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Comment by thih9 | Hacker News Reader

Also:

* you cannot install them on bikes with a rear rack. Here most city bikes have them.

That made me question who this is for. Looks like it's only for racing bikes that have taken off the rear mudguard. And those bikes are typically used to exercise..

Which makes me wonder about the cleaning after it rained..

Nobody who rides a road bike would be seen dead with something like this. There are proper road ebikes for that.

and no one who rides a legit road bike would be seen dead on a "road ebike".

We get old boys in our cycling club that want to keep going out on the Saturday social ride.

I don't have a problem with them riding an eRoad bikes, I like that they can keep coming out with us, but like you say I wouldn't want to ride one myself.

It depends what you use them for. I use one as my commuter. Most days I ride it with the motor set to just overcoming the added weight of the system plus my heavy backpack. That is uphill, against the wind both ways, of course. I only use more engine power when I have a bad day or am just done pushing hard. But I am on my bike, not in a car. Life is good.

On the flats, I get no benefit since the motor cuts off at my normal cruising speed of some 20 mph. It just feels like a solid bike in that mode, a bit heavy, of course.

I have taken it on a few regular non-commute rides as a test and must say it did not make me lazy or weak, or suffer less. Easy of riding is not me. In the end, it is the rider that makes the ride.

Meh, there are plenty of reasons to use one. Might be injury, old age or just keeping up with ones spouse.

Only commuter and bikepacking bikes have mudguards, almost nobody puts one on a mountain bike or a proper road bike, regardless of whether they’re electrified. This looks like it’s more for these “sporty” categories of bikes.

That's a big blanket statement

> Only commuter and bikepacking bikes have mudguards, almost nobody puts one on a mountain bike or a proper road bike

I suspect this depends on the weather in your area - road cycling clubs near me often require mudguards for "winter club rides".

That’s interesting. Our winters are often wet and annoying. You don’t see many roadies out there before at least February. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a proper road bike with mudguards in the wild.

I suspect people who are enthusiastic enough cyclists that they're doing 20mph+ club rides even in the winter have separate summer and winter bikes.

And yes, once your winter 'proper road bike' has mud guards, tyres with treads, and an all-weather-riding design people might start calling it an 'adventure bike' or 'gravel bike' instead.

You must be from somewhere where winter means rain vs. large amounts of snow. I can see if you're doing a road ride with a group (where they often run tight) they'd ask for fenders. Here a road bike would be useless once winter hits.

100% this.

If you see someone with mudguards on a road bike it's a sign they're a proper cyclist.

I don't think you're allowed to entry audax events without guards and you definitely won't be allowed on a club run without them. Getting a face full of oily road water for the guy in front is not exactly fun. Even small clip on "racing blades" will get you a sniffy look.

Why would you not want a mudguard? I personally prefer having one to getting a stripe of mud up my back. Is there a better way to avoid that?

My experience is that if there’s water and mud on the ground, a fender doesn’t help much. Especially on a higher travel mountain bike (I ride 150mm of travel front and back) where you can’t get it close enough to the tire. After a while it turns into a gunked up rattling sagging mess. I’ve tried a few and ultimately stopped trying, even on an XC bike. I don’t meet people using them either.

bikepacking bikes rarely have mud guards; maybe something small on the front. dropbar touring bikes often have full fenders though.

That's not at all true. Lots of people ride downhill and enduro with a set of small guards.

If you google images of something like Redbull Hardline pretty much all the bikes you see will have at least one front guard.

That's because no one wants a face full of mud at the wrong moment.

What I've noticed in my area is that people just don't ride on rainy days. If I'm at work and it starts to rain, someone will offer me a ride. It doesn't occur to people that a bike can get wet.

Bikes are sold without mudguards, and the aftermarket ones are flimsy and don't fit very well. (The steel ones that came with my 1983 Schwinn frame being the exception).

"Who this is for" is the great un-answered question in American cycling. The reason is that our biggest untapped market is people who don't ride at all. The marketing looks like lifestyle marketing: Here's what's wrong with cycling and how we solve it. Here's what you will look like.

Removing a rear rack is a few minutes with a screwdriver. I have my stuff in a rucksack. Good to point out, but will not stop most users I imagine.

The point of a rear rack is to use it, it's not there for style points.

Obviously, but many bikers don’t use it and would swap it for a motor if it’s an either-or choice. Bike rear racks are not that great, often. I haven’t used mine for the 8 years I’ve had the bike.

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