Lifeline Narrow Road Mudguards 38mm

If you want a cheap set of mudguards to keep the spray off you on your rides then these Lifeline mudguards do a decent job, and they're about as cheap as proper mudguards get. If you're also keen to keep your wheel-man dry then they're really not long enough for that job, and the average mounting kit and lack of quick releases on the front would steer me towards something a bit more expensive.

Using an alloy/plastic construction the Lifeline mudguards are pretty sturdy; you only get a single stay at the front but they've stayed put through some rigorous testing and being thrown in the shed. The stays push into a connector that clamps to the mudguard and can be moved easily, so they're pretty straightforward to fit and set up. The worst part of the fitting kit is the brake bridge holder for the rear guard which is a bulk plastic thing which limits tyre clearance both in terms of 'guard height and tyre width. I ended up drilling a hole in the mudguard and using an L-shaped metal connector instead.

The guards do help you to stay a lot drier than you would without them, no doubt about that. They could do with being longer though. Considerably longer at the rear, if you ever ride with other people; the 'guard isn't long enough to stop spray from your wheel going into your friend's face. In fact it's so short that it stops above the axle of the wheel which makes fitting a long tail flap harder as it tends to flop onto the tyre. At the front things are a bit better but they're still pretty short and I can't help thinking an extra few centimetres of mudguard wouldn't have made that much difference to the price.

£18 is cheap as chips for a set of full(ish) length mudguards and there's not much to touch them at that price. But it's not like mudguards are especially expensive, and the SKS Bluemels 'guards can be had online for a few quid more. They're longer, have better mounting kit and feature quick releases at the front so if something gets stuck between wheel and mudguard you don't end up going over the bars. If you must spend as little as possible then these are probably the cheapest full 'guards you'll find but even at full price the SKS ones are better value.

Verdict

Decent entry-level mudguards but better alternatives don't exactly break the bank