I Tried MTB s Most Controversial Product

I'm about to try one of the most controversial products in the whole of mountain biking. No, it's not e-bikes, nor is it skin suits, and it's not even 32-inch wheels. It's this monstrosity, the rear mudguard. Front mudguards make total sense on a mountain bike in winter. They keep you dry, they prolong the life of your components, and honestly, they don't look too bad either. If a front mudguard makes so much sense, why does everyone lose their mind the moment you bolt a rear mudguard on? If anything, for me, they make more sense because they protect more of your vital components like your drivetrain and your frame bearings. What is so offensive about this thing? The moment someone in the office suggested testing a rear mudguard and wearing a hazmat suit, there suddenly weren't many volunteers. Naturally, as the new kid, I got the job. Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is about putting one of these on your bike. When I was training for XC, I spent hours riding a road bike, and I swore by rear mudguards. They keep your bum dry, and again, they prolong the life of your components. If it means you can ride for longer because you're not absolutely freezing and soaked, that's a win in my book. A bit of mountain biking, rear mudguards are somewhat controversial. Why? Well, to be honest, they do look ----, and they scratch your frame, and they rub a bit, and they're weak, but that doesn't really put me off. If the only thing putting people off riding a rear mudguard is the fact that they look ----, I want to see if they actually work and try and convince people to put one on their bike. That's where this ridiculous white hazmat suit comes in because if I'm going to see if they actually work, I really want to be able to see it on me. Now it's time to see how effective this rear mudguard really is by riding through as much mud and puddles as I can. I'm going to do two tests, one with the guard off and one with the guard on to see how clean it keeps me and my bike. I've taken the rear mudguard off, and I'm now going to set out for a baseline wetness rating. It's November here in the UK, so finding some puddles shouldn't be too difficult. Let's get into it. Okay, so that is my riding done with the no rear guard. I've stuck my normal front guard on, that's normal. As you can see, I'm pretty filthy. It's actually a lot drier today than we were hoping. There's not been any mega puddle splashes, but I'm very wet, and you can see just how much my bike's been affected by all the puddles. My shock is really wet. All my pivot bearings have got a lot of moisture on them. My cassette is really wet. If you've got an expensive cassette like me, that is really frustrating. My chain's got this grinding paste on it. I think the conclusion is, even on a day like today where it's not that wet, you can do a lot of wear to your bike. If you look at me, my bum is absolutely soaking. If I was out for a long ride today, the chance of me wanting to stay out for a long time would be pretty slim. We're going to go back, clean the bike, chuck the rear guard on, and see how it compares. Okay, right, it's time for round two. I've got a fresh suit, this bag is not a toy, a clean bike, and also the mud guard's strapped on, so let's see how we get on. First impressions are, it's a little bit rattly, and I'm slightly concerned about the paint on my nice Aussie dust propane. It's definitely not Aussie dust today, but I'm a little bit worried if I bottom out my suspension, it's going to be pretty close to buzzing my seat. Also, if I ride anything steep, I feel like my bum's going to hit that, but we'll see if it can stand up to the test of the proper trails. This is what we do to test the equipment here. See, the Velcro's come off actually, so if you crash, remember to see your Velcro back up. Gore-Tex. I'm obviously still going to get quite filthy from other parts of the trail. I was quite muddy up my front still, but as a minimum, I'm hoping this will keep my arse a bit drier, and also up the back of my frame as well. Things like my dropper post, I'm hoping it'll keep cleaner. Maybe, I'm not sure, I like my chain ring and stuff, but we'll see. Let's get bog bashing. First verdict, actually, the back of my frame is completely clean, and my dropper post didn't get muddy at all, so I don't know about my bum. How's it looking, Lou? It's hard to tell because I always feel dry in a hazmat suit. I almost feel I'd be better if I had normal clothing on, but it's a little bit rattly, to be honest, which if you're riding cross-country, it wouldn't be such an issue, but I'm still soaked. I don't know what my bum looks like because that's what it's mainly for. I think it's doing something. I'm definitely getting less spray, but ultimately, when you ride through a puddle like that, you are just going to get soaked. I've had a little crash off-camera pushing up a hill, but I didn't realize until I just dropped in there, and I've actually lost some of my Velcro straps. I think this was my own, if I was going to use this all the time, a wood cable tie because these, I think, are responsible for a lot of the wobble, but yes, lost one already, which isn't great. I was keen, actually, to stress-test this mud guard because I know that they'll keep me dry, but a lot of people's complaints with them are actually that they rattle a lot and they break. I've just gone down this trail here, and I had a bit of a bottom-out, and it's starting to rattle a bit, and I noticed I've lost two of Velcro straps on this side. In hindsight, I probably could have done them up a bit better. There was some Velcro that was still free, and I could have attached them better, but I think I should have just gone with cable ties from the start. The problem with Velcro is the moment it gets quite wet, it doesn't work as well. My impressions are it's not bad. I actually think for general cross-country riding and not trail or enduro riding, it would be a really great product because it has kept me a lot drier. I know I still look filthy, but I've sent it through some fairly big puddles. In hindsight, I probably could have done a better job of attaching the Velcro on there. You see I've left these flappy bits like a bit of an idiot. I should have secured it a bit better or maybe even used cable ties, but I don't really know if this product is aimed at the type of riding I've done today, but ultimately, it has kept me drier. The jury's still out on whether it looks good. I think it does look fairly crap, but if you're someone who does a lot of cross-country riding in winter or just general light trail riding, I definitely think it's a product worth having. We've actually seen loads out on the trails today because it's just a nice thing not to be absolutely filthy when you finish your ride. I think I would run them, but maybe not for this type of riding. I've let you know my thoughts on what I think about the Mudguard, but I think what we should actually do is compare the two suits from the Mudguard Run and the No Mudguard Run to see how much drier it actually kept me. The Mudguard hasn't actually kept my bike as clean as I hoped it would. I've still got on my seat stay quite a lot of spray. It's not quite as bad as it was with the No Mudguard Run, but I think if you're hoping to eliminate any mud on your bike, it's not really going to do that. My drivetrain is still pretty mucky because this flap here, there's a bit of clearance. I think ultimately, there's so much clearance it needs so it doesn't rub and it gets really annoying that there is going to be some spray onto the bike. If you're looking to prolong your life of your components, I don't think it's quite going to do that. We've wrapped up a rigorous day of testing and I have both suits here so we can check how clean we are. On my left here, we have the suit without the Mudguard and then on my right, we have the suit with the Mudguard. Although it's still pretty dirty, you can see I'm quite a bit cleaner with the Mudguard on versus without. I think if you're somebody who wants to go out and keep a dry bum and you just want to do cross-country riding, it's definitely worth having the Mudguard on, however terrible it looks on your bike. I think if you're somebody who's going to do a lot of bike park riding and pretty gnarly riding, the Mudguard does wobble a lot. They're definitely not as secure as the front Mudguard's wheel run. Although I think if I cable tied it or did the Velcros a bit better, it would have been good. It's just when you get them suspension bottom outs, the Mudguard just hits the seat and that's where you get that rattle. I think I'd run it to keep me dry if I was on my XC bike or doing long rides throughout winter. I'd be interested to know what you guys think though. Do you hate Mudguards? A lot of people I know in the office and who I ride with think they look terrible, so it won't even entertain the idea of running one. I'd be interested to hear what you guys think, but I've had a really enjoyable day splashing through puddles and looking silly in the hazmat suit. If you've enjoyed today's video, please leave us a like and let me know what you think in the comments. I'll see you in the next one. Cheers.