Fitting them wasn't as bad as the last time (I have the same guards on the CX bike I have) thanks to the more relaxed touring frame design on the Surly and the touring specific lugs available for mudguards. That said, I had forgotten how fiddly fitting mudguards can be and only left an hour or so to do the job yesterday before it got dark, so gave up half way through and waited until today to finish them off.
The SKS Chromoplastic guards are excellent though, high quality guards that feel pretty bulletproof thanks to the design of (what I presume based on the name 'Chromoplastic' is) the metallic guard shrouded in plastic. They're not that heavy though, very light indeed.
The mudguard 'stays' are solid both in terms of materials and fittings - at the front they have a secure clip system that allows the stays to 'snap' into the clip, which in turn is then attached to the front fork lugs with a hex bolt (I think the main point of this system is if the front guard gets knocked hard or 'trapped' by a foot or something, the mudguard just unclips and is left loose of the forks, thus avoiding any further damage or accident that could otherwise have happened - can just imagine if you got your laces trapped in the mudguard stays you'd be in trouble!):
The stays are attached to the mudguard at the top with some quality little bolts, and the stays slide into plastic top 'caps' to keep things neat and tidy and avoid the stays getting snagged on clothes etc:
The only downside of that is you need to really cut the stays to length with a hacksaw to make the top caps worthwhile fitting, but it doesn't take a lot to cut them so it's no bother really and worth it to make the thing look neat.
I went for the largest set of mudguards that SKS do in the Chromoplastic model - 65mm:
Chromoplastics P 65 then. According to Chainreaction these are suitable for 26 x 2.10 - 2.35 wheels:
SKS Chromoplastic Mudguards Sizing Information:I though the tires I've got on were only 26 x 2.00, but looking at the lack of clearance between the tires and the guards I'm not so sure now, maybe they're at least 2.10... mmm just checked Wiggle who seem to have them in and they look like they're probably 2.00... very wide then for 2.00. Will be interesting to see how larger tires actually fit in these guards then.
Section Rim Tyre 35 mm 28 700x20-28 45 mm 28 700x28-37 50 mm 28 700x38-45 55 mm 26 26 x 1.6 - 2.10 65 mm 26 26 x 2.10 - 2.35 (suitable for Big Apple)
Anyway the foot/pedal clearance at the front seems OK (see photo below), certainly a lot better than on the CX bike (where my foot regularly hits the mudguard quite dangerously sometimes!) - the way the frame/fork is designed, your front foot passes right in between the two guard stays and just misses hitting the guard itself, so just about perfect as far as I can see so far. Haven't used them in anger much yet though so time will tell, so far they seem just right though:
Generally the frame lugs for attaching the mudguard 'bridges' (if that's the right term, the bits that bolt onto the frame) are excellent. The lugs are threaded, which means at a pinch you don't actually need a nut to attach them at all, just a threaded bolt. I added washers and nuts on anyway though just to be on the safe side.
The clearance between the seat post tube and the rear wheel is huge as well thanks to the touring designation (the extended chainstays for increased pannier space mean the rear wheel is about 2 inches from the seat post tube). As a result, attaching the rear mudguard to the chainstay bridge was very easy and still left a lot of room between the guard and rear wheel:
Have to say though these mudguards really are an excellent combination with the Surly LHT frame. I remember after fitting the rear guard, I had the wheel out of the frame and was adjusting the tightness of the bolts and I just though 'these are rock solid' - there's not much movement at all on the rear mudguard once it's adjusted properly, it feels like it could easily just stay attached to the bike forever without needing too much attention, would be ideal for long distance touring I think.
SKS Chromoplastics - highly recommended mudguards. :)
