Portland Design Works Full Metal Fenders 700x55mm

Spending over £100 on mudguards might sound excessive, but if you rack up miles through winter grime, or simply ride throughout the year, the right set can be worth every penny. The Portland Design Works Full Metal Fenders are regarded by many as some of the best available, and I agree – they’re one of the most worthwhile investments you can make for any bike.

If you ride through the worst that winter throws at you, mudguards are a necessity. And ideally you don’t just want protection from the wet and filth, you want a solid, reliable set that doesn’t move, rattle, or rub.

There are plenty of clip-on options available, and designs such as the Ass Savers Win Wing give decent rear coverage if you never ride with anyone else and want something you can fit in seconds, but no clip-on guard can match the protection of a properly fitted set.

Portland Design Works’ Fenders (PDW is an American company) are made in a wide range of sizes to suit different wheel diameters and widths, from 20in through to 26in, 27.5in and 700mm. The version I’ve been using is the largest 700mm wheelset currently available, and fits up to a 47mm tyre according to PDW, though I’d hesitate to go wider than 45mm, making them suitable for gravel bikes.

Fitting

Fitting mudguards is rarely straightforward, as there are many attachments and adaptors to consider. Even though I’ve fitted PDW mudguards before, I still gave myself at least an hour, which proved optimistic. Many bikes present specific challenges, and on mine it was the fork, which has the mudguard mount threaded to the rear. This pushed the guard backwards and affected the height, and required the strut to be measured and cut for tyre clearance.

While not complicated, it’s a job that needs precision. It’s reassuring to know that spares for individual parts are available should you make a mistake.

The rear guard was easier to fit, though it still took around an hour, and the struts needed trimming for a neater look. The instructions provided by PDW are clear and easy to follow, but you might need to make small adjustments depending on your bike. For simpler setups, following the suggested order works well, but for others, it’s worth reading everything through first and fitting them in the order that best suits your frame.

The mudguards use one-piece stays that secure at the bike rather than at the guard itself, unlike many designs. The big advantage here is that there are no metal struts sticking up that need rubber caps, which often fall off.

The downside is that the supplied struts are deliberately long to ensure they will fit and clear on most bikes, so trimming may be needed for a clean fit. If it is needed, a hacksaw works best to give a clean cut, to ensure they slot neatly into the mounts.

For the front guard, the strut will fit most bikes near the axle or into specific fork mounts, with adaptors available for various setups if needed, though I didn’t require any. The stays attach to the guard using the supplied bolts, and there’s roughly 1cm of height adjustment at the mount. The front guard has a fixed crown attachment, and both front and rear come with flexible, folded polypropylene flaps that can be cut to length if required.

The rear guard follows a similar design, with two strut attachment points for extra support. The bridge is crimped in place rather than bolted, and the lower connection is cut and slimmed down to fit neatly onto the chainstay bridge.

With the guards fitted, the angled shape fitted around the tyres and matched the profile of the frame and fork well, and should help prevent them from twisting within the frame. The eagle-eyed might notice the height discrepancy front and rear over the tyres; to explain – I kept the extra space over the rear tyre as I was using the bike off-road, but I couldn’t raise the front to match, primarily because of the shape and positioning of the mount on the fork.

In use

The guards have been rock solid in use, and this has been put to the test regularly when heading off-road on rougher terrain. There is no noticeable side-to-side or vertical movement, and no tyre rub at all when pushing harder riding uphill, although a big factor here will be wheel stiffness.

Occasionally, when riding on muddy tracks or wet roads I could hear grit inside the guards, especially at the front where the clearance on my bike is tighter. Metal guards tend to amplify sound more than plastic ones, but you soon get used to it, and it doesn’t indicate there is a problem.

It’s also reassuring that the mounting points where the struts attach to the frame are designed as safety releases, so in the event of a major impact or clogging, the struts should detach before damaging the mounts or guards – as well as preventing your front wheel (and you!) coming to a sudden halt.

Value

The PDW Full Metal Fenders are a pricey proposition – more expensive than all-plastic guards and many metal options – but worth it, I reckon.

Kinesis’ Fend-Offs, for example, are now £60, as are the SKS Edge Aluminium Mudguards. The Kinesis guards offer a similar profile, but with struts that end at the tips of the guards, while the SKS guards I’d previously fitted to the same bike are far more basic, with a boxy shape and less-refined finish; the metal is thinner, the structure less rigid, and I had to trim and reshape them in several areas. The fixings even worked loose during rides.

Josh was very impressed with the Kinesis Fend Off Wide Road Mudguards, and they’re cheaper at £65, and very good, but just not in the same league as the PDWs in my opinion.

The closest competitors in terms of quality are probably the Honjo Kokens, a Japanese brand whose guards require bespoke fitting as they’re not pre-drilled, with comparable sizes costing around £80, or Velo Orange’s, priced at £100, which offer a similar style. Both come in hammered or polished finishes in silver or black aluminium, and both will save you a bit of cash.

Check out more options in our guide to the best road bike mudguards – from clip-ons to bolt-ons and everything in between.

Conclusion

While the PDW Fenders take time to install, they’re not as complex as some options, and the wide range of sizes, fittings, adaptors and spares makes them suitable for most bikes. The coverage and stability they provide are outstanding, and once fitted they shouldn’t need any further attention. They’ll keep you and anyone riding behind you clean and dry. These are, in my view, up with the best mudguards you can buy, and a very sound investment.

Verdict

Very strong, stable mudguards with a sleek, refined look

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