Removable mud guards on a 29er
 

Hey guys

I recently obtained a nice 29er which I plan to use as often as possible. However, when it rains I would like to keep my backpack and my face clean. Shoes and pants can get dirty, I carry spares for those. I was looking at those little mud guards that attach to the down tube, are they good enough to keep a clean face? And for the rear, is a seat post mounted plastic affair worth using? Please let me know your experiences if you are using these on your bike.

Thanks!

They won't wok well, you really need full mudguards for your bike, however I don't believe there are wide guards made for 29 wheels. Mudguards for 700c touring wheels might work.

Seat-tube mounted mud guards are usually integrated into cargo trays. So, for that, they are good. They will hold a bag (some of them come with one, such as Bontrager), but they don't block a ton of water or sloppy mud. They will keep some stuff off you but not a lot. They are also heavy and being metal they add some danger to a crash. Not a lot of risk, but more metal stuff that can land on you or vice versa is undesirable.

A 700c fender won't clear a 29x2.0 or larger tire-- not even ones made for cyclocross tires. Unfortunately my favorite MTB fenders, Topeak, aren't made for 29ers yet. (26" only.)

You also have to be worried about crashworthiness. I know Crud Fast Fenders can survive anything, since Peaty runs them on his DH bike. But it's a pretty small front fender, no rear at all.

Wish I could help more. I don't ride in the rain much and mud pretty close to never, so I haven't had much need for these products.

Check out these guys. They make bike fenders for just about every application. Ive been running the GRAND D.A.D and GRAND M.O.M fenders on my all mountain rig when it gets sloppy and they work great. Keeps the muck off me and they stay in place extremely well even when hammering through rock gardens etc. They do give the bike a bit of a moto look when installed so saying "braap" is mandatory.

http://www.sks-germany.com/?l=en&a=products&r=mudguards

Lol@braap

Thanks for the comments. I went for a down tube plank, which was only 3 euros, and a seat post mounted long plastic fender. The rear one worked admirably, almost nothing got onto my backpack (wet road, no muddy trail). The front one only works up to about 30km/h, at which point you start to catch the spray you propelled in front of you with your face. It will do for commuting though, there I cruise at 25km/h or something. I'm under no illusion that this setup will keep my goggles or neckbeard clean on a wet unpaved trail.

A littlle trick used up at Whistler a lot: piece of inner tube rubber zip-tied to the fork crown and arch. Catches all the crud the wheel tries to throw out front:

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...a/IMG_2720.jpg

THE even makes pre-fab ones now, sized for the travel of fork you have:

http://store.the-industries.com/c/fenders_mud-guard

Great idea, I'm going to kludge that up in a minute! :)