SKS Commuter mudguards with spoiler review

SKS makes a huge range of mudguards, both under its own name and the Bluemels brand.

Its offerings include short designs as well as full-length 'guards such as these SKS Commuters, which come with mudflaps front and rear to help catch a little more road spray.

The offer many of the German company’s trademark features found on the best mudguards for less outlay. However, the length of the rear 'guard will be a drawback for some.

SKS Commuter mudguards specification and features

Available in 26in x 60mm, and 700c x 35mm or 45mm options, as well as the 60mm example tested, they come in black or silver PET plastic.

Rather than the more conventional V-shaped stays, the Commuter mudguards have parallel twin stays, with Secu-Clip fittings front and rear, designed to release the stay from the fitting if anything gets jammed between the 'guard and the tyre.

The zinc-plated stays are attached to adjustable brackets on the mudguard, which are loosened with a single hex bolt in order to slide the twin stays through and adjust the mudguard’s position.

The stays are finished with a plastic cap, but can be cut short to avoid toe overlap, then the cap replaced.

They come complete with the usual SKS fittings to attach the rear mudguard at the chainstay bridge, and with a sliding steel bridge to fit to the seatstay bridge.

The rear mudguard isn’t trimmed down at the front, and even a fairly roomy steel frame required it to be narrowed before it could be secured at the chainstay bridge.

SKS Commuter mudguards performance

The silver plastic mudguards have two full-length parallel clear slots within them, which can help to show how dirty the underside is, and they also have good-sized flaps at the rear of each one.

This is useful, because the mudguards themselves aren’t especially long, particularly the rear, which is quite short. It's not one you’d want to follow on a wet day commuting into the city.

The twin stays provide good stability, and combined with the shorter than average rear mudguard, and its chunky profile, manage to keep it almost completely from wobbling and wagging about while riding. The shorter front remained rock-solid throughout testing.

Spray protection depends on the tyre and mudguard width you use, but the 45mm tyres on my test bike were dwarfed by the generous width of these 'guards.

The only places where spray escaped them was from the front of the front wheel at speed, and from the rear of the rear wheel, where the mudguard simply isn’t long enough to stop all of it.

SKS Commuter mudguards bottom line

The SKS Commuter mudguards are a bargain-priced set from a brand known for its high-quality mudguards and the range it offers.

They do the job well, with plenty of width for wide tyres commonly found on commuter bikes and are available in a good range of sizes. However, the rear 'guard is quite short.

That shouldn't be a too much of a problem for you, but it may result in a dousing for following riders.