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Of course you're right on the general principle Ed. It just seems weird that in some quarters (not so much on here) some people have a massive bugbear about short guards, when probably 90% of bikes don't have them fitted at all.
Anyway, I was just being grumpy 'cos I'd been stuck inside for ages. A lovely smooth commute on eerily quiet roads this morning has fixed that.
jimmy_james-
Actually you're right, the main problem is simply that the most common mudguard tend to be very short, mainly for easier fitting.
Unfortunately this mean people end up thinking that mudguard in general wasn't enough to stay dry (there's a discussion on Kingston Wheelers where most of the members prefer to ride without because it's doesn't make any difference despite the fact they're in a club riding close proximity to each other(!)).
So yeah a lots of people are not aware that there are better choices out there than the common Chromoplastic.
Add to the fact the majority of road bike, even winter bike weren't designed with mudguard in mind, only as an afterthought (Ribble Audax for example), very few bike were designed with it in mind (Genesis Datum).
edscoble
You don't even need to be that close to get caught out, but it's nice to have common courtesy to fellow riders.