If you are mountain rider for a long time, you should know this truth. If you run hundreds of kilometers outside a day, the fender is useless at all. The function of the mudguard is limited to the urban area. It rides slowly on a flat and tidy road at a speed of more than ten kilometers per hour. The mud and water carried by the wheels is weak, all of which are thrown on the mudguard without splashing on the car body or human body. But if you take part in a formal cycling activity, you will see what will be completely different:
1. The speed of riding should be faster than that of normal riding, and the slowest speed is more than 15 kilometers per hour, an average speed of about 20 kilometers per hour.
The amount and speed of dust, mud and water splashing have been greatly increased. Therefore, the shielding effectiveness of the fender will be reduced. If you are in the city, the fender can shield 90% of the splash, which may be only 60% in the fast riding time.
2. The riding time is very long, which is 5-10 times longer than that of normal riding.
The accumulated amount of dust, mud and water has increased significantly. The time of daily commuting riding is low. Assuming that the splash accumulation per hour of riding in the urban area is 1, If you ride for 5 hours, the dirt accumulation on the bike will reach 20 when you are in mountain riding activities..
3. The wind resistance will increases:
For example, the energy consumption of riding a kilometer with a kilogram of object is 1kj. But if you ride 100 kilometers at a higher speed (the wind resistance will increase), it is 150kj. This magnitude can not be ignored.
4. The fender itself also has the function of containing and carrying dirt, which will increase the weight. For a bike without mudguards, the amount of splashed dirt may be only 50, but for a bike with mudguards, the amount of dirt may rise to 55 or higher due to the increase of surface area.
5 when passing through the mud, when the mud is sandwiched between the wheel and the fender, it will greatly increase the riding resistance or increase the probability of vehicle damage.
6 when riding on complex road conditions (such as forest road), the fender will rub or even entangle with plants, and the completion of some riding actions will also be affected.
Finally, in summary:
1. The fender has no use in mountain riding activities.
2. The fender will increase the energy consumption during mountain riding activities.
3 will increase the probability of failure.
So mountain bikes don’t need mudguards. If you only ride slowly on ordinary roads, you can use a bike with fender.
