Crud Roadracer Mk2 mudguards

Despite the fiddly fitting (watch the video mentioned in the review - I found it really helpful) these things really work. Now let's see how long they last....

Had a set of these for five winters. Started with Mk 1's then bought another set when the Mk 2's came out so I am well equipped with spares. Only lost the bottom bit of the front guard which I replaced with the back piece of the Mk 1. Never had an issue in fitting; took me about 15 minutes when I put them on again last week. Seem to be made for my Giant TCR; no tyre rubs or rattles and a dry backside and feet on wet roads.

If you're running winter tyres, then you may well struggle to fit these Crud guards. I have a Cannondale R700, so not a tight racing whippet by many standards, and have swapped my normal Rubino Pros for 25mm Gatorskins because of the amount of standing water and cack on the roads at the moment. Those tyres aren't a noticeable increase in overall size, but it makes it impossible to fit the Crud Road Racer guards… and I tried a lot of fiddling and fettling to no avail.
The only practical way that I could find to fit the rear guard was to put it OVER the brake calliper… but that's a fudge too far, so they'll be going back I'm afraid.
See… http://mombee.com/gear/wheels/crud-road-racer-review/

They can be a bugger to fit, but is that their fault or the bike, after all I'm trying to fit mudguards on something that was not designed to carry mudguards.

Overall I've found them great for me as the rider, however they are not as good are "normal" mudguards for people following as the tail unit moves side to side, riders behind get splashed a lot more than SKS which are more stable, for me mudguards are more about not covering my fellow riders in crap than just saving my arse from getting wet and I'm afraid they are just not as good as other brands at doing that.

Have ridden my MkIIs over 5k miles through 2 winters and the only problem has been a tail snapping after I picked up a twig. The spares are reasonably priced and quickly dispatched - I've never lost a nut or bolt. Never used Race Blades and see no reason to change.

SKS Raceblade Longs. Fit to any bike with a brake bridge (disc or not), take 28c tyres, rock solid, removable in seconds.

If you ask SKS nicely they'll send you an extra set of mounts to use on an extra bike or three. So one set of guards, for winter trainer, commuter, fancybike if it's goin gto tip it.

There really are no drawbacks.

I have a set of these, having refused to to make a set of conventional SKS guards fit by resorting to a hacksaw.

However, the rear guard is too short and insufficiently supported. If you are riding in a group, the lateral movement of the end of the gurard means that the guy behind gets a face-full.

I don't think that there is a rider in my club who hasn't extended there guards with a bit of plastic bottle or similar so the problem of length isn't isolated to the Crud guards. The problem with the Crud guard is the rear stay only supports at about the 2 o'clock position and more support is required lower down. I have solved this with a straightend-out clothes hanger and I have seen similar solutions adopted by other riders. Crud - you need a bit of a re-design.

I have reviewed these before. My views are still the same.
Mudguards are the BEST thing you can fit in the winter or to your commuter.
They are brilliant. The MK2 reduce all the spray to your feet and important front mech, whilst doing their job of keeping spray of you. They take about 30 mins to fit and set up so they don't rub. I had the back one break after 3 years when a large twig found it's way into it. I have lost one front "tail" They bend like a Russian gymnast and only snap when they are really cold or old. Like all plastic will. Mine are now 5 years old and still going strong with around 20000 miles on them.
They don't rub or rattle, don't look intrusive and you forget they are there. It seems some reviewers are still harking on about the MK1 with the short tail
Downsides?
They don't fit all bikes, especially if you have 25mm tyres and won't fit bikes with a large fork clearance, such as a tourer or cyclocross bike without some spacers.
Mine are upgraded MK1 with the long front extension on the rear guard, but not the rear tail, so I can't comment on that.
You used to be able to "buy" spare nuts, bolts, rubbers etc but now if you lose the front "tail" you have to buy a packet of bits, so I now have many spare nuts, rubber pads & cable ties
.

Yes, they work wonderfully and are super light BUT mine were shipped without one of the tiny bolts and nuts to affix the tails. I used a substitute bolt and nut as i heard the guy was super rude on the phone ( note he sells packages of replacement bolts and nuts? Hmmmm makes one wonder). Anyway, the tail flew off about the first 10k of riding. If the packers were more careful and include all parts...maybe even one extra bolt and nut. So, great product, profoundly poor packing and service.

Perfectly happy with mine after around 2,500km of commuting and winter bike use. Yes you lose the little screws sometimes, but you can easily get a packet of them from Mr Crud. Have a long tail for terrible weather and short ones for the normal rain.

They are a fiddle to get right first time, after that it's second nature. Once set up you can take them on and off in a minute or too should you need to. I mostly leave them on as they weight less than breakfast or about 3 energy bars.

Have noticed no perceptible drag. With these so light an unobtrusive it's hard to see why anyone wouldn't have them except on their 'sunny day' bike anyway.

Rear guard not long enough - anyone riding behind still gets a face-full. Gave up on a set after 1 winter - cheap, brittle plastic and stupid little screws. Given the relative cost of plastic mouldings, then are plenty of polymers more suited to the job.

The day I bought a Genesis Croix de Fer with full length SKS mudguards & ditched these cruds on my old Spesh which couldn't take 'proper' guards was one of the best days of my life. I have a very boring life.

been using these for most of the winter i have put some electrical tape around where it connects to the frame and fork which prevent rubbing marks on the bike.

If you ever catch your front wheel with your toe, or are very close to doing so before fitting mudguards then I'd advise against these; I snapped my front one off on its first outing.

Also, for the price, it would be really good if crud included some spare parts.

I've used mine for two-and-a-bit years and the pros (for me) out weigh the cons. The coverage is excellent, they fit on my bike with on-the-limit clearance twixt rear tyre and seatstay yoke, they're light and look relatively unobtrusive.

They are used daily for commuting, training rides, everything short of racing really and I've not had any issues with durability other than through my own ham-fistedness. I reckon I've racked up at least 5,000km with them fitted, probably more like 8,000km given the weather we've had in the last few years. I've gone through a number of centre sections on the rear due to a) trying to wheel the bike on its back wheel (old bike shop habits die hard) and b) treading on one whilst removed from the bike. Fortunately spares are a lot cheaper than a whole new set and arrive quickly.

Fit / rub prevention is finicky; I've got the knack of adjusting zip tie tension / stay alignment to keep them for rubbing, although I have invested in a roll of the sticky fluff strip (about a fiver from B&Q - other DIY stores are available) to replace it when it wears out or falls off. I have had the rear clag up once with just the right combination of Yorkshire grot and moisture, but with the clearance on my bike, I'm surprised it hasn't happened more.

All in all I'm happy with them, and they certainly offer better spray prevention than the Raceblade XLs some mates use when riding in a group. I'm certainly sticking with the for now, I just need to remember to keep my bike on two wheels when I'm putting it away.

have been using MkI and then Mkii now for two years or so, but finally given up as they do cause a lot of drag during the ride, even when all is fine before starting. Small amounts of mud tend to accumulate where the plastic bits slide into one another during the course of a ride; I've had occasions where I've had to remove the wheel mid ride to clean up the guards.
The other thing I don't like about them is that every time I take one hand of the bars, the front Crud starts rattling. They are just not rigidly enough attached (plastic arms versus alloy for Race Blades).

I've gone back to Race Blades now and can't quite understand why I ever moved to Cruds...

I've left mine on all year round on my Defy Advanced - shite appears on wet roads in Derbyshire in all 4 seasons. Lost one little nut and bolt, and improvised with a bit of twig, which lasted for a few weeks until I got around to getting some new ones. Otherwise no trouble at all.

I do like them but I find that the cable tie has a tendency to "saw" through the hole that it fits through. Is it just me ?

I have a set of these on my winter bike and they're pretty good once you get them aligned correctly so they don't rub. Not much of a faff on a Trek at least.

One thing I'd strongly recommend though is that you take a spare zip-tie and/or a rubber band when riding as twice now the one securing the rear guard has broken mid-ride. Sods law this will happen at the furthest point from home to, as it did to me (thankfully I had aforementioned elastic band and zip-tie)!

An hour to fit them in the luxury of Road.cc towers?

Did you do it blind folded and one handed?

PITA to fit the first time though, I quite agree. Have done 3 sets now, and have got much better at it!

Mine have yet to break at all, >1yr on, have protected the bike better than any other road bike mudguards I've seen, and the rubber bands have stayed rock solid since i fitted them. Maybe they suit some forks / stays more than others?

Total frustration with my Mk2 after trashing Mk1 in an accident. I've been using both models for 3-4 years. Why they use rubber bands instead of zip ties around the frame stays I do not know. Before each ride your checking to ensure there's no guard 'chatter' then having to adjust during each ride, never lean you bike up against a wall with the guards! Constantly keep breaking sections of the rear guard and yes you can get spares but overall these are expensive. Time Mr Crud moved on using aluminium instead of plastic. Only positive spin is the front mech protection against mud and water. Current set will be binned and I'll move on to another brand before next winter. 4 out of 10 not worth £29.99. Does the Crud website still show the installation video with the installer cuts his finger trimming the guard with a hacksaw (what a joke)!

These are really good. Took my time with fitting them and put some clear protective tape (from Maplins) on the frame where the brackets go. They are so low profile that you hardly know they're there (I have black rims) so your bike doesn't look too much like a tourer. Once you're practiced you can have them on in about 5-10mins (I don't trim the tie wraps so you can get them off and reuse them) and off in no time at all. Means you are only stuck with them when the weather's bad.

After using the Mk II for a whole winter season I feel it's fair to say these guards will suit the odd audax better than day to day commuting.

The Mk II are well designed & good at keeping most mud & spray off considering their weight & ability to fit bikes with tight clearance. Unfortunately I have found them to snap, crack & loose parts without much effort. I've also had to find alternatives for the plastic bolts which keep disappearing as you're not meant to tighten them too much. Pop rivets are a great permanent replacement. Don't worry about the metallic rivets spoiling the smooth look of the guards as the random cracks & other missing parts seem to have distracted any onlookers so far...

Perhaps these work better for occasional use but they need some improving should you consider buying a set for everyday commuting. I look forward to the Mk III.

Used the mark1 last year on an old italian racing bike with very tight clearance. They looked good and gave excellant coverage, though I have to say that getting them alligned was a bit of a pain, I eventually got rid of the brushes as they made matters worse!

Taking them on and off was a fiddle due to the reusable tie raps which didn't always work and if you dont cover the fork and stays with either tape or old inner tube then the fixings scratch the paintwork. I also managed to snap the front guard with by toe and had to cut it down.

Hope the mark2 addresses some of these issues

Several 100km on Mk II's this winter including several off road NCN excursions and all good in my view.

I had a set of MK1s, really excellent coverage, couldn't fault them - except they didn't last! The design is great, but just too big to be held in the long term by elastic bands, bits kept snapping off, and they had to be retired after 4 months (luckily towards the tail-end of winter).

Used race-blades this year, yes a lot less coverage, but after surviving the winter they still look brand new!

Tried these those winter and I'm impressed. Damn fiddley getting aligned when you have very tight clearances, but nothing a bit of swearing can't cure. I have tried several tweaks and I find that there is noticeable drag when you spin the wheel though. When all is said and done I still prefer SKS Race Blades. They also attach with elastic and are even faster off and on.