Mudguards

These budget RSP Race Silver mudguards will keep your bum dry, but they are a pain to fit and are less well thought-through than more expensive offerings.

RSP (listed as Raleigh on the Raleigh website) make modest, but mostly reasonable kit and these mudguards are no exception. Labelled as Race they are quite short for a full-length mudguard and the rear would definitely benefit from a flap. It's not such a big deal for the rider, but anyone following your wheel will probably get fed up quite quickly.

Unlike SKS' Raceblades or Crud's Roadracer the Topeak De-Fender RC11 mudguards set is a more utilitarian style with the short front and the rear sticking straight out from behind the seatcluster.

They do having an interesting fitting design though which makes them perfect for attaching in seconds should you get caught out in the rain while commuting. Maximum tyre size is 700x25c and they weigh about 140g for the pair.

The SKS X-Blade is a brilliant solution for a wet bum when you don't want to fit full mudguards.

Seatpost-mounted clip-on mudguards sweep me back to South London housing estates where sinewy young men dripping in bling would swoosh through on mountain bikes so cool, you knew they were hot. Mercifully, the SKS X blade rear dirtboard leaves me with much happier memories. Made from a curious dual compound composite material, it oozes a highly engineered, rugged refinement synonymous with the German brand.

Essentially, the SKS S blade is the road version of the German marque's Xtra dry, which although pitched at mountain bikers, quickly caught on among messengers and new-wave fixer audiences too. This sturdy polypropylene beaver tail is pretty much the same thing, albeit more flattering to road lines.

The San Marco Ass Saver is a simple and reasonably effective solution to keeping spray from soaking your bum when riding rain soaked roads. If you can't, or don't want to fit traditional full-length mudguards to your bike, and most racing bikes won't take them, this is better than nothing.

The Axiom Rainrunner Deluxe Reflex Mudguards have a seriously solid feel. Both guards have a rubber mudflap on the bottom and once fitted they look great and perform well.

I have always shunned the use of mudguards, preferring to allow the debris and grit to provide a nice brown line of sludge up my back. Maybe a legacy of my mountain biking days but it just didn't look cool or right!

The Tortec Reflector Guards are at first glance just what you'd expect from a mid-price set of mudguards. Well made, solid and do what they say on the tin. Over the winter you begin to notice how many people use them and I can see why.

A number of younger riders I talk to have resisted mudguards on the basis that they are for older riders. Well I used to hold that view but now wonder - why didn't I do this sooner?

The clock has well and truly struck mudguard o'clock now, and there's plenty to choose from out there. Vavert is a brand you may not of heard of; they're fairly new to the game and their product range revolves around accessories that you can colour code to your bike. As such, the Fixed mudguard comes in five colours. Whichever you pick, you can be assured it'll do a good job at a low price.

The venerable SKS Chromoplastic mudguard has been a staple for audaxers, tourers and commuters for decades, and the latest incarnation is everything you'd want: sturdy, well made and decent value.

The Chromoplastics are made by sandwiching Aluminium stips inside a plastic housing. The resulting profile is quite deep which makes it stiff and sturdy, and it carries the now-trademark pattern of black strips and see-through channels. Fixing kit is all steel, with a fixed bridge at the rear and a sliding one at the front for better adjustability.

The posterior is right up there when it comes to bits you want to keep dry. Yet here in London in particular there's a certain type of cyclist that doesn't want to burden their bike with a proper mudguard. Enter the Ass Saver. It's a tiny little bit of folding plastic that slots in underneath your saddle. When it's dry, it hides away underneath; when it's wet, it unfolds to provide a wedge-shaped bit of bum protection from spray arcing from the top of your back wheel.