Ass Savers Win Wing 2 Gravel

The Ass Savers Win Wing 2 is a relatively inexpensive, easy to install and highly-effective rear mudguard that's available in both road and gravel versions. An update to the original, this new version is said to be stronger and kinder on your bike's paintwork thanks to the included frame protection. It's now available in a new stealth black option and, in my opinion, is probably one of the most attractive ways to reduce rear road spray.

Our best mudguards buyer's guide includes both full-length and clip-on guards from just over a fiver to nearly £100.

Though there was nothing really at fault with the original, John heaping praise on the road version in late 2022, Ass Savers has updated it. It now features a tougher wishbone system and clear frame protectors so that your frame doesn't get marred where it attaches to the seatstays.

As with the original, it's available in both road and gravel versions – we tested the gravel version. It's still available in a range of eye-catching styles, including adventure-inspired Gravel Detour, attention-grabbing Spectrum, and new for v2 is a Stealth black version for those wanting more subtlety. You can find additional blades for €12.00, or around a tenner, via Ass Savers' website (I couldn't find them anywhere online).

Ass Savers says that 60mm is the maximum tyre width that the Win Wing 2 Gravel is compatible with, but I managed to fit it to my Bombtrack Beyond + which has 2.8-inch wide plus tyres. Clearance was very tight, and the blade has to be set quite high above the tyre, but it's certainly doable.

The claimed weight of the gravel version is 72g, but ours weighed 79g on the road.cc scales. It's pretty light, with the original gravel Win Wing around the 70g mark, so it really is the most minor of differences.

In the box you get the Win Wing 2 blade, a black wishbone and the aforementioned frame protectors which are cut to size. I chose not to use these as my gravel bike is titanium, so I don't have to worry about marring the paint, but I can see that installing them is simply a case of wrapping your seat stays in the area where the wishbone mounts.

Installation is as easy as before – it's a case of mounting the wishbone, and tightening each side in place with the rubber straps. Then all you have to do is move each side up or down depending on how close you want the mudguard to your rear tyre (Ass Savers recommends between 5-10mm).

If you're more obsessive you can centre it perfectly by adjusting each side independently. And should you be worried about theft there's a small port on each side that allows you to zip tie the wishbone in place, though a thief could unfortunately still remove the blade itself.

Once the wishbone is in place, the blade attaches securely either side; the top mount allows you to set the angle of the blade in increments to suit your choice, including -10, 0, and +10 degrees.

In action there's not really a lot to report about this new Win Wing, other than it just works.

Although I've not tested the original to tell if the new version is much stronger, I certainly had no problem over pot-holed roads or off-road gravel rides, and it didn't fall off when I bunny-hopped a massive kerb on my last ride.

As you can see from the photos I took, it kept my bike clean from the top of the seat tube and up on a particularly grim day, usefully also keeping the rear light free of dirt, and there wasn't a spot of dirt on my mustard yellow jersey either (phew!).

Of course, as with the original, it's not much good on club rides as those on your tail will still get a face-full of dirt and water. For that purpose you'll need something a bit more extensive such as the Topeak TetraFender G1 & 2 Set.

Value

As rear mudguards go, the Ass Savers Wing Win 2 represents pretty good value at £23 – only a quid more than the original.

Want slightly more coverage? Off.road.cc reviewed the Mudhugger Rear Gravel Hugger, which costs the same as the Win Wing 2, and appears to offer a little more coverage, albeit at the expense of an extra 71g weight.

Mike tested the Topeak TetraFender G1 & 2 Set, which is a good choice for even more coverage, though it's much heavier than either of these options at 537g, and at £66.99 it costs a fair bit more too.

Conclusion

For reducing road spray at the rear on wider tyres, the Win Wing 2 Gravel is hard to beat. It's easy to install, inexpensive, effective and unlike a lot of mudguards it actually looks like something you might want to install on a posh bike

Verdict

Probably the best rear mudguard around, an essential upgrade for road or gravel bikes in winter