6 September 2015

Fresh Goods Sunday - PDW Full Metal Fenders - 700c mudguards

I have been looking at these mudguards for a few years now but the £75 rrp has put me off as my Tortec / SKS guards have never caused any problems and are good value for money. I was looking for a new pair for the Bowman Pilgrims and thought about these and Triton were having a PDW sale at the time so bought a pair for £39 inc next day delivery. The problem was I did not have the mudguard mounts from Bowman Cycles and was not sure on what size to go for as they come in 30mm wide for up to 23/25c tyres & 45mm wide for up to 35c tyres.
In the end looking at the fork clearance with a 28c Gravel king tyre I opted for the narrow version as I am planning on running my 25c Conti 4 season tyres during the winter months.
To date I am still waiting for the mudguard mounts so have fitted these "the best I can" adapting the existing mounts.
The front one was tight under the fork and have had to do some flattening on the profile of the mudguard profile for tyre clearance. The eyelet / skewer adaptors work well but you have to remove the front skewer to remove the wheel, a little faffy but hopefully will not need to remove the front wheel too often.
As for the back I drilled out the seat tube clip off the guard and drilled a hole in the bottom to bolt it on the bottom bridge. The eyelets are on the rear drop outs so they were straight forward but I don't have a chain stay bridge so had to alter the bracket that came with the forks and zip tie it onto the seat tube, not the best and some tyre rub off the guard when on really bumpy ground. On the whole the guards are very good quality but not worth the £75 rpp but are defo worth the £39.  Triton also stock loads of spare parts for the guards which may come in handy. I have not tested them out in real wet weather yet so that update will follow soon probably!
Here is a link to the Triton Website and here is the manufactures blurb -

Made of anodised aluminium and adorned with laser graphics and an embossed alloy head badge, the Full Metal Fenders are a beautiful compliment to any road bike. They provide full-wrap coverage, even shielding riders behind you from tyre spray thanks to the sturdy rubber mud flaps.
The Full Metal Fenders are designed to fit road bikes that are difficult to install full coverage fenders on. They have special hardware to get around calliper brakes and under forks, even add-on mounts for bikes that lack eyelets to mount fender stays to.
Safety release tabs ensure your wheels will keep turning even if debris gets lodged between the fender and tyre.
Features:
  • Available in 30mm (Road) & 45mm (City) 
  • Weight: 30mm - 454g (16oz) | 45mm - 510g (18oz)
  • Max Tyre Size: 30mm - 700 x 23C | 45mm - 700 x 35C
  • The 30mm size is designed for close clearance road bikes with 700x23 tyres
  • The 45mm size is designed for touring and CX bikes with 700x35 tyres
Geek Lab - Paligap's expert tester reviews and rates the latest Paligap products."Portland Oregon USA based Portland Design Works is a small enthusiast led company making a collection of high quality bicycle componentry. These very classy Full Metal Fenders are a little more costly but roughly the same weight as many of the more common full length thermoplastic mudguards but they're made from anodised aluminium and come with top quality mounting hardware that keeps them rattle free and incredibly durable.
They're slightly longer than many other guards and come fitted with tough rubber mud flaps that conspire to keep the spray off your shoes up front and off other riders out back. Build quality is superb and, although designed to be ideal with 23mm tyres, they do a pretty decent coverage job with anything up to about 28mm simply because most of the spray comes from the tyre's centre strip.
The stays are adjustable, so you can decide how much clearance to leave around the tyres, and frame attachments are designed to flip open if you get something tangled up in your spokes. If you don't have mudguard eyelets on your frame/fork, the mounting hardware includes stay brackets for quick release skewers, and the mounting bolts are all decent quality allen key bolts. PDW Full Metal Fenders are a fine finishing touch to any bike that's going to be ridden it wet conditions."
 
Here is a link to the PDW WEBSITE which also has a link to the instructions etc










UPDATE - the rear stay mount has landed & fitted (just the fork mounts to come now)

 




45mm wide version
 
 

3 comments:

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  2. What did you use for the add-on seat stay bridge? It looks very secure.

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  3. Bowman provided the bridge / mudguard mounts with the frame set. It was not that secure, rear mudguard rattled like hell on a rough roads.

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