Review: Speedrocker mudguards

By Roland Seber

Roland Seber reviews the SKS Speedrocker mudguards

SKS Speedrocker mudguards £49.99

SKS Speedrockers are designed for gravel bikes, wide-tyred road bikes and the like – bikes that may lack frame fittings or clearance for conventional guards. Each has stays for stability but everything attaches with straps – to the fork, seatstays, and seat tube.

Fitting is fairly easy. The front guard doesn’t run under the fork crown; it’s in two pieces and attaches either side. The rear goes under the seatstay bridge, with the tip telescoping forward or back to fasten at the seat tube on different-sized frames.

While you’ll ideally want some clearance under the seatstay bridge, you could fit the guard over the top instead. I didn’t need to do this, but did thread the guard through the bike’s rack.

The front fitting is a little less obvious and uses velcro straps instead of rubber ones. I’m not keen on this: I have had velcro straps on frame bags clog with mud and lose their ‘stickiness’.

Time will tell with these. The fork straps are long, presumably to cope with ‘aero’ carbon fork legs, and a good 5-6cm of velcro was left flapping on the Bombtrack test bike. Wrap them so the ends fasten on the side away from the spokes. You could cut them short, although this isn’t specifically recommended by SKS. The rear guard is fixed by rubber straps and is quicker to fit. If you want to keep the bike’s paintwork pristine, tape the frame and fork before fitting the guards.

Both front and rear guards are supported by a single pair of stays. These are adjustable for length via a small Allen bolt. The stays prevent the guards wobbling as much as other strapon guards, although there was still some vibration from the front guard, particularly the section in front of the fork.

The Speedrockers are designed for 700C tyres no wider than 42mm. The bike I fitted them to has 29×2in tyres, however, and splash protection was still good. The front guard is long enough to keep most spray off your feet, although the rear guard is only long enough to keep the rider clean, not anyone cycling closely behind. They weigh just over 400g.