Mudguards

I have re-radiused 650b Berthouds to fit 26" and a 700c set slightly to fit another bike too. Just need to be careful to not dent the middle unintentionally. I have also dented the sides to fit between the stays, but I did it with pliers and the result is not that pretty.

I wasn’t being a dick, what I was meaning is that mudguards are an investment. Cheap out and you pay for it in worn parts and wet feet

Oh I don't disagree! All I meant was that my notions of mudguard costs are based on years of fitting SKS, which have always done sterling service. Mudguards are a requirement with my crew for winter rides! As for the RedShift stem, I was perfectly serious about fitting one, as costly as it is.

@Samuli I do want to fit mudguards that are designed for 650b wheels, guards with a non-conforming radius look horrible to my eyes.

How did you do that? I tried the standard technique (pull the edges away to reduce radius) without any success on a destroyed one, and I wasn't being cautious. I emailed Berthoud about that and they told me it was normal, that (contrary to alu ones) stainless steel mudguards couldn't be re-radiused by hand, and that I'd probably need auto-body mechanics' tools to do so.

After using all the listed above I’ve bought PDW guards again for my latest build. My wife who only rides occasionally got Kinesis fend off mudguards at £50. Shame they’re only 50mm

Yeah, my comment was meant as a reply to @Sealclub , to say that in my experience Berthouds can be tweaked the same way as the other metal mudguards. They do indeed make a 60mm 650b size that is a good fit with about 48 mm tyres, though depending on how close to the tyre you install them you may want to adjust the radius slightly, as with any mudguard.

@Sealclub just with my fingers, the same way. I didn't change them that much though, but a small change can be done. I've installed Berthouds on six bikes and have adjusted all of them a bit.
Here's the 60mm 650b pair on a bike with 650b wheels

And here they are on 26x2.3", maybe not quite perfect on either but that would be because of not caring about the looks enough.

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Interesting as that has not been my experience at all! Would be nice to have some more anecdata from other people.

A measuring caliper is showing 48mm of clearance in the fork, so I'm thinking I should be brave and try to dent the sides. Even if I mess up the curve, it might not be too obvious? Maybe I should get the short version so as not to have to much of a poorly fitting flap over the front wheel if it comes to that...

No experience of denting mudguards, but logically to me the problem is if you dent them without stretching the metal. That is what would pull the side on profile out of shape.

If you look at say how fabricators make motorcycle mudguards on an English wheel, you can see they're stretching the metal when making their curves.

My guess is what you want to do is make sure you're stretching the metal when you make your indents rather than only bending.

I'm sure someone else will know better, but I'd guess the way to do this is securing the 'gaurd and using some sort of metal form and vice - a bit like making dimples on chainstays.

If I'm understanding you, are you saying hold the curve stable with some fixing while denting the sides? That would make sense but I don't think I have something like that available.

Maybe hammering the sides rather than bending? That might distort the material more locally?

That sounds like it might be the way to go.

Again with the motorbike refrencing... but they often use sandbags to help limit the movement on the back as they hit the metal, and allow the metal to stretch with the blow and make a smaller, more controlled bends/curves.

Not necessarily saying buy a specialist sandbag, but again thinking about the principle - if you can put something solid with some give behind it or make your own temporary mini sandbag - then it should help reduce deformation.

I think.

So I played with the pair I have on another bike and they are actually way more malleable than I initially thought. I'm planning to jut pinch the sides with pliers and bend slightly. That doesn't seem to mess with the overall curve. Awaiting delivery of a 50mm pair.

Anyone got a recommendation for a superbodge alternative to a fender flute?

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/mudguards/problem-solvers-fender-flute/

It's a lot of $$$...

Mechano ...? No idea if it would be stiff enough though?

Alu tubing

Yeah, some kind of drilled, thick, stainless steel strip was going to be my first port of call, just wondering if anyone had a better suggestion.

Not a bad shout, will see if I can track down some down on the 'bay.

Idk if they still exist what with vaping, but headshops used to have brass or stainless tubes for bongs/similar.

Apparently.

Another option would be to go to an lbs and ask if they have an offcut of a threadless steerer. You then make a slot on one side wide enough to allow the off cut to compress into the bottom of your steerer tube.

... a bit like:

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Hammer a star nut into the bottom of the steer tube, then use a stack of washers/wine corks/whatever else you have laying around over a long m6 stainless bolt or length of all thread with a nyloc nut on the end to space the mudguard to perfection?

^that is a much better idea.

Of course the proper answer is daruma, take a standard eye bolt and diy if you're too cheap or can't find one that is long enough.

Anyone got a recommendation for a superbodge alternative to a fender flute?

A cut down wald basket stay works perfectly

Looking to get a set of Gilles Berthoud guards for my winter rim brake bike, does anyone know if the 50mm width would fit under my Tektro R559 callipers? They have a lot of clearance, but without the guards at hand it's hard to picture. The 40mm guards clear a 32mm which is probably enough, but the bike can fit larger so it would be nice to have options. Cheers!