M:Part 700 x 35mm Commute mudguards

These M:Part Commute mudguards are effective and good value. They're not as polished a product as some of the more expensive guards out there, but they're solid and dependable.

There's nothing particularly clever about the Commutes. They use a polycarbonate guard and stainless steel stays. The profile of the guard itself is fairly rounded, which adds rigidity and means you can get away with one stay at the front, especially since M:Part uses a heavyweight 3.2mm wire for them. 

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Fitting is straightforward: you'll need to remove your calliper brakes to slide the mounts onto the bolts, and take the wheels off, but that's true of pretty much any mudguards.

The bolts the mudguards come with are Phillips crosshead rather than Allen key, presumably just because they're cheaper; it's not quite as easy to tighten them up but it's no big deal. The stays use a similar mounting as SKS Chromoplastics at the mudguard. There's a small bolt with a hole for the stay, and you poke that through a metal tab and tighten the whole thing up with a spanner. They're a fiddle to set up but very solid once everything's tightened up, and quite easy to adjust too. You get rubber end covers for the stays. 

In use I've been pretty happy with the Commute guards. They don't rattle much and they give decent coverage on both wheels. I added a group-riding-friendly mudflap to the back one; it was easy enough to create a hole for the bolt with just a kitchen knife, the mudguard material isn't particularly hard.

The downsides? Well, the cheap plastic rear brake mount is the same as I've seen on other cheaper guards, and it's the worst part of the package. It's bulky enough that it doesn't allow you to fit the guard flush to the underside of the brakes, limiting clearance, and the lips that curl under to hold the guard reduce tyre clearance at that point too. More expensive mudguards use a metal fitting that can be formed to the shape of the guard, which doesn't affect clearance anywhere near as much.

The other thing missing is a release for the front mudguard at the dropout. More expensive systems have a stay that can pop out of its housing so that if a stone or stick gets caught in the guard it doesn't stop the wheel dead.

I did manage to buckle up the mudguard by catching it with my foot when I was setting off on a ride. To its credit, it survived that completely intact with no damage.

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Our 35mm test pair took a 25mm tyre with no issues; a 28mm would have been a squeeze because of the rear brake mount. If you're running bigger rubber then they're available in 45mm and 55mm widths too.

If you're pressed for budget they're solid enough and built to last: a good no-frills solution to a wet bum. Mudguards aren't exactly expensive; if it was me I'd probably throw an extra tenner at the problem and get something with quick-release stays at the front and a less bulky mount at the rear, but they do the job pretty well.

Verdict

Solid no-frills mudguard set for commuting and winter training