Bicycle Mechanics - exploding mudguard Batman!

My front SKS chromoplastic mudguard (fender) exploded on the way home last week. I had just come down off a kerb, there was a loud bang like a shot and suddenly part of my guard flipped up into the front wheel.

On checking, it had broken just above the lower stay mounting (where the mudflap fits) and had split right across. There were some bits of plastic had fallen away.

I hadn't hit anything.

My previous ESGE guards lasted 22 years and only replaced because a pannier got trapped in the rear wheel and buckled them.

is this built in obsolescence after only 3 years? (Like the lifetime guarantee watch which breaks down and severs your wrist with it's mainspring?)

Yes, Chewa, this is the fault of you living in Scotland.

You use ridgid plastic mud guards in Scotland, don't you?

This is tragic. Tragic indeed.

It is for this reason that in the USA, we use rubber mud guards almost exclusively (we can tell who the foreigners are here by those who use ridgid plastic mudguards).

You are lucky you weren't killed by the mudguard blow-out. I, for one, am very glad you are still with us.

They are supposed to be virtually unbreakable (the last ones were!) They are the silver ones for road bikes.

mudguards (http://www.chickencycles.co.uk/products/mudguards/)

You're a Solicitor, get Rumpole out of retirement and sue the manufacturer for shoddy materials and construction tactics...

Actually, you're probably right about the planned obsolesence. It is, most likely, an inferior grade of plastic used to save mfg costs and increase profits through more frequent replacements.

There are some good aluminum fenders available that are as light as plastic --I think one company is ZEFAL, The same guys that make pumps.

Glad the mudguard failure didn't cause tyre or rider failure.

Chewa,
I think I have those same mudguards on my commuter! At least the same brand. I believe mine are the ones that say "previously known as ESGE chromoplastics." It would be interesting to figure out exactly what happened.
Regards,
Raymond

I may have the same units on my Capo. Now you have me scared.

Are you sure it was a problem with the mud guard itself? I don't have mud guards, but I would think that coming down off of a curb would make them bounce a little. The harder you come off the curb, the more bounce you would get out of the mud guard.

If the mud guard was to contact the wheel (especially if you have knobbies), it would be easy to break something like that. All that it would have to do is get caught on the tread while you are rolling. If you have any kind of momentum, you won't feel a thing when it gets caught and breaks.

It's just like when you break a CD. Squeeze the ends until they come close to touching. It will eventually explode into a bunch of little pieces! (kids DO NOT try this at home! This includes you kobyj! You are the biggest kid of us all!)

My SKS have a safety release on the front stays. Did yours? Did they release? Was there any safety implication in the breakage?