The Feathertail Mudguard Extension is light, fits easily and drops down to near the floor, greatly reducing spray for following riders.
It attaches with Velcro to your existing guard, the Velco held on with strong double-sided tape. It’s important to clean the surface very carefully before sticking – there’s an alcohol wipe included for a final degreasing, which is a nice touch.
> Buy now: Feathertail Mudguard Extension for £14 from Feathertail
I stupidly didn’t wait for the alcohol to dry totally, and the flap ended up falling off. To sort this, I heated the the glue with a lighter and then stuck it again. It’s been absolutely solid ever since.
The Velcro makes attaching and removing it the work of seconds.
For solo rides it’s not really doing much – unless you count adding visibility via its reflective stripe – but fitted to my SKS Raceblade it gave a noticeably cleaner ride for anyone behind me.
I fitted it to the Raceblade’s built-in mudflap, and it did flap backwards a bit, so if your mudguard has a flap I’d recommend either removing it first or attaching the Feathertail higher up to the solid part.
If it’s not hugging your tyre closely enough, you can warm it up on a radiator and bend it – Feathertail even includes a video on its site to show how.
Truth is, clip-ons that come up short make group rides less fun thanks to constant spray, and if you’re not running full-length guards the Feathertail is a simple and easy fix, priced fairly at £14 for its convenience. Plus, at 32g it’s not something you’re going to notice from the cockpit.
Of course, people have been making their own for years out of all sorts of things – milk cartons, for instance – but you’ll struggle to find one for a 40cm flap. And if you don’t want a Blue Peter-ish shard of semi-skimmed stuck to the back of your bike, this is a good option.
Note that if you only ever ride on your own, or with people you don’t really like, there’s no reason to have it. Get all your mates to fit one, though, and it’s a real boon.
> Buy now: Feathertail Mudguard Extension for £14 from Feathertail
Verdict
Neat, effective and convenient alternative to a shonky DIY mudflap
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road.cc test report
Make and model: Feathertail Mudguard Extension
Size tested: One Size
Tell us what the product is for and who it’s aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it?
Feathertail yells: “FEATHERTAIL WAS BORN OUT OF THE DESIRE TO GET MAXIMUM ENJOYMENT OUT OF GROUP RIDES ON AMAZING WINTER DAYS WHEN THE SKY IS BLUE BUT THE ROAD IS WET.
WHILE EXPLORING RURAL LANES WE GOT SICK OF BEING ABLE TO KNOW THE GROUP HAD JUST RIDDEN THROUGH COW DUNG BY TASTE ALONE… WE DIDN’T ENJOY GRIT IN OUR TEETH, OR HAVING SOAKING WET FRONT JERSEYS IN SPITE OF IT BEING A BLUE SKY DAY!
THIS WAS REGARDLESS OF OUR CLUBS MANDATORY WINTER MUDGUARD POLICY: THEY JUST WEREN’T LONG ENOUGH, SO WE CONCEIVED FEATHERTAIL MUDGUARD EXTENSIONS.
FEATHERTAIL IS A POLYPROPYLENE MUDGUARD EXTENSION WHICH PROVIDES ADDITIONAL REAR WHEEL COVER AND IS COMPATIBLE WITH ANY EXISTING MUDGUARD.”
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product
Feathertail again:
YOU’RE PROBABLY NOT A PRO RIDER SO YOU CAN’T SIT ON THE FRONT ALL DAY JUST TO KEEP YOUR JERSEY CLEAN.
AT 21 GRAMMES INSTALLED YOU WON’T NOTICE IT, BUT AT 40CM LONG YOUR RIDE PARTERN WILL, AND THEY’LL THANK YOU FOR IT!
YOU WANT TO BE COMFORTABLE: ROAD SPRAY RENDERS THE FOLLOWING RIDER WET EARLIER IN THE RIDE, WHICH SAPS ENERGY, REDUCES RIDING TIME AND ENJOYMENT.
ITS SAFER: THE ROOSTER TAIL OF SPRAY OFTEN FORCES THE FOLLOWING RIDER TO 30CM TO THE SIDE, OR TO FALL BACK OFF THE LEADING RIDER. WITH A FEATHERTAIL INSTALLED IT ALLOWS EASIER COMMUNICATION OF HAZARDS AS RIDERS CAN BE MORE EASILY WITHIN EARSHOT OF EACH OTHER.
EFFICIENCY: DRAFTING SAVES ENERGY (UP TO 40%!), BUT RIDERS MOVE OUT OF THE DRAFT TO AVOID THE ROAD SPRAY!
YOU’RE A NICE GROUP OF PEOPLE: WE MAY RIDE TWO ABREAST, BUT IF YOU HAVE 4 OR MORE RIDERS THEN THE FOLLOWING RIDERS MAY SIT TO ONE SIDE TO AVOID SPRAY. TO A FOLLOWING CAR THIS WILL LOOK LIKE YOU’RE ARE SITTING 4 ABREAST WHICH WILL CAUSE ANNOYANCE & FRUSTRATION, AND MAY LEAD TO UNSAFE PASSING.
N+1: YOU’RE NOT MADE OF MONEY AND CYCLING KIT WILL LAST LONGER WHEN IT’S NOT REGULARLY SPRAYED WITH ROAD DEBRIS/OIL, THUS LEAVING YOU MORE MONEY FOR YOUR NEXT BIKE!
VISIBILITY: THE 6 RETRO-REFLECTORS ON THE FEATHERTAIL MAKE YOU MORE VISIBLE TO CARS APPROACHING FROM BEHIND.
YOU’RE A NICE PERSON: YOUR RIDE MATES WILL THANK YOU, TRUST ME!
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Keeps following riders a lot cleaner and drier than they would be without it.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
I like the ease of attachment, along with how much of a difference it makes for the riders behind.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
It’s possible to make something similar for next to nothing, although these never work as well.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
You can get a mudflap for less than a tenner, but these never mount as nicely and tend to need drilling and zip ties, or rivets.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? If I rode with them – absolutely!
Use this box to explain your overall score
The Feathertail is a well-thought-out and easy-to-use mudflap which makes a real difference for riders behind you. The Velcro attachment makes it very easy to fit and remove. It’s a good product with no real downside – yes, you can make your own flap, though you’d struggle to make one this long.
About the tester
Age: 23
I usually ride: Storck Aerfast My best bike is:
I’ve been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Semi pro
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, commuting, touring, club rides, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,
If you really want it to hug the wheel pop it on a warm radiator for a couple minutes before folding, then once folded chill it in the freezer for a minute or two.
6 thoughts on “Feathertail Mudguard Extension”
Anyone used Raw mudflaps? I
Anyone used Raw mudflaps? I nearly ordered some but got stuck with the bewildering choice of custom options. Commenting on mudflaps on 30 April… let’s hope summer is better than spring has been!
quiff wrote:
Yep. I’d recommend.
Yes, I have the black
Yes, I have the black reflective Raw mudguards on both my wet weather bikes.
I also ecommend them, they’re very sturdy and look very good – especially compared to the ugly product reviewed above.
Yeah, I know it’s not ALL
Yeah, I know it’s not ALL about aesthetics but, Christ that looks horrible.
I’ve just bought an extension flap for my rear Speedrocker – yet to be tested.
Had my feathertail for two
Had my feathertail for two winters and love it. Just one on the back to keep club mates clean of my spray
I’m struggling to get my ride
I’m struggling to get my ride buddies to fit *mudguards* let alone flap extensions, the mucky pups, whilst I’ve gone over to (the since discontinued) SKS Longboards for full coverage.
Another Raw mudflaps fanboy here. The myriad custom options now stretch to ‘ass-saver’-type jobbies, too.
There’s also a page on the Raw website with the dimensions of the different mudguard styles which you can use as a template to make plain flaps yourself; for the right grade of plastic I’d recommend those soft folders containing fixed polypockets. They’re ideal.
(Pic of my old club’s custom prototype, with social media detail clumsily obscured)
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