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review

Topeak De-Fender RC11 mudguards

6
£21.99

VERDICT:

6
10
Impressive rear performance paired with quality construction, don't bother with the front though
Weight: 
39g
Contact: 
www.extrauk.co.uk

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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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.

Front RC1

This attaches via the rear of the front brake bolt, a neat little adapter passes through the rear hexagonal hole and screws into the thread of the brake bolt. This in turn has a little plastic adapter which allows the mudguard to snap on and off. Adjustability is taken care of by pivoting arms that are tightened in place by small screws. The whole assembly is then Velcro'ed in place.

In use the RC1 is bit pointless really. It's too short to really offer any protection from road spray as your feet and legs are still going to get soaked - and it's too narrow at the fixing point to fully stop water and grit being fired at the headset. The lack of any forward protruding section also means the front brake and headset takes a hammering from the front as well.

Once fitted, it can easily get knocked out of position as it is flexible from side to side. The removal/reattaching process is easy though and takes a minute to reset it to its position.

Rear RC11

This is an even less permanent affair being held on by a rubber bungee around the seat tube and a fabric strap around the crossbar. The angle is then adjusted by the usual allen bolt (allen key is supplied) style fixing - and jobs a good 'un.

The rubber bungee will fit a seat tube up to a maximum diameter of 36mm and along with the Velcro strap it stays put on pretty much any surface. The coverage is decent with a 25mm tyre and keeps the majority of rain and mud off your rear. Your bike's seat cluster still gets a soaking though thanks to the gap inbetween the two joining strips and obviously it isn't going to keep the rest of the drive components dry either.

Overall

The Topeak Defender set are obviously a solution for keeping the rider dry rather than the bike. The front and rear are a nice design which looks pretty good when attached to the bike and as I've said above the rear does a good job at keeping your back dry. Priced at £21.99 they cost virtually the same as the SKS X-Blade recently tested so the fact that the front isn't much cop still makes the rear decent value.

The fitting does literally take a minute once the initial adjustment is sorted which means the rear now sits in my commuting rucksack ready for those rogue showers that pop up when you're about to head home from the office.

All in all then the Topeaks are ideal as an emergency stopgap to avoid a soggy chamois. They fit well and are easily put on and taken off the bike, plus the quality of construction is very good; Topeak must be confident of that to be able to offer a 2 year warranty.

Verdict

Impressive rear performance paired with quality construction, don't bother with the front though.

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Topeak De-Fender RC11 mudguards

Size tested: n/a

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

The Defender RC1/RC11 set is designed specifically for road bikes and Topeak say they provide maximum protection from road spray and grime. They do a reasonable job for their size to be fair.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Quick release fixing front and rear

Fits tyre sizes up to 700x25

High Impact Plastic construction

Smooth underside to stop dirt and mud build up

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
7/10

well built and a two year warranty

Rate the product for performance:
 
6/10

Front- poor, rear- good.

Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10

No issues so far and can't imagine any in the foreseeable.

Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

There are some flaws but on the whole the entire kit is saved by the performance of the rear.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The ease of fitting and removing.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The pointless front guard.

Did you enjoy using the product? The rear has come in handy a couple of times.

Would you consider buying the product? No.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Probably not.

Overall rating: 6/10

About the tester

Age: 34  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: Ribble Winter Trainer for commuting, Genesis Flyer  My best bike is: Sarto Rovigo

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

 

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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3 comments

Avatar
thepocpac | 10 years ago
0 likes

Or try an Ass Saver if you would like a little more flexibility and save your pennies £6.99 http://www.thepocpac.co.uk/shop/ass-saver/

Avatar
Welsh boy | 10 years ago
0 likes

Like Mike says, a product where one of the two parts doesn't do the job it is designed to do (in the testers own words "don't bother with the front ") and the other half of the product only just works so the maximum rating it should be able to achieve is 50% (and only then if the one half is perfect). And what rating does the tester of a website paid for by advertising give it? 3 out of 5 (60%) which equates to Quite Good. Sorry, this tester has lost all credibility.

Avatar
mikroos | 10 years ago
0 likes

I just love your reviews, guys. I'm totally fed up with reviews from sites like BR (or rather: both BR's if you know what I mean  3 ) who are seemingly afraid of criticizing even obviously bad products because they want to stay in good relationship with manufacturers.

Keep it up!

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