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bicycle quickguard

bicycle quickguards

many years ago, in the guardian newspaper, the inestimable matt seaton, now an editor with the new york review of books, wrote a weekly column entitled 'two wheels', in which he examined various aspects of the velocipedinal life, sometimes contentiously, sometimes not. in one of those revered columns, mr seaton brought up the subject of mudguards and their suitability when mounted upon the average road bicycle. there is many a chaingang across the nation that actively frowns upon those who arrive at the grand départ with naked wheels, either relegating them to the nether regions of the peloton, or preventing them from participating altogether.

bicycle quickguards

following my reading of this particular article, i e-mailed mr seaton to protest that, while i understood, in principle, the thrust of his argument in favour of fitting mudguards, i attempted to excuse myself from this regime, by pointing out that horizontal rain and galeforce winds were apt to blow the spray from road tyres in every possible direction. in short, mudguards were about as much use to me as electronic gears on a track bike. you may think that, in this case, i doth protest too much and i confess that i'd be hard pushed to disagree with you.

bicycle quickguards

however, anyone who witnessed the maelstrom that was this year's world championship race in yorkshire, may have noted that mads pedersen crossed the finish line, bereft of mudguards. watch the race highlights if you don't believe me. it was a technical omission that featured across the entire peloton, encouraging the wannabees who enjoy their place in the sunday morning peloton, to follow suit. how can one possibly emulate one's heroes while accessorised with mudguards?

of course, to base my entire disparagement on something as superficial as hero worship would obviously provide me with little in the way of street bicycle quickguards cred, so more pragmatic refutations would obviously be required. here, there is a veritable plethora of substantiation: rattling, difficult to fit, lack of compatibility with minimal tyre clearance; there's plenty more where those came from. thus, even when chastised by a group of visiting cyclists for riding in the wet, minus any mudguards, my insouciance and total disregard triumphed over practicality.

and then i was sent a pair of quickguards for review.

if there's anything simpler on the market, i'd love to hear about it. presuming a lengthy morning, attempting to decipher inscrutable instructions while failing to install the quickguards, you can imagine both my surprise and delight when fitting a pair took only five minutes. to cut a short story even shorter, you simply remove the nut from the quick-release levers and replace it with a longer version supplied with the guards. once the wheel is securely fixed into the frame, the quickguard slides over the replacement skewer nut, positioned as required, and the allen bolt tightened.

bicycle quickguards

the substantial aluminium stay is affixed to only one side of the quickguard and can be adjusted from side to side on the elongated skewer nut to position it over the tyre. should further adjustment be required to centre the guard, the bolts attaching the guard to the stay can be adjusted laterally. the front guard is fitted behind the fork, preventing spray tarnishing the underside of the downtube and a smart pair of cycle shoes. as sergei would say, "simples".

i have ridden the ritchey over hill and dale, across several cattle grids and along a few of the roads kept only for special occasions. bicycle quickguards i fib not, when i relate that i had forgotten the quickguards were even there. during a bout of frequent rain showers, the peloton were more than happy to ride aft of my wheel without undue cause for complaint, and over the rough, potholed tarmac that passes for hebridean roads, there was nary a rattle to be heard.

if the wheel has to be removed for any reason, such as a puncture, the q/r need only be released in the usual manner; the guard simply detaches with the wheel. it will thus suprise you not that the quickguards will remain aboard the ritchey logic for the remainder of the winter months (i may take them off, come july). if, like me, you have long borne an aversion to mudguards on a road bike, considering them an insurmountable travesty, i'm pretty sure these will provide the perfect antidote.

quickguards are available only in black. the quick release version as described above, retail at a price of £34.99 each, while the thru-axle edition costs £10 more at £44.99. quickguards are distributed in the uk by chicken cycle kit.

bicycle quickguard.co.uk

monday 18 november 2019

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................