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I am looking to buy online mudguards for my Fuji Absolute 1.9D hybrid bicycle. The TIRES are Vera CityWide, 700 x 28c, 30tpi w/ Phalanx flat protection (26.5 Inch diameter)

Please let me know the optimum dimensions of the mudguard that will protect me from dirt but at the same time do not look too bulky on the bike.

Thank you in advance for your help

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  • So - specific, you want full mudguards for a 700 wheel. Either plastic or metal depending on your budget. You need to figure out if your frame has eyelets for the struts, or you need P clips to go on your seat stay. Last resort is that you're limited to unsupported/flappy plastic ones. – Criggie♦ May 25 '16 at 7:58
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    Front frame has a hole for fixing the front fender and the back fender can be fixed on the seat post. – Ali May 25 '16 at 12:04
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I'm going to try and answer generically. You can apply this to your own bike.

A mudguard/fender has one main task, to stop water and muck from transferring from the tyre/tire to the bike and the rider.

ROAD

So, the best-performing mudguards you can buy will be "full" ones, something like this:

enter image description here

Points to note:

  • guards are pretty close to the outside of the tyre.
  • front edge of rear guard goes right down to the bottom bracket. This protects a lot of the bike's transmission
  • rear edge of rear guard trails behind the whole bike - its a good place for mounting lights and reflectors. Also protects other cyclists behind you from the taste of road water.
  • front guard is only a quarter circle, but there's nothing in front of you to protect.
  • front guard also allows the suspension to work as normal.
  • neither guard messes with the function and performance of the brakes, whatever is on the bike.
  • both guards are supported by two additional struts, as well as the brake mount point and the rear's chainstay mount. More support means less rattling.

Materials - some people prefer plastics, some chromoplastics (plastics that look like metal) and there's also steel and aluminium/aluminum options. Probably have a hard time finding carbon fibre/fiber ones, but they may exist.

MTB

These ones are primarily for off road or muddy use. They flap around a bit more, weigh less, and catch a lot more air. They also tend to snap off in any form of accident, which is not altogether bad but they're also not overly durable. Almost always made of plastic, these MTB ones don't have a lot of support other than one bolt or clamp.

MTB ones may not provide a lot of protection for the drive chain - this picture has an additional one down low on the rear wheel, but in really serious mud this could clagg up with grass and pog.

Significant plus is that these are a lot cheaper than full guards.

enter image description here enter image description here

Emergency

This is an Ass-Saver (tm) (etc) There are many emergency guards, but this one has the cheesy name. They clip into the saddle rails and jutt out the back. That's all.

They're short but on a road bike that's okay. Downside is that they're so far from the wheel that roadspray still flies up and hits me in the back of the thighs anyway. These also do nothing to protect the bike or the components of brakes or transmission. For a tenner they're overpriced.

enter image description here

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I've also been known to slip a medium flattened cardboard box between my back-side and the saddle. It worked. This chap has wedged cardboard in the back seat stays. enter image description here

If you have a rear carrier, you can put a layer of cardboard or reuse something made of plastic. This is what I have on my wetbike, and it works well enough, no photo sorry.

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  • Thank you, Criggie, for an exhaustive report on bicycle fenders. I greatly appreciate it and it was very helpful – Ali May 25 '16 at 12:01
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To get mounting holes on a bike that doesn't have them, attach suitibly-sized P clips to the seat stay and the front fork.

P clips are found at hardware shops, or electrical suppliers. You'll need two of each size, larger for going around the front fork and smaller for the seat stay. P clips look like this:

Note: get metal ones, not plastic.

enter image description here

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