Shane at Mucky Nutz sent us over several versions of their formible, plastic fenders from their World HQ in GBR. The versions we got in to check out are:
- The 45g Fat Face
- The 75g Fat Face XL
- The 65g Fat Gut
- The 45g Fat Butt
There a bunch of other versions from Road to MTB to Cyclocross. All share a simple, but well thought out theme, a flat piece of ABS plastic cut to a form so that when it is folded in a curve it will have a fender-like shape. In addition, some of the models, like the Fat Butt, have scoring lines to more easily achieve the desired shape, add rigidity and make installation easier.
The bike I get the most muck and gunk on is my Schlick APe so I set about fitting the various fenders to the Bluto fork, the down tube and the saddle. Including cutting the included Velcro strips to length, it took me about 15 minutes to get the initial fitting done. Now that the strips are cut to fit it takes about 5 minutes to outfit the bike for wet and/or sloppy conditions. Having used other fenders of a similar design I appreciate the Velcro fasteners rather than the zip ties used on other brands. Being able to remove the fenders at will and reattach them is a good thing.
While our test fenders have basic graphics, Mucky Nutz has added a wide variety of graphics and colors to some of their fender models. Check some of the designs here:
http://www.muckynutz.com/mudguards/face_fender
The true muck and slop season hasn’t started here in MKE yet so we will take a look at these fenders again down the trail.
Prices in the Mucky Nutz website range from about $11.00 US and $18.00 US depending on the specific model and current exchange rates. All fenders are available directly from muckynutz.com or at your LBS.