Mudguards

Full-length or clip-on mudguards?

Full-length guards, such as the SKS Chromoplastic range, wrap most of the wheel, take a mudflap and keep both you and the rider behind you dry, but they need eyelets at the dropouts and a bridge or clearance at the fork crown and seatstays. Clip-on guards fit any bike with rubber straps or a seatpost clamp and go on in minutes, at the cost of coverage — spray still reaches your feet and the bottom bracket. Mountain bike guards are a different thing again: a front fender zip-tied to the fork arch and a short rear guard aimed at keeping mud out of your eyes rather than off your clothes.

Will mudguards fit my bike?

Three things decide it: eyelets at the dropouts and rear bridge, clearance between tyre and frame, and guard width. A guard should be at least 10mm wider than the tyre, so a 32mm tyre wants a 45mm guard. Frames sold as clearance for 28mm tyres will often only take 25mm tyres once guards are fitted. If your frame has no eyelets, the answer is clip-ons or a set with P-clips. Guards are often sold on when a rider changes frames, so a set may come with stays cut to a previous bike's length — which is not fatal, but check before buying, and the same applies to the fittings that come with racks in bag and pannier racks.

What should I check on used mudguards?

Check the stays first: bent stays can be straightened, but stays cut short cannot be lengthened, and a set without its stays is nearly worthless. Look at where the stay meets the guard for cracks around the eyelet, which is where plastic guards split after a stick or a stone jams under them. On SKS-type guards, confirm the safety-release clips at the fork ends are present and still snap in, because they are the part that stops the guard from locking the front wheel if something jams. Check the mudflap has not gone brittle, look for the small bolts, washers and P-clips in the seller's photos, and check aluminium guards for creased or dented sections that will rub the tyre. Rusty stays and a missing bag of hardware turn a cheap set into an afternoon of sourcing M5 bolts.

Are used mudguards worth buying?

Yes, provided the set is complete. A full-length set with all stays, bolts and bridge fittings at half of new is a good buy, since the plastic itself barely wears. An incomplete set is worth very little because the hardware is what you actually need. Buy new if you want guards for a specific frame with unusual clearances, or if you need a set matched to a rack for the same bike so the fittings share the eyelets. Clip-on guards are cheap enough new that used ones only make sense in bundles alongside other bike accessories.