Fitting Mudguards for RST

[Fred A-M]

Does anyone else have experience of trying to fit mudguards for the Sport Tour?

I bought 26" P55s on the advice of SJS cycles who advised that if I bought these, I could avoid the faff of drilling holes in the mudguards. 

However, I've since discovered that this isn't the case and not only this, but seemingly you have to file off the fork bracket on the front mudguard otherwise it hangs too low - all in all a bit of a nightmare given I'm probably not the best when it comes to improvised DIY - even the sales guy at SJS acknowledged he wouldn't want to do this himself.   

Has anyone done this and what have they used? - I have a hack saw but assume that this would result in considerable disfiguration to the mudguard!?

Any tips greatly appreciated, thanks.

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/page/blogs/?article_id=blog

[bobs]

Hi Fred,

I drilled out the rivets which hold the bracket. This leaves a slot which is covered up you then have to drill a hole so the you can fit it with a bolt to one of the holes under the fork crown.

The rear requires 2 holes drilled, one at the bottom of the mudguard at the chainstay bridge and another at the seatstay bridge and these are then bolted.

It is a lot simpler to do than describe.


Bob

[Fred A-M]

Cheers Bob, drilling out the rivets as per your suggestion worked a treat, much appreciated -much to my surprise, I didn't make a total botch of it and looks very neat.   

However, the rest of the fitting process has been a somewhat trying process of trial and error  , to be resumed tomorrow due to lack of light.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to use / how to best cut the mudguard stays to required length?

Thanks, Fred

[bobs]

Fred,

do you have a Thorn rack?  Otherwise a cheap £1 hacksaw from Asda.

Bob

[Fred A-M]

Thanks again Bobs, a real help - I have a £1 hacksaw somewhere, from Woolworths I think!

[julk]

Fred,
When I cut mudguard stays to length I file the sharp cut ends to a blunt finish, saves on cutting yourself later on the sharp ends.

[Fred A-M]

Cheers Julk, appreciated.

[Fred A-M]

Nearly done - my £1 Woolworths hacksaw turned out not to be up to the job so a visit to the hardware store in order first thing tomorrow to get a replacement and file to cut stays to length.   Have to say what a proverbial pain for the novice mechanic - can't recall doing anything, including extracting EBB and completely reassembling bikes, that has quite so tested my patience, so thanks again for the tips Bob & Jute. 

Just about avoided rendering the rear mudguard useless with my cak-handed drilling but now sitting nicely on the RST which has a slightly chunkier look as a result of the wider P55 mudguards.

[jimmer]

Dear Fred,

Sorry for the late suggestion but I've only just picked up on this thread.

I've long been bugged by the fact that fitting SKS guards to Thorn forks and rear triangle required right angled brackets for connection to the vertical threaded holes. It struck me as a design flaw considering the vertical tabs on the guards and most frames have horizontal threaded holes.

On reading the instructions I now realise that SKS and not SJS have got it wrong; their ill conceived guards require extensive modification to fit anything worth riding.

Removing the guards on my Catalyst to change between commuting and mtbing modes was becoming a real b*ll ache. I slotted the right angled brackets that I had been using with a rat-tail file and can now whip 'em off quickly simply by loosening the bolts in the frame and slipping out the brackets.

The SJS suggested method of fixing seems utterly bomb-proof and easier to remove than my previous set up, but still may take long enough to frustrate.

Yours, James

[Fred A-M]

Thanks for your suggestion James, not sure I fully understand your solution though, probably as a result of my limited mechanical imagination I guess.  Do you perchance have photos to clarify?

Many of my bike assembly skills haven't been put to use since approx age of 13 & 3/4, and given the RST is so easy to maintain, lack of general mechanical practice is probably as much the source of my frustration, instinctively doing things in the wrong order as a result, for example, which meant everything took twice as long.   

That said, I wouldn't wish to invoke the wrath of the patron saint of SKS mudguards - to spend time in perpetuity swapping out broken ones as befell John28July would be my idea of purgatory - I seem to recall that the Thorn Rack, as mentioned by Julk, added an extra complication in John's case!

[jimmer]

Dear Fred,

Your mechanical imagination, no matter how limited, probably outstrips my IT capabilities, so advance apologies if my first attempt at putting a photo on the forum leads to a frustrating series of blank posts.

My solution in situ:



and with the mudguard off



The brackets were modified from some surplus Ikea kitchen fittings. Personally, I'd be pretty relaxed should the kitchen collapse now that my mudguard woes are over.

Yours, James

[Fred A-M]

James

Unfortunately the photos haven't worked, though if you contact StuTho, I'm sure he'll provide the necessary guidance - I'm most keen to see your resolution.

Irony of ironies ref your last reference to home DIY - on Sunday evening after having spent about 2 hours trying to resolve mudguard issues, my first ever attempt at DIY dating  4 years back, a 3m storage shelf in our hallway detached itself from the wall, contents including several vintage synthesisers (thankfully boxed) took a very big hit - can't bring myself to try them out!

[JimK]

my first attempt at putting a photo on the forum

You first need to upload your photos to some kind of server. I use

http://www.photobucket.com

but there are plenty of others. Once your photo is uploaded then you can use the URL at the server in your post here.

Jim

[jimmer]

Dear Fred,

See, told you so. Thanks for the advice Jim K.

Once again. On the bike:





and on the removed rear guard



The front fork comes off with the wheel to be replaced with suspension forks and knobbly booted wheel.

Yours, James

Modified by Stutho to get the img working

[jimmer]

Dear Fred,

S*d that.

Here's the url for my flicker account:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59947564@N02/5477287844/in/photostream/

Any good?

Yours, James