Mudguard Installation Issues

OHsnow!!!!!

Hi all,

bought mudguards recently (despite hating the look of them on my bike) and I'm having issues installing them. No instructions came with the mudguards.

I'm either installing these wrong or else the mudguards are missing screws.

The mudguards came with 8 of these screws and bolts.


Which I assume are used to connect these (Which annoyingly, the tops stick out when attached to the bike, am I supposed to cut the excess length or what?)


To these


Like this


This leaves me with no other screws to attach them to the frame. So I improvised with cable ties which are less than satisfactory because they dont provide a firm attachement to the eyes on the frame (despite them being tightly applied).



Nor was there a part to attach the rear mudguard to the bottom of the frame



Is anyone familiar with these type of mudguards? Am I doing something wrong or did I buy a s**t product?

Any replies would be greatly appreciated.

Coronal

Hi,

I have the same mudguards. It's unusual that you have so much excess (I presume you have a standard 700c/28" wheel, right?), but how and ever. There should have been little black plastic tops for the skewers, which they fit into on my bike.

As regards the screws, most bikes with eyelets come with them, so they tend not to be included with the mudguards. If you find a screw size that fits into your frame, just use that. I use a cable tie to attach it behind the bottom bracket (it works fine in this location).

I find them ok, but a bit fragile if you have to turn the bike over to fix a puncture - mine have cracks in them from putting the bike weight on this while it goes over

OHsnow!!!!!

Cheers mate,

I think my wheels are standard size (its a road bike with a large frame). I do have the plastic tops too. I guess I was just disappointed with the lack of screws for the eyelets.

C3PO

Never mind the mudguards ..... do you ever use any oil on that chain/cassette? :rolleyes:

LastGasp

I got similar guards a while back, and they included the screws for the frame, and the clip thingy for to attach the front end of the rear guard. They should have been included, unless you bought second-hand ? No way you would be expected to have these from whenever you might have bought your bike.

tomasrojo

I helped a friend install these very mudguards in the last fortnight.

The stays do need to be shortened. I used a junior hacksaw, a pliers and a file. Work out how long the stays need to be, start sawing (take the stays off the bike and out of the mudguard) and when you're about half way through the stay, try snapping off the remainder with the pliers. Then you need to file the end so that it can fit through the hole in the mudguard, since it bends a bit when you're snapping off the excess.

Alas, you're right; the mudguards don't come with bolts for fixing them to the frame. I just went through the boxes of old bolts that my friend and I have separately amassed until I found some that would do the trick.

OHsnow!!!!!

tomasrojo wrote: »

Alas, you're right; the mudguards don't come with bolts for fixing them to the frame. I just went through the boxes of old bolts that my friend and I have separately amassed until I found some that would do the trick.

Thats what I was fearing. Hopefully Ill find something in the garage that will cut it rather than have to take them off and use a hacksaw (im lazy and im also a perfectionist who hates when something isnt cut perfectly).

"Never mind the mudguards ..... do you ever use any oil on that chain/cassette?"

Very good question RPL1. Makes me wonder why the hell i spent €45 on a supposed service in a well known bike shop in kilmacud hint hint. No idea what they did with the bike. The only evidence I saw was a screw that had been turned on the brake callipers. They didnt even make sure that the gear changes were calibrated properly despite me telling them to have a look at it. Couldnt be bothered going back to complain. I just know I'll never set foot in there again.

Lumen

If they're SKS chromoplastics, the ones I've bought have come with plenty of fittings.

Cutting those stays is normal. I used a dremel to cut them when the guards are fitted, but need to be careful that the blade doesn't jump off and scuff the guard.

RPL1 wrote: »

Never mind the mudguards ..... do you ever use any oil on that chain/cassette? :rolleyes:

You oil your cassette?

tomasrojo

OHsnow!!!!! wrote: »

"Never mind the mudguards ..... do you ever use any oil on that chain/cassette?"

Very good question RPL1. Makes me wonder why the hell i spent €45 on a supposed service in a well known bike shop in kilmacud hint hint.

They're all like that in my experience. This used to bother me as well. I tried leaving my bike in for a "full service" in several bike shops over the years, and they never changed chains, brake pads, whatever. I ended up doing an inspection myself and telling them explicitly to change the chain, or whatever needed doing. Then I realised that I might as well just do all the work myself.

I guess no shop will pore over your bike for just €45. Also, if parts needed changing, they'd have to ring you up and ask you whether you were prepared to pay for the parts and labour. Maybe it's just too much trouble to do the kind of service you might expect for a car. It does mean that if you do a lot of cycling you usually have to learn basic maintenance yourself, or at least basic inspection so that you can write a list of jobs to hand to the bike shop.

tomasrojo

I think it's a freewheel rather than a cassette. I did used to oil these (well, drip oil into them once or twice a year), but I haven't owned a bike with one in a few years.

tomasrojo

OHsnow!!!!!, I'd also look into some bolts rather than the cable ties, at least for the points where the stays meet the seat stays or fork. In particular, I can imagine the mudguard stays interacting with the spokes in a potentially hazardous way when the cable tie snaps, which it will eventually.

Bunnyhopper

Is that bit you have zip-tied on supposed to go around the axle? That is, loosen the nuts at either end of the rear axle, slip the metal supports around the axle so the bolt is in the loops at the bends in the supports, then re-tighten the nuts?

Gavin

Definitely you are meant to get all the fittings. Bring them back.

You can use a mini bolt cutters to snip the stays, very easy.

tomasrojo

Gavin wrote: »

Definitely you are meant to get all the fittings. Bring them back.

You can use a mini bolt cutters to snip the stays, very easy.

They definitely came without frame bolts when my friend bought them. If you go back to the shop, they'll probably give you the bolts for free. They probably have the right ones in a bag of floor sweepings or something.

The mudguard stays aren't meant to be looped around the axle, I'm sure.

A dremel or bolt cutters would definitely be better than the junior hacksaw approach which I used. I had to replace the blade at the end, and it took ages. On the other hand, junior hacksaw blades cost 50c, and the hacksaw itself about €2. I did read that you most definitely should not use a cable cutters though, unless you don't need it to cut cables ever again.

kincsem

The "problem" with mudguards is that they can not be perfect for every bike because bikes have different geometries.

I fitted mudguards to my Felt singlespeed a couple of years back and found that the attachment wires were not ideal for my bike - one arm of the wire was too long (like yours) and one arm of the wire was too short. I got around this by re-bending the wire so I had one long arm and one short arm. The reason for my "problem" was that the mudguard attachment point on my bike was high on the seat stay.

A month ago I got mudguards fitted to my other bike by CycleSuperStore and they did a perfect job. Someone doing it as a first time job like you or me just hasn't had the experience to work around the little problems easily.

Woodies are a good place for nuts, bolts, washers.


Nor was there a part to attach the rear mudguard to the bottom of the frame

But is there a hole through the frame at that point ? (looks like there is.)
If there is a hole then you put a bolt through the frame hole, and through the mudguard.
Use washers to protect the mudguard, preferably plastic.
You might need to drill a hole in the mudguard at the right spot (because all bikes are different the mudguard manufacturer can not pre-drill the hole.)

OHsnow!!!!!

Cheers for all the responses everyone. I'm gonna go back to the bike shop and get the bolts and nuts in the morning and do a proper job of it.

kona

Ah these mudguards. Id reccomend letting a mechanic who HAS fitted them before to do the job. I hated fitting them and only got competant at them after fitting 4 or 5.

An easy way to find the length to cut the arms is to mount them onto the bike, mark where they meet the kinda serrated part on the tyre wall , cut them at the top of this.

If you have a decent toolbox a wire stripper can be used to guilletine the arms to size, hacksaw i found to be too slow!.

Screws for the eyelets are M4 I think, same as bottle cage bolts, you may need to either cut these or use washers to stop them hitting the chain.

Certainly one of the worst things to fit.