Keep yourself and your bike clean with road and mountain bike mudguards!

Good mudguards for your road or mountain bike will make cycling in bad weather a lot more enjoyable. Not only will you stay much drier and cleaner. Your bike will also suffer a lot less. Likewise, less rain and dirt on your bike means that all parts last a lot longer. But what mudguards do you need? Find out what mudguards you need and more in this mudguard buying guide!

During the winter months, the road is almost guaranteed to be wet on most rides. Getting yourself a set of good quality mudguards can make cycling a lot more enjoyable for you and your fellow cyclists. Mudguards not only keep you from getting wet and dirty, they also prevent water from splashing onto the headset and bottom bracket bearings. This extends the time before they need replacing. All the more reason to buy a pair of mudguards.

What kind of mudguard do you need?

There are many different mudguards on the market. When looking for the right mudguards, it is important to think about their purpose and the conditions in which they will be used.

Are you planning to use it for forest or road riding? Do you want a mudguard that is easy to switch from one bike to another? Or are you looking for a mudguard that can handle any rain shower?

Mudguards come in all shapes and sizes. There are various mudguards for road bikes and mountain bikes, from large to small. Moreover, there are also different ways of fitting a mudguard to your road, mountain or gravel bike.

Large mudguards provide better protection against spray and dirt. A disadvantage of larger mudguards is that they are heavier and take longer to fit than smaller mudguards. These maller mudguards are more leightweight and easier to fit.

Mountain bike mudguards

Mountain bike mudguards are slightly wider to better catch spray from wider mountain bike tyres. Mudguards meant for mountain bikes can also be used on road bikes. However, road bike mudguards cannot be used on mountain bikes.

SKS-Xtra Dry and SKS-Xtra Dry XL

SKS Extra Dry MTB Mudguards are easy to mount on your seat post. They are perfect for keeping water off your rear wheel.  Mountain bike mudguards have the advantage of making you less likely to get wet or cold from splashing water. Also, your buddies riding close behind you will be less likely to get splashed.

The SKS-Xtra Dry has a good width to stop water splashing from wide mountain bike tyres. It is easy to attach to your seat post and very easy to transfer to another mountain bike. This version of the SKS-Xtra Dry mudguard is slightly shorter than the XL version. Its size gives stability but has the drawback of stopping less water.

The SKS-Xtra Dry XL is the successor of the SKS-Xtra Dry. This XL version is a bit longer. This makes it suitable for 29" MTB tyres. In the new model, SKS made improvements such as the redesigned clamp. This clamp can also be fitted to aerodynamic seatposts. As a bonus, both versions of this MTB mudguard can also be used on a road bike.

SKS Flap Guard and S-Guard

The SKS Flap Guard and S-Guard are some of the simplest mudguards for your mountain bike. The Flap Guard is a prime example of a mudguard. Because that's exactly what it does, it mainly keeps mud and rain from splashing off your front wheel.

This MTB mudguard can be easily mounted on the bridge of your front fork. This feature also makes it suitable for suspension forks. As a bonus, it also has the advantage of keeping your face and headset bearings relatively dry and clean, while still being a very small and lightweight mudguard.

The SKS S-Guard is a simple rear mudguard for your MTB. You easily mount this mountain bike mudguard under your saddle with a few straps. What makes this mudguard so special is that you hardly see it and it weighs only 24 grams.

Being small, it does not stop everything, but like the Flap Guard, it is very light and small.

Rapid Racer Products Proguard Rear Mudguard

At Rapid Racer Products they have a rear mudguard that can be used on both hardtail and full suspension mountain bikes. In fact, this mudguard can even be used when using a dropper post. This is because the ProGuar Rear is not attached to the seat post, but to the seat stays. This allows you to ride your full suspension MTB in the rain while staying spotless.

Mudguards for your road bike

Road bike mudguards are slightly narrower than mountain bike mudguards. Often road mudguards are also slightly longer to help keep off water at higher speeds.

An Ass-Saver is a small mudguard that clips behind the rails of your saddle. The Ass-Saver is made of flexible plastic and weighs almost nothing, just 18 grams. The disadvantage of the Ass-Saver is that it does not stop as much water as larger mudguards.

As such, it mainly stops the worst spray that would normally get right on your lower back and bum. It will not help your cycling friends keep dry in your slipstream.

If your mudguard is for road use only, then the SKS S-Blade is your best bet. This mudguard has the same clamp as the SKS-Xtra Dry XL, making it easier to fit to aerodynamic seatposts.

Clean and dry with any of the three SKS Raceblades

Are you the kind of person who sets goals early in the spring and can't be stopped by a shower? Or do you cycle to work in all weathers? Then the SKS Raceblade mudguards are for you.

SKS Raceblade mudguards are much longer than other mudguards. Because of the length, a lot of water is stopped, which means that your shoes, bearings, clothes and you will have a lot less water to deal with.

A drawback of SKS Raceblades is that they are a little less easy to fit or take off. The Raceblade comes in three different models. The sturdy Raceblade Pro, the Raceblade Pro XL and the Raceblade Long.

Starting off with the Pro version, it attaches to the front fork and angled seatstay. It is easy to fit and stops a lot of water. The fender is slightly shorter than the other models and does not stop as much water.

This is easy to spot at the front wheel. Some water just splashes up from underneath the mudguard. This Pro model in particular is more sturdy than the rest of the range, making this set ideal for cross or gravel riders.

The Raceblade Pro XL is basically the same mudguard as the Raceblade Pro. The only difference is that this mudguard is suitable for wider tyres up to 32mm. This set also attaches to the front fork and angled seatstay. Being slightly longer, this set is ideal for road use.

The even bigger Raceblade Long

Do you have a winter bike with rim brakes that you use mainly in winter? Then the SKS Raceblade Long is perfect for you. This set is the longest of all, extending past the front of the brake on the front wheel and behind the brake on the rear wheel. These mudguards will really catch a lot of water for you.

The drawback of this set is that it has to be fitted behind your calipers and between your quick-releases. Hence, it is a bit of a puzzle to fit, and as a result quick wheel removal is not as easy as before. But once the mudguards are in place and you head out for a ride in the rain, you will be blown away, it makes a world of difference!

As this mudguard set needs to be fitted behind the brake and quick release, as such it is not suitable for disc brake bikes, thru axle bikes or bikes with a dual mount brake system.

Gravel bike mudguards

If you have a gravel bike, you will be riding off-road a lot, which means you will have to deal with mud splashes more often. As such you better make sure that your gravel bike has the right gravel bike mudguards. For gravel bikes it is important to consider the wheel size and tyre width.

As a gravel bike usually has wider tyres than a road bike, you need to find the right mudguards. Otherwise they simply won't fit. So make sure you know exactly how wide your gravel bike tyres are and then order the right mudguards!