Combing my hair….

The Planet Bike front mudguard that comes as standard on the Tikit is fixed to the bike in only one place, on the fork crown. The short forks combined with small wheels send shocks to the fork crown and the mudguard has a tendency to vibrate. In my experience this has led to two mudguards dropping off while riding along. Without a front mudguard spray hits the bottom bracket area (and the lower half of the rider). So I took the bike Chris at Tony Butterworths and asked him to do his best. And his best turns out to be pretty damn fantastic. Using a standard SKS mudguard, the fixing point on the right hand side is the only fixing which is standard. At the crown he fixed the new mudguard to the remaining tab of the Planet Bike mount. This has the advantage of ensuring that the mudguard can be fitted and removed without risking the need to reset the headset.

On the left hand side he shaped the stay so it clears the disk mechanism.

Nice! I’m pretty confident this set up should last.

Awoke to discover Sheffield covered in snow, so no riding today. This is getting rather too common.

Have been thinking a lot about mudguards. Normally one might think this a sign of insanity, and it may well be. However the thought was prompted by a comment on a post on Vik’s Lazy Randonneur site. You can see the post here. Essentially my comment was that a road bike with close clearance aluminium mudguards would be safer with some form of quick release on the guards. Well the debate that followed got me thinking about my set-up which I am very pleased with but have had precious little chance to use because I don’t want to take my audax/light touring bike out in the salt.

The general set-up is illustrated above: Proline DLX reflex mudguards with short drop Centaur brakes and 23mm Continental Four Seasons tyres. The guards are full-length and have flaps. Built into the material is a 3M reflective strip which is a barely visible dark grey during the day and reflects headlights at night.

Neat, I like it. The guards have snap-off stays:

I don’t know how effective the snap-off stays are and I am not in a hurry to find out, but it is a reassurance to know that they are there.

Cycling home on my Tikit on Friday evening in the dark, I thought I had run over something plastic with my back wheel. Daylight revealed it was the front mudguard, which had snapped at the single mounting point. It had fallen off and I had ridden over it none the wiser. This is not particularly upsetting, it is a small piece of the bike and wear and tear is to be expected. At first I thought that I wouldn’t bother replacing it. However given the dirty roads we have at the moment, it is clear that the front mudguard protects the hyperfold cable and its routing through the bearing at the bottom of the head tube and so it might be wise to.

My wife essentially only rides her Tikit in good weather, so I think I know where the mudguard is coming form.