Crud Roadracer Mudguard Set

Beasty

There was a thread about these a few weks ago, and I thought I would report back on my experiences given the weather we had last week.

As I mentioned in the earlier thread, installation was fiddly, but still relatively straightforward. They were very effective in the rain, and I had little problem going through standing water once the rain had stopped.

However I have had a number of issues:

1. The brushes which guide the guards on the wheels are generally relatively quiet when dry. However when wet they do squeak. Fortunately this is drowned out by traffic noise most of the time, but can still be a little annoying.
2. The guards are in three parts, joined together with small plastic nuts and bolts. Unfortnately one of these worked itself loose on Friday, and I lost the back section of the front guard (although the remaining sections were still quite effective)
3. They have already left marks where they attach to the frame/forks.

Hence although I think they are very effective, my overall impression is not particularly positive.

CheGuedara

Thanks for that - was wondering how they performed and was waiting for a real user review before deciding on 'em

doozerie

Beasty wrote: »

1. The brushes which guide the guards on the wheels are generally relatively quiet when dry. However when wet they do squeak. Fortunately this is drowned out by traffic noise most of the time, but can still be a little annoying.

I've read somewhere, possibly on www.bikeradar.com that any noises from the brushes disappear after about 100 miles or so of use.

Beasty wrote: »

2. The guards are in three parts, joined together with small plastic nuts and bolts. Unfortnately one of these worked itself loose on Friday, and I lost the back section of the front guard (although the remaining sections were still quite effective)

Apparently if you write to them, the manufacturers will replace these parts free of charge.

Beasty wrote: »

3. They have already left marks where they attach to the frame/forks.

The instructions suggest that you put something like insulating tape on the frame to protect it. That is generally a good idea anyway whenever you are mounting something onto a painted part of the frame.

doozerie

Oh, and for anyone that is trying to decide between these mudguards and Race Blades, the back of the Crud rear mudguard is either the same length as, or a little longer than the read Race Blade (depending on the size of your frame, etc.). As such, I think the only benefit from the rear mudguard is the extra length on the front section of it (not sure how much actual protection is provided by that as yet though).

The front Crud mudguard is substantially longer than the front Race Blade though, so it should certainly provide more protection.

lafors

Beasty wrote: »

There was a thread about these a few weks ago, and I thought I would report back on my experiences given the weather we had last week.

As I mentioned in the earlier thread, installation was fiddly, but still relatively straightforward. They were very effective in the rain, and I had little problem going through standing water once the rain had stopped.

However I have had a number of issues:

1. The brushes which guide the guards on the wheels are generally relatively quiet when dry. However when wet they do squeak. Fortunately this is drowned out by traffic noise most of the time, but can still be a little annoying.
2. The guards are in three parts, joined together with small plastic nuts and bolts. Unfortnately one of these worked itself loose on Friday, and I lost the back section of the front guard (although the remaining sections were still quite effective)
3. They have already left marks where they attach to the frame/forks.

Hence although I think they are very effective, my overall impression is not particularly positive.

I've been using them too.
1. I haven't found the brushes squeak when wet but they do make some noise, unnoticable with traffic noise as you say.
2. I knew the way they were connected, that the plastic thumbscrews would be a problem so I just used some loctite threadlock on them, no problems so far.
3. I had the clear plastic shields that the raceblades use (I have a set but they don't fit my bike) so I just put them on where it attaches, no marks

I suppose you're summary is right, 2 of the problems you're having I fixed myself which I shouldn't have to do. But I'd still recommend them....once you don't mind fiddling with them to get it right.

Beasty

doozerie wrote: »

I've read somewhere, possibly on www.bikeradar.com that any noises from the brushes disappear after about 100 miles or so of use.

Done about 300 miles on them so far, but probably 50-75 in the wet. As I mentioned, they are no problem in the dry

doozerie wrote: »

Apparently if you write to them, the manufacturers will replace these parts free of charge.

That's good. My concern is this may happen quite often. I have been hand tightening them whenever I remember, which is probably a couple of times a week (I know the instructions advise this before every ride)

doozerie

Beasty wrote: »

That's good. My concern is this may happen quite often. I have been hand tightening them whenever I remember, which is probably a couple of times a week (I know the instructions advise this before every ride)

This page on their website gives their postal address and says that spare parts are available by sending them a 1st class (UK) stamp.

There is a discussion of them on this BikeRadar page where there are a mix of views on the extension pieces. Some people have had them come undone and fall off, others have had no problems. One of the people from Crud posted in the discussion too, and at least one person mentions having received replacement parts from him after losing one of the extensions.

I fitted them to my wife's bike recently and they've remained in place so far. Only time will really tell whether they'll continue to stay in place but they seem pretty secure to me once well tightened. Beware of using threadlock or its alternatives though, as some of those products are not kind to plastics.

doozerie

Another thread here that may be useful to people fitting these mudguards. Includes discussions on how to adapt them a little to fit on various frames (e.g. use hot water to reshape the guard in one case - useful tip), as well as mentioning some frames/bikes that they won't fit.

blorg

I think I am going to give these a go on my winter bike (Planet X Pro Road.) Has anyone used these on a PX, I think someone has... Would be planning on pairing with 25mm tyres.

Beasty

blorg wrote: »

I think I am going to give these a go on my winter bike (Planet X Pro Road.) Has anyone used these on a PX, I think someone has... Would be planning on pairing with 25mm tyres.

Mine have just been on the Cayo. Not sure how much difference a slightly larger tyre would make, but there is not much clearance on my 23mm ones.

Turbulent Bill

I've used them for a few weeks too, so here goes:

Pros:
1. Good coverage for water, ploughed through standing water yesterday evening without any trouble.
2. Surprisingly sturdy, have put the bike in the back of the car etc. without damage. The 'floating' fit is really useful as it returns to the correct position after bending.
3. Very neat looking (for mudguards!).

Cons:
1. A bit fiddly to fit, especially the front section of the rear guard (behind the seat tube) - still haven't found a good position for this.
2. Very tight clearance means dry leaves, bits of plastic etc. thrown up the the tyres can get stuck between tyre and guard and make noise. Using 700x23c tyres, guards are supposed to work with larger sizes but I doubt that
3. Need to check screws regularly, lost one of mine for the seatstays last night. Guard still works fine though.
4. Brushes make a small noise (wet and dry), only noticeable when walking the bike.

Overall I'm very happy with them, a few teething problems with the design but it's an excellent idea.

peterako

doozerie wrote: »

This page on their website gives their postal address and says that spare parts are available by sending them a 1st class (UK) stamp.

Related question....

I need to get a replacement part for my Roadracers....

Contacted Crud and they indeed said that all I needed to do was send them a 1st Class UK stamp (with my address and a request for the part of course ).

(Yep a 1st Class UK stamp does for Ireland too )

My question:

Where can I get a 1st Class UK stamp??

My local post office doesn't have them....

Peter

07Lapierre

I use these mudguards and I think there very good.

The closeness of the guards to the wheel is unavoidable. Remember racing frames are not designed with mudguards in mind.

The little nuts do come loose, but I used plastic zip-ties instead and they don't come loose..problem solved.

The one advantage they have over raceblades is that they attach to the frame UNDER the rear brake caliper. In my experience raceblades tend to direct water and dirt onto the rear caliper, which siezes up no matter how well you clean it afterwards. I find the crud mudguards prevent this and this was the main reason I bought them in the first place.

All in All i think the crud mudguards are well designed and do the job their designed to do very well.

Stokolan

Turbulent Bill wrote: »

3. Need to check screws regularly, lost one of mine for the seatstays last night. Guard still works fine though.

From what I've read over on the bike radar forums if you contact the manufacturer they will send you replacement screws.

Beasty

peterako wrote: »

Related question....

My question:

Where can I get a 1st Class UK stamp??

My local post office doesn't have them....

Peter

I have a couple (one will not work, whatever they say!)
PM me if you want them

victorcarrera

Fitted a set of these to my Focus cayo medium/23c tyres/ultegrabrakes last week.
Clearance to calipers and frame seem to be particularly tight on this bike and brakes, compared to my other bikes with tektro brakes.
Initially couldnt get them to fit without the front or rear parts binding on tyre so had to remove them and leave them stretched using props for 2 days in order to increase the circumference.
I thought the rubber orings were a little overstretched when fitted to aero front fork.
Otherwise no other fitting problems.
Only disappointment in use is that the rear guard does not extend all the way to the bottom bracket like other ones I have used in the past. So your front derailer, seatpost and chainrings are more exposed. They will keep the muck off your rear end and the brakes though.
My opinion: Reasonably happy. But if I had to go again I would chose to spend more time cutting and reshaping the full length SKS or TOR TEC for the extra protection.

blorg

victorcarrera wrote: »

But if I had to go again I would chose to spend more time cutting and reshaping the full length SKS or TOR TEC for the extra protection.

You would need to P-Clip them on to the frame though, not sure whether I would be mad on doing that to a carbon frame.

victorcarrera

blorg wrote: »

You would need to P-Clip them on to the frame though, not sure whether I would be mad on doing that to a carbon frame.

From what I've read the crud roadracers will mark the frame also if you don't use insulating tape or similar. I got free p clips with rubber bushings in Jimmy Stags with the last set i bought there. Or you can pad them out with a slice of old inner tube.

Lumen

victorcarrera wrote: »

From what I've read the crud roadracers will mark the frame also if you don't use insulating tape or similar. I got free p clips with rubber bushings in Jimmy Stags with the last set i bought there. Or you can pad them out with a slice of old inner tube.

I discovered last night that black duct tape (Gorilla brand) works better than insulating tape for frame protection, as it's sufficiently squishy whilst not getting gouged so easily if you need to rotate the fixture.

Heavy though...

blorg

victorcarrera wrote: »

From what I've read the crud roadracers will mark the frame also if you don't use insulating tape or similar. I got free p clips with rubber bushings in Jimmy Stags with the last set i bought there. Or you can pad them out with a slice of old inner tube.

The rubber doesn't stay on in my experience and that leaves you with a sharp bit of metal gouging into the frame. Inner tube could do it.

Race blades also mark but it is a trivial sort of marking, not the sort of thing that would be doing any structural damage. Same sort of thing you get from cable rub.

el tel

After much deliberation I got a set of these and used them last Saturday for the first time. They seem OK, handy enough to fit with a bit of assistance and appear to sit true enough. I can't quite get the cable tie over the rear calliper fixing bolt as tight as I'd like but dosen't seem to make any difference. A few guys in the bunch were using them and they all look very tidy.

The moment of truth will come when I encounter that thick gravelly mud which can totally foul-up normal mudguards. I fully expect controlled disintegration.

victorcarrera

One other thing I like about the Crud roadracers is the glass stays which are designed to break if they ever work loose and go into spokes.

victorcarrera

el tel wrote: »

I can't quite get the cable tie over the rear calliper fixing bolt as tight as I'd like but dosen't seem to make any difference.
The moment of truth will come when I encounter that thick gravelly mud which can totally foul-up normal mudguards. I fully expect controlled disintegration.

That will happen with any tight fitting mudguard from time to time. If you have time to stop its best to remove the wheels and clean it out. If you havent, riding through water can clear them temporarily.
Minimum 5mm clearance is recomended for Crud roadracers. You should try to achieve this when first fitting if possible.
Re: Cable ties. I found that if I tightened them they rubbed on the tyres so I left them slightly loose as they float on the rims anyhow.

el tel

victorcarrera wrote: »

That will happen with any tight fitting mudguard from time to time. If you have time to stop its best to remove the wheels and clean it out. If you havent, riding through water can clear them temporarily.
Minimum 5mm clearance is recomended for Crud roadracers. You should try to achieve this when first fitting if possible.
Re: Cable ties. I found that if I tightened them they rubbed on the tyres so I left them slightly loose as they float on the rims anyhow.

I know all too well that it happens, I've had both front and rear wheels seizing beneath conventional mudguards. With the crud road racers though I'm expecting them to come apart as per their design.

victorcarrera

el tel wrote: »

I know all too well that it happens, I've had both front and rear wheels seizing beneath conventional mudguards. With the crud road racers though I'm expecting them to come apart as per their design.

That remains to be seen. We certainly have the weather at the moment and the maintenance free roads to test them out. Im sure any weakness will be exploited and well documented before winters out.

BostonB

Are these better or just different to Race Blades?

victorcarrera

BostonB wrote: »

Are these better or just different to Race Blades?

Crud Roadracers are a new product so remains to be seen. We will know more after the winter is over.
I use Roadracers and full length SKS and TOR TEC but not Race Blades.
From what I have seen of the Race Blades they don't seem to protect the brake calipers or the headset bottom bearing. That alone was a straight fail for me as I thought they would cost me more time and cash in the long run.

07Lapierre

victorcarrera wrote: »

Crud Roadracers are a new product so remains to be seen. We will know more after the winter is over.
I use Roadracers and full length SKS and TOR TEC but not Race Blades.
From what I have seen of the Race Blades they don't seem to protect the brake calipers or the headset bottom bearing. That alone was a straight fail for me as I thought they would cost me more time and cash in the long run.

+1 thats the main reason I bought crud mudguards. Raceblades don't protect the brake calipers. Both will keep your arse dry, but for me the cruds fit better and look better too. All the criticisims so far are pretty minor IMO.

blorg

Race Blades don't "protect" the brake calipers but I've honestly never found this to be an issue. You just have to clean some mud off them, two second job. Never had problems with the headset either.

A big benefit of race blades is that they are literally five seconds on or off, while I believe the Crud guards are a lot more tricky. But in this case it would be for my winter bike so they would be going on and staying on. I am wondering if the Crud guards would keep their position better than the Race Blades. On the other hand there is the possibility that they will not fit great with 25mm tyres.

BostonB

I've an older FCR that won't take most mudguards. I know Giant do specific mudguards that fit around the calipers, but perhaps something else would do aswell. Having problems sourcing the Giant ones.

briano

I have a pair of these, tried to fit them to a Giant Defy with 25c tyres.

The front fits, although it is fiddly. The back doesn't fit at all, it wedges between the frame and the tyre, which is disappointing.

BostonB

I asked them and Mr Crud (love the name) suggested that they work on a Giant with a 23 tyre and if you still have about 4mm clearance. IMO, the problem seems make worse on the Giant as they don't have much clearance, and that not all tyres of the same width are the same height. Their Kenda 25c tyres seem to be bigger then others. I have 23 on my Giant FCR and was going to check the clearance, might get to it tonight. I've heard the new 2010 Giants have more clearance. I can't confirm that though.

xz

Used these for the first time today, after having a pair of mk1 last year and binning them after 2-3 spins, Overall I was quite impressed, no rubbing (except for out of saddle efforts, due to wheel flex). Plenty of positive comments from those that had been behind me during the spin. The longer tail piece on the rear mud guard does have a tendency to flap about a bit (not very aero). Really happy with the chainstay protection, the bike was relatively clean, even after some wet, leave soaked roads.
The real test will come on a wet, rainy day. But from todays venture on wettish roads I was quite happy.

On a negative, just like the mk1's, you need to be very patient when fitting, as they are quite fiddly, and I found, that even the position of the locking on ALL the cable ties, can throw the mudguards off a bit to cause rubbing, this was the bit I spent a lot of time on, positioning the lock part of the ties to a position of NO rubbing, and like the video shows, a final "pull up" of the mud guards just behind the brake bridge, and they settle into place.

P.S. Mine are fitted to a Boardman Team Alu.

victorcarrera

You can convert Mk1 to Mk2 easily by purchasing the rear nose and tail pieces at £6 stg each directly from Crud.
I wasn't happy with the Mk1 protection for the front derailer and chainset (as per my earlier post) so I just bought the Mk2 rear nose piece. Fitting was straightforward.

Ryaner

blorg wrote: »

I am wondering if the Crud guards would keep their position better than the Race Blades. On the other hand there is the possibility that they will not fit great with 25mm tyres.

They have a section that cable ties into the brakes, or at least mine do. I'd assume they'd be held in place by that. However since my bike didn't have enough clearance to get the guard through, let alone secure it, I can't say for sure.

Actually have a set of the MK1 version for sale if anyone is interested. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=69023073

Paul Kiernan

blorg wrote: »

I think I am going to give these a go on my winter bike (Planet X Pro Road.) Has anyone used these on a PX, I think someone has... Would be planning on pairing with 25mm tyres.

Sorry for delay, just spotted this now!

I put a pair of Mk1 Cruds on my PX SL Pro last week. I had 25c Stelvios fitted. Was out on Wednesday in Wicklow in dry conditions but wet dirty roads. The rear was fine but the front kept fouling up with road grit, leaf mush, etc.. I had to stop, remove wheel and clear dirt which was gathering near fork crown area. Eventually I started zig-zagging into every puddle I spotted so the water would wash it clear!

I then changed to 23c Lugano at the front and was out Saturday in similiar conditions. It was reasonably OK but some rubbing was still happening. It then started to pelt down and they were great, absolute lifesavers.

In summary, great if very wet or bone dry but not sure about the roads I cycle on 90% of the time! Maybe another 23c with lower profile would be better.

Turbulent Bill

I've a set of Mk1s for about a year now, pretty happy with them overall. You can get some noise from leaves etc. being scooped up by the wheels and ground up against the mudguard, but it's minor and they clean themselves quickly. Have taken a reasonable bashing going in cars etc. and still work ok.

In a spectacular piece of clumsiness I managed to get some toe overlap when moving away from traffic lights, which mangled the tip of the front mudguard and broke the stay mounting point. Still works fine just cantilevered off one stay.

Paul Kiernan

I see Boardsie Tackleberry is selling these at the remarkably good price of €15.99 in his new shop in Kilmacud. Cheapest I've seen them elsewhere is around £25 delivered - nearly twice as much:D.

victorcarrera

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

I see Boardsie Tackleberry is selling these at the remarkably good price of €15.99 in his new shop in Kilmacud. Cheapest I've seen them elsewhere is around £25 delivered - nearly twice as much:D.

Yes, but including shipping its the almsst equal.

Shipping is free on all orders over €75 euro to the island of Ireland, for orders below this the charge is €9.95.

Paul Kiernan

victorcarrera wrote: »

Yes, but including shipping its the almsst equal.

Ah, well spotted! However if (like me:)) you don't live too far away you can just pop down and buy them over the counter.

victorcarrera

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

Ah, well spotted! However if (like me:)) you don't live too far away you can just pop down and buy them over the counter.

If you do purchase, can you post and let us know if they are MK1 or 2. If they are Mk2 I might use my Saturday morning spin for shipping.