Review
When I started mountain biking, somewhere between the dark ages and the renaissance, I had one bicycle. Everything bicycle related happened on that one bike. I toured on it, commuted, rode trails and roads and did a little racing. Most of the time, I had it set up for all three activities, with a rear rack and fenders. When it came time to race (XC of course), I would put on some lighter and skinnier knobs, shed the rack and fenders and anything else that wasn’t necessary, and then get the crap beaten out of me. I loved it when my bike was in that stripped-down mode. It wasn’t practical, but neither is an F1 car. The kind of riding I do now requires a similar ethos, so I’m always in what used to be race mode, aside from a light mount, a seasonal front fender and maybe a tube strap. Depending on how you look at it, race mode either got an addition or has been paused until the summer months because I now ride with a rear fender.
I guess I am now okay with making bikes ugly if it keeps my loins dry.
The crew from Lynn Valley Bikes here in North Vancouver are a pretty tight pack, and they seem to have similar habits. They ride nasty trails, at odd hours, particularly after dark, and they all seem to use fenders – including on the rear – in the wet months between August and July. They are also savvy and experienced, and I should have known they were onto something. Still, I resisted trying a rear fender until recently, despite often using one up front.
The turning point occurred when I was riding with a trio of friends, and one of them had a Mudhugger out back. At the end of the ride, James and I both looked at Jeff’s ass (he does have a nice ass tbf) and noticed it was dry and not mud-caked and sloppy like ours. Waterproof pants have gotten really good, but nothing can withstand a sustained sandblasting from your rear wheel for three hours. He was dry and clean, and we were slovenly and wet, and that was enough for me. I immediately picked one up. So did Eron and so did James.
The MK 2 udate to Mudhugger’s rear fender comes with velcro straps in place of the zip ties used previously. Very convenient and the straps keep the fender securely fastened.
Mudhugger MK 2
Despite all those years of wet asses, my timing was good, because more recent models of Mudhugger’s fender, the MK 2 (size large) have velcro straps that affix it to the seat stays of your swingarm, while previous models used zip ties (just like ICE). The straps make removal and installation a quick and minor production. If it’s a rare dry day in the mucky season, I can take it off in a matter of seconds. Or, since I’m often testing multiple bikes, I will swap it with no perspiration expended.
There is a proviso here, even with the straps; use the frame protection Mudhugger supplies for the mounting positions on both seat stays. Even when it’s very tightly mounted, the fender moves a tiny bit against your stays, and when there is corrosive dirt being sprayed up onto your bike, the resulting friction will make a mess of your clearcoat, then paint, then frame.
It’s been an almost snow-free winter here on the trails, but the white stuff has fallen right to the bottom of the trails recently. Here the Mudhugger is mounted to the Specialized Turbo Levo I have been testing.
Another change found on the MK2 rear fender is an extension that covers the space between the seatstay bridge and your bottom bracket. Many new suspension designs have pivots that are exposed to spray from the rear wheel, and this addition does a good job protecting that area, which should reduce bearing wear and save you money. I had to trim the extension to better fit the Specialized Turbo Levo I’m testing because it was making noise when the suspension cycled. It has a little less coverage now but it was a necessary sacrifice, and the extension is made of thin plastic so it can be cut to fit the design of your bike.
Mudhugger also sells a medium version that isn’t quite as long but I deciding, like most people, if it ended up being too long, I’d just cut it. The length does make it get in the way a little at first but I rarely notice it now.
These mechanisms will benefit from some weather protection. Both the Yeti LTe and the Turbo Levo I am currently riding have linkages and their accompanying bearings exposed to whatever your rear wheel happens to be spewing.
Front Fenders look better, and keeping mud out of your face is also a worthy endeavour.
Mudhugger Front
This front fender is infinitely better than the recent version that shipped with the new Fox 38. It had a clever design that mounted to both sides of the air bleeder valves and it was sturdy and rattle-free at first. Unfortunately, the circular plastic extrusions used to mount the fender to the bleeders split after a short time and it gets floppy and noisy fast. I have had this happen twice, and I’ve seen it on several other bikes as well. You could say I overtightened the bleeders, but I didn’t, and neither did anyone else.
I tried to cut the broken pieces off that ill-fated Fox fender and mount it using only the tiny bolts that thread into the fork, but it still flopped around and made a lot of noise. And can’t we please stop using 2mm hex-head bolts entirely on mountain bikes, particularly when mounting something flexible onto your fork? I’ll take a few extra grams for bigger bolts any day, both in terms of fitting size and threaded width. Seriously.
Mudhugger’s version provides nice coverage, mounts firmly and includes padding to reduce wear marks on your fork. It doesn’t have a quick-release feature like the rear fender, and those tiny bolts every fork manufacturer seems to spec for their forks are a pain in the ass, but once it’s on there, it stays put effectively.
It doesn’t look any better from this angle, and this is a 275 wheel, so the gap isn’t ideal either. There are two lengths available, but only one wheel size. Not sure if it fits 32.
My years of stubbornness behind me, I wouldn’t think of riding in the slop without a rear fender now. It does make a little noise when you are riding really rowdy terrain, but the trade-off is worth it. If I know there isn’t going to be any anal spray on a given ride, I’ll take it off, but it bothers me very little when it’s mounted.
I’d like to say you won’t regret it, but there is one small proviso. This is one expensive fender. Locally, the Mudhugger MK 2 costs 90 CAD. I may have coughed up some breakfast when I heard that, but it’s made in the U.K. from recycled plastic. It also weighs 220g or half a pound.
Rear Mudhugger 220 g – 90 CAD, 60 USD, 53 EUR, 36 GBP
Front Mudhugger Evo Bolt On – 79 CAD, 53 USD, 44 EUR, 34 GBP