need advice on mud guard distance from rear tire?

[Offroader]

I'm trying to fit a mud guard over my rear tire.

Would anyone know if it matters how close it sits above the tire?

Is it usually a better idea to make it sit as close as possible above the rear tire to avoid spray from getting around the side edges?

Is there any draw backs of it sitting too close, as long as it isn't touching the rear tire?

Thanks for any advice on this.

 

[wturber]

It probably depends on your use case.

For off-road, your want it as close as you can without creating a nice place for mud and gunk to accumulate or for minor mis-alignments to cause it to rub the tire.

As I think about this, for the rear tire how far back the fender extends and its angle is probably more important than how close it sits. A rear fender/flap is there mostly to avoid the "rooster tail" spray so you need it to extend far back enough to intercept the water and mud that sticks to the tire and actually gets flung forward as it is slung off of the tire.

But if the idea is mostly to control water splash, you could probably be fairly close. I have about a half inch of clearance on the fenders on my commuter. That has worked out well in that it seems close enough to reduce spray well, but not so close as to create any problems with the fenders rubbing on the tires. If I road off-road where the fenders would get knocked about, I'd probably increase the gap to an inch or so.

 

[amberwolf]

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[MadRhino]

Make them adjustable, for they might need tuning if you replace your tires with a different model/width/height, or ride different conditions.

On my bikes, the rear mudguard is pretty high and don’t adjust. On the front I fit it under the crown in the summer, over the crown in the winter. In very dirty winter conditions, I add flaps. On the rear to save the cars I pass, on behind the front to keep the salted slush from building on my riding boots.

Here is the alloy trial mud guard that I use on the rear. The front is CF, same shape.