New mudguards

Just finished fitting a pair of new mudguards to SWMBO's bike

They're a lovely pair of SKS Hybrids purchased online from the CTC Shop
(which apparently these days is a branch of Evans with a discount)

The mudguards themselves have provoked a question, and fitting them a
whinge:

Question:
The advertised reflector is very substantial and apparently has a bulb in
it! Is there any way the light can be used? I'm loathe to try and take the
thing apart in the absence of instructions as it looks a bit brittle.

Whinge:
The mudguards come without the fittings to connect them to the bike, which
should if you're replacing old ones not be a problem (although b___y
annoying if it's a new fit). However, the much-vaunted safety connector
thingies at the front require a much longer allen bolt to attach them to the
fork than standard wire only stays do, so the bolts I had were not long
enough. Fortunately, the bike has (unused) bosses on the forks for front
racks, which had been filled with longer bolts, so a bit of swapping got me
fixed. But IMHO the missing fixings could be the ha'porth of tar that
changes a simple task into a real day-spoiler. Am I being unreasonable?

Regards
Budstaff

Budstaff wrote:
Just finished fitting a pair of new mudguards to SWMBO's bike

They're a lovely pair of SKS Hybrids purchased online from the CTC Shop
(which apparently these days is a branch of Evans with a discount)

The mudguards themselves have provoked a question, and fitting them a
whinge:

Question:
The advertised reflector is very substantial and apparently has a bulb in
it! Is there any way the light can be used? I'm loathe to try and take the
thing apart in the absence of instructions as it looks a bit brittle.


Its a 6v 0.6w ulb intended for use with a dynamo. I bet the guard has a
metallic strip built in and a small spigot at the 'front end'. One
connection is made to the spigot, the other via the bike frame and
stays. You could just connect a 6v supply to the bulb. The light and
reflector is almost certainly BS6102 and BS6103, mine is, it will be
marked as such, the marking is part of the standard. That means its
road legal in the UK.

Budstaff wrote:

The advertised reflector is very substantial and apparently has a
bulb in it! Is there any way the light can be used? I'm loathe to try
and take the thing apart in the absence of instructions as it looks a
bit brittle.

It must be possible to get at the bulb to change it, so you could look for
what voltage is marked on it. If hooking up a battery to it, I would risk
over-volting to get high brightnesss and efficiency: 7.2V battery with 6V
bulb, for example. However, you will get more efficiency by ignoring it
and using an LED light instead.

~PB

"MSeries" wrote in message
oups.com...

Budstaff wrote:
Just finished fitting a pair of new mudguards to SWMBO's bike

They're a lovely pair of SKS Hybrids purchased online from the CTC Shop
(which apparently these days is a branch of Evans with a discount)

The mudguards themselves have provoked a question, and fitting them a
whinge:

Question:
The advertised reflector is very substantial and apparently has a bulb in
it! Is there any way the light can be used? I'm loathe to try and take
the
thing apart in the absence of instructions as it looks a bit brittle.


Its a 6v 0.6w ulb intended for use with a dynamo. I bet the guard has a
metallic strip built in and a small spigot at the 'front end'. One
connection is made to the spigot, the other via the bike frame and
stays. You could just connect a 6v supply to the bulb. The light and
reflector is almost certainly BS6102 and BS6103, mine is, it will be
marked as such, the marking is part of the standard. That means its
road legal in the UK.

Yes, I've seen the guards with the strip built in but this isn't one of
them. I'm beginning to suspect this may be one of those occasions when they
find it cheaper to put the same thing on all the guards than have two sorts
of 'reflector'.

Budstaff wrote:


Yes, I've seen the guards with the strip built in but this isn't one of
them.

Good. Strips are the work of Stan etc! Use a double wire instead.
--
---
Marten Gerritsen

INFOapestaartjeM-GINEERINGpuntNL
www.m-gineering.nl

Pete Biggs wrote:

Budstaff wrote:


The advertised reflector is very substantial and apparently has a
bulb in it! Is there any way the light can be used? I'm loathe to try
and take the thing apart in the absence of instructions as it looks a
bit brittle.


It must be possible to get at the bulb to change it, so you could look for
what voltage is marked on it. If hooking up a battery to it, I would risk
over-volting to get high brightnesss and efficiency: 7.2V battery with 6V
bulb, for example. However, you will get more efficiency by ignoring it
and using an LED light instead.

And then replace the lamp with a suitable reflector. B&M make a very
good one for bolting onto a rear mudguard, if you can find it for sale.

Budstaff wrote:


Yes, I've seen the guards with the strip built in but this isn't one of
them. I'm beginning to suspect this may be one of those occasions when they
find it cheaper to put the same thing on all the guards than have two sorts
of 'reflector'.


The red plastic part on mine just unclips by easing the black plastic
part away from each end. Personally I'd run two new wires anyway.

Budstaff wrote:

The mudguards come without the fittings to connect them to the bike, which
should if you're replacing old ones not be a problem (although b___y
annoying if it's a new fit).

Isn't it though. Luckily for me I'm one of those folk who keep all their old
nuts, bolts and screws in a big jar.

However, the much-vaunted safety connector thingies at the front require
a much longer allen bolt to attach them to the fork than standard wire
only stays do, so the bolts I had were not long enough.

What purpose do these serve anyway? The stays kept popping out of mine so I
pulled them off and screwed the stays on directly.

TheMgt wrote:

What purpose do these serve anyway? The stays kept popping out of mine so I
pulled them off and screwed the stays on directly.

In theory, should you get a stick caught in the front mudguard, these
fittings release rather than the front wheel locking. I don't know if
they work, because a stick would normally jam under the fork crown, that
being the least bendy point.

I've only seen this happen once and the mudguard shattered (exploded,
even) with no harm to the rider. Metal guards are much more dangerous
because they bend rather than break.