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Comment by michaelt | Hacker News Reader

> 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".

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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.

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.

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.

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