpg&view=large) Zefal clip on fenders. Mounting them was not tremedously difficult on my bike; however I can't recommend the clip-on/clip-off system. I never remove them.

The front fender works well. The back fender is too short and doesn't provide the coverage it should. Between the fender, the rack, and my backpack, I manage though.

What I can't believe is how much you paid for these things. At $10.00 these are about 1/4 the price of yours.

They are a good value at $10.00 but junk at $40.00.

Dan

I like my zefal fenders (not of the clip-on variety though). Mine (for 700c) require a spanner to tighten/adjust a nut so obviously Zefal have messed up on the newer designs. Btw, I've read that SKS make the best mudguards.

Fenders, in general, will not stop rain falling on you, but rain, unlike road muck, is clean and drinkable. Fenders keep my clothes clean, and enable me to ride on wet roads when its not raining, without a waterproof. Anyone who thinks waterproofs are good to ride in is having you on.
The best fenders are SKS chromoplastic, they work, they fit, they stay on. The only bad fitting is on the rear chainstay bridge, and this is best replaced by a zip tie. The emergency release system of SKS works well and protects you from accidents.

what fenders does the kona smoke use?

It's French revenge.

All one will ever need are the ESGE/SKS fenders (plastic laminated aluminum) with splash guards made from cut up water bottles. If your bike doesn't have fender braze-ons then grab some of those rubber covered strap clamps that usually come with cheap pannier racks (any LBS will have 100's in a box if they're smart).

There are all sorts of tricks to get these fenders mounted on to bikes with small clearances between tire and frame but because of the Al core you can cut away a fair bit without weakening the fender.

I've got 1000's of kms with this combo and it's the dryest you can be in the rain.

And this is exactly what I have fitted to my Zurich. As you mentioned, I had to cut them because of inadequate clearance between the forks and seat stays, but a few bent brackets and the strap clamps got them secured and a destroyed water bottle keep me and my drivetrain clean and dry.

I have these (http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?productId=2390194&storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&langId=-1&color=&img=/largeimages/647046.jpg&view=large) Zefal clip on fenders. Mounting them was not tremedously difficult on my bike; however I can't recommend the clip-on/clip-off system. I never remove them.



Dan
Thats the kind of Zefal fenders I have. I bought them years ago but I seldom use them. I never had any trouble with them though.