I know these conditions would put a lot of people off riding when you could jump on the turbo trainer, but if like me you’re an all-season commuter, then this is what you need. The Bontrager NCS fenders / mudguards come in a range of sizes: from 18-25mm for old school road bikes and all the way up to 35-45mm for trendy new gravel bikes. The set we had on test was right in the middle, designed for 28-35mm 700c tires - which is typical for winter bikes these days. Having assisted with the assembly of the RCUK Winter Bike, I can admit to a slight preference for the lovely sliding stays on the Portland Design Works full metal fenders, with their nifty telescopic adjusting action. The SKS Bluemels mudguard set is great for commuters and road cyclists needing protection from dirt and spray. With key parts made from stainless steel the SKS Bluemels are very durable for daily use.

The 35mm pair I tested come with two SKS fixed steel bridges on each mudguard, which align with the V-shaped 3.4mm-diameter stainless steel stays. This is useful, because the mudguards themselves aren’t especially long, particularly the rear, which is quite short. It’s not one you’d want to follow on a wet day commuting into the city.The stays are finished with a plastic cap, but can be cut short to avoid toe overlap, then the cap replaced. This isn’t a process you can do in a hurry. It’s not mechanically difficult, but it’s faffy and involves lots of easily-fumbled small parts. I lost one of the drilled bolts while fitting this set, but fortunately had a spare. It’d be nice if SKS threw in a couple of extras, just in case. On some disc-brake bikes, it may be necessary to use the supplied spacers and longer bolt to clear the caliper.

But that said, you perfectly well attach your own mudflaps to the Bluemels Basic and extend their spray protection that way. It’s simple (and cheap) enough to fashion a set from a few sheets of rubber - and there are even brands which offer funky designs, such as Raw Mudflap. SKS’s Bluemels Basic fenders / mudguards do a reasonably good job of keeping you dry. Their coverage isn’t as long as some - and our tester did find that you get spray over your feet from the front wheel and anyone following behind will still get a coating. Spray protection depends on the tyre and mudguard width you use, but the 45mm tyres on my test bike were dwarfed by the generous width of these ‘guards. There are three widths available, and these 37mm wide mudguards are able to accommodate up to a 30mm tire. They looked in proportion when using a 28mm tire and there was a good amount of space to the side of the tire. ultra-fine aluminium strips are embedded in a plastic coating, the mudguards are extremely robust, rigid andRather than the more conventional V-shaped stays, the Commuter mudguards have parallel twin stays, with Secu-Clip fittings front and rear, designed to release the stay from the fitting if anything gets jammed between the ‘guard and the tyre. As the guards will be going on a bike that is also ridden ‘ sans fender’, the ease of fitting and removal is important, as is the speed and simplicity. We like a guard set to be easy to keep together off the bike. Too many parts to get lost or slide under the fridge are never a good thing. How we test The brand SKS Bluemels, from the SKS range of German-make bicycle mudguards, offer a combination of qualities you'll appreciate. The CAB plastic designs are the major highlight. Also, CAB is a cellulose-based luxury plastic (wood). In addition, CAB bicycle mudguard systems are flexible, weatherproof and UV resistance, corrosion proof and causes no risk to the plastics. This plastic clip retains the one-piece V-shaped stay during normal usage, but should a foreign object get caught between the tyre and mudguard, it enables the stay to break away from the fork, hopefully avoiding an accident. Close-fitting and easy to adjust, it delivers effective coverage that should protect you from the worst road spray. SKS Bluemels Longboard mudguards specification and features

A brilliant performance! The SKS BLUEMELS BASIC mudguard set can not only be perfectly integrated onto the bike but The rear stays don’t have the Secu-Clip, but as with the front ones, must be fed through an eyebolt, where they’re inserted through one side of a fixed mudguard bridge and tightened.also reliably protects against dirt and spray water. Thanks to the flexible sandwich construction, in which