Tacking on some extensions to my plastic mudguards?

Freddy said:

Has anybody got any tips on what I could use for that, and where I could buy
it. And methods of attaching to the ends of the plastic mudguards - I sort
of assumed that small self-tapping screws may be good enough?

Chop a piece from an old (wide) tyre. Drill and fix with a couple of
small nuts and bolts (and probably some washers, too).

PhilD

--
<><

Or if you want something more flexable try using old tubes.
Best would be some wide SKS Raceblades 'cos you can get them in "carbon" and
they look really cool !

Freddy said:

I've currently got a set of clip on plastic mudguards on my rigid mtb (used
practically solely on road, these days, and has road-type tyres on).

They're not tiny in size: the front mudguard bolts through the fork crown
and extends a little in front, and down the back of the front wheel to, I'd
say, just a little over the 9 o'clock position of the wheel (looking at it
side on, with the back of the bike on the left...). What I would like is for
them to just extend a bit further, so any splashing from it, doesn't hit my
feet, or the chainset / bottom-bracket area.

I've looked at buying other fuller mudgards - the kinds that actually bolt
mounting holes, but whilst my front forks have mounting holes on the
dropouts (nothing further up the fork blades, though), the rear dropouts
have nothing, nor are there any mounting holes further up the seat-stays.
And to further exacerbate this, the seat-stay bridge has no hole through it
(which is where many clip-on mtb mudguards seem to bolt) and the chainstay
bridge only has a tiny hole on one side (the tyre / wheel side - not all the
way through).

As I'd rather not drill any holes through either bridge, and as the rear
plastic mudguard I've got currently fits my bike frame well (it has a
plastic bracket that clips on to the mudguard, and plastic loops / clips
that clip around the seat-stay bridge (as opposed to bolting through) and a
plastic clip that clips around the seat tube.

So what I wondered was whether I could find some black plastic or rubber
type material, that I could cut to shape (ie a sort of narrow mud flap) that
I could attach to both the bottom of the front mudguard, and the rear of
back mudguard.

Has anybody got any tips on what I could use for that, and where I could buy
it. And methods of attaching to the ends of the plastic mudguards - I sort
of assumed that small self-tapping screws may be good enough?

It used to be possible to buy extension mudflaps. These were held on
by a bendable strip of metal that you deformed to the shape of the
mudguard. I had a set that did just fine for years.

David Lloyd

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Has anybody got any tips on what I could use for that, and where I could buy
it. And methods of attaching to the ends of the plastic mudguards - I sort
of assumed that small self-tapping screws may be good enough?

Get a bit of plastic damp proof course roll from someone local building
an extension. Its just the right balance of flexibility and stiffness
to make a mud flap.

--
Tony

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has
taken place"
George Bernard Shaw

"Tony Raven" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Has anybody got any tips on what I could use for that, and where I could
buy
it. And methods of attaching to the ends of the plastic mudguards - I
sort
of assumed that small self-tapping screws may be good enough?

Get a bit of plastic damp proof course roll from someone local building
an extension. Its just the right balance of flexibility and stiffness
to make a mud flap.

--
Tony

I would agree with the above, the properties are just right for the
application.

MJP

Freddy said:

I've currently got a set of clip on plastic mudguards on my rigid mtb
(used practically solely on road, these days, and has road-type tyres
on).

.......

Quoted message said:

I've looked at buying other fuller mudgards - the kinds that actually
bolt mounting holes, but whilst my front forks have mounting holes on
the dropouts (nothing further up the fork blades, though), the rear
dropouts have nothing, nor are there any mounting holes further up
the seat-stays. And to further exacerbate this, the seat-stay bridge
has no hole through it (which is where many clip-on mtb mudguards
seem to bolt) and the chainstay bridge only has a tiny hole on one
side (the tyre / wheel side - not all the way through).

Others have covered pop-riveting material to the existing mudguards.

I'll tackle the "buy new SKS proper ones" bit.

Front end you seem sorted - bolt holes, etc. SKS mudguards come with
breakable fixings, so in the unlikely event of a bit of debris catching the
stay and trying to jam the wheel, the fixing will break.

Back end, you need "P clips" to wrap around the rear triangle tubes and bolt
the stays to that. They are cheap and any bike shop should have them. If
worried about your frame's paint, put some insulating tape around frame
before attaching the P clip.
Drill two small holes in the mudguards at the seat-stay and chain-stay
bridges and use a cable tie to hold the mudguard at those places. Again,
small pad of tape will protect the paint against rubbing, but don't block
any breather holes with it.

It will cost more than the old tyre / damp proof felt / washing up bottle /
whatever. But it won't flap about in an annoying manner.

- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

In article <[email hidden]>, Freddy
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

So what I wondered was whether I could find some black plastic or rubber
type material, that I could cut to shape (ie a sort of narrow mud flap) that
I could attach to both the bottom of the front mudguard, and the rear of
back mudguard.

Has anybody got any tips on what I could use for that, and where I could buy
it. And methods of attaching to the ends of the plastic mudguards - I sort
of assumed that small self-tapping screws may be good enough?

When I was serious about riding in the rain I used bits of old mudguard
as extensions, attached with rubber bands around the mudguard stays or
racks (the front lowrider was really handy for this). As you don't have
mudguard stays I'd suggest using pop rivets, or maybe crimp a couple of
steel strips around in the style of the sliding bridge on a conventional
mudguard. For the bits of mudguard try begging at your friendly LBS.

Alternatively, as someone else already mentioned, get some proper
mudguards - they're worth it if you don't go offroad, so don't have to
worry about them clogging with mud or breaking.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360010679

Many thanks to you all for your suggestions and ideas.

First I think I'm going to try the damp proof stuff, or cutting up some old
tyres (the only old tyres I've got, though, are a pair of used Panaracer
Smokes, and a barely used pair of Psycho Ks - both pairs still quite
chunking and knobbly).

I'll play around with various methods of attaching.

It's mainly the front mudguard I want extending - I may well do nothing with
the back one, because it's reasonable length (from around 3" above my front
mech, connecting to the seat tube, to around the 11 o'clock position looking
at my bike with the chainline facing you).

Thanks again to everybody that replied.

Many thanks to you all for your suggestions and ideas.

First I think I'm going to try the damp proof stuff, or cutting up some old
tyres (the only old tyres I've got, though, are a pair of used Panaracer
Smokes, and a barely used pair of Psycho Ks - both pairs still quite
chunking and knobbly).

I'll play around with various methods of attaching.

It's mainly the front mudguard I want extending - I may well do nothing with
the back one, because it's reasonable length (from around 3" above my front
mech, connecting to the seat tube, to around the 11 o'clock position looking
at my bike with the chainline facing you).

Thanks again to everybody that replied.

Nigel Cliffe said:

Freddy said:

I've currently got a set of clip on plastic mudguards on my rigid mtb
(used practically solely on road, these days, and has road-type tyres
on).

......

Quoted message said:

I've looked at buying other fuller mudgards - the kinds that actually
bolt mounting holes, but whilst my front forks have mounting holes on
the dropouts (nothing further up the fork blades, though), the rear
dropouts have nothing, nor are there any mounting holes further up
the seat-stays. And to further exacerbate this, the seat-stay bridge
has no hole through it (which is where many clip-on mtb mudguards
seem to bolt) and the chainstay bridge only has a tiny hole on one
side (the tyre / wheel side - not all the way through).

Quoted message said:

Front end you seem sorted - bolt holes, etc. SKS mudguards come with
breakable fixings, so in the unlikely event of a bit of debris catching the
stay and trying to jam the wheel, the fixing will break.

Back end, you need "P clips" to wrap around the rear triangle tubes and bolt
the stays to that. They are cheap and any bike shop should have them. If
worried about your frame's paint, put some insulating tape around frame
before attaching the P clip.
Drill two small holes in the mudguards at the seat-stay and chain-stay
bridges and use a cable tie to hold the mudguard at those places. Again,
small pad of tape will protect the paint against rubbing, but don't block
any breather holes with it.

I've had mudguards attached at fork and seat stay bridge with cable
ties for years. They started off as temporary repairs but I realised
they had a better life than the clips that came with the guards.

The breather holes in a frame are there for when the frame is made to
equalise gas pressures when it is being brazed/welded. Up-market
frames have them filled before painting.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

In article <[email hidden]>, Freddy
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Many thanks to you all for your suggestions and ideas.

First I think I'm going to try the damp proof stuff, or cutting up some old
tyres (the only old tyres I've got, though, are a pair of used Panaracer
Smokes, and a barely used pair of Psycho Ks - both pairs still quite
chunking and knobbly).

I bet your LBS has some really nasty knackered tyres for you to play
with. :-) Or try a motorcycle shop for some old innertubes.