SKS Chromoplastics Mudguard Set 65mm 28

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

SKS describes its Chromoplastic mudguards as a 'classic, and still the best full coverage mudguard'. They come in a wide range of sizes from 35mm to the 65mm wide mudguards that we tested. The rear has a reflector while the front has a 'spoiler' – a plastic flap at the rear. They are designed for bikes with mudguard fittings and sufficient clearance.

I'd say that SKS has the right to call these a classic, as my first road bike came with a similar – albeit much narrower – pair back in the 1980s. They lasted for 11 years of year-round use and abuse if I remember correctly.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

SKS's patented 'Chromoplastic' combines a thin layer of aluminium within a plastic sandwich. This is designed to achieve toughness, rigidity and to resist corrosion. The guards are attached to the bike using 3.4mm thick stainless steel stays. You could use a pair of bolt-cutters to trim these to length but I used a hacksaw, as recommended by SKS. The front mudguard features SKS's Secu-Clip fittings that prevent the front wheel jamming if a foreign body gets trapped between the tyre and the mudguard.

I found the construction quality hard to fault. Each individual piece is well designed with no obvious design weaknesses.

These offered a very good amount of protection from the elements and road-borne crud.

My experience of similar SKS Chromoplastic mudguards suggests durability will be good. I'd expect years of use.

At 631g (with stays and front Secu-Clips) these are heavier than the 500g Tortec Reflector mudguards, but at a whopping 65mm these are the widest in the SKS range.

They're on a par with similar mudguards from other companies, but you do get a full range of spares and a five-year guarantee, which ups the value. In my experience, they last well, too.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Worked exactly as you'd hope and expect – greatly reducing the amount of muck and water that you and your bike get covered in after a wet or mucky ride.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

These feel like they're made by a company that knows what it's doing, and that they should last for years. A great feel of quality, they do their job very well and feel stable and secure on the bike.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Slightly awkward to set up, but it's really just a case of taking care as there's not that much that can really go wrong. Once in situ I found very little to fault.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

They're less expensive than Kinesis's £55 Fend Off mudguards and a bit more expensive than Tortec's £39.99 Reflector Mudguards that we rated highly back in 2015, though these don't seem to be widely available now.

Use this box to explain your overall score

Other than a lack of reflective details – apart from the rear reflector – I found very little to fault with these SKS mudguards. Having to cut the stays to length takes a little time and care, but once the guards are fitted they're pretty much a fit-and-forget item that should last for years, with spares and a guarantee to back up the initial high-quality product.