Feathertail Mudguard Extension

The Feathertail Mudguard Extension could be what you need; especially if you’re riding in front of me this winter!

Mudguards, if you’re a regular winter rider, are brilliant! They keep all that muck off you and your bike, making wet rides bearable. Modern mudguards tend to be quite short however, while they keep you dry the rider behind still gets spattered. The Feathertail Mudguard Extension is an after-market accessory that extends your mudguard, increasing its coverage.

I remember when I first started riding mudguards were huge long things that rattled and banged as you rode. They wrapped down almost to the ground, with riders adding extra flaps – made from cut down plastic bottles – for more coverage. However they were brilliant if you were a hardened all-weather rider or commuter.

Not having you and your bike constantly sprayed with road muck is great. It’s even better when riding in a group along beautiful, but mucky country lanes. Which is something that the inventors of the Feathertail Mudguard Extension agree with. They said that they “got sick of being able to know that the group had just ridden through cow dung by taste alone”! Nor did they “enjoy grit in our teeth, or having soaking wet front jerseys in spite of it being a blue sky day”. This despite their club having a mandatory winter mudguard policy. They said the problem was that the guards just weren’t long enough.

Do I need a Feathertail Mudguard Extension?

Water spins off your tyre as soon as it leaves the tarmac, only stopping when it hits the mudguard’s bottom edge. If you’re mudguard is a short minimalist design – designed only to protect your rear end – then that water will spray out behind. It will easily cover anyone riding behind you in a brown/black sludge; not great. The effect is the same on your front wheel, although here the victim is you and your bike.

While you can buy ‘proper’ old-fashioned, full-length guards, many people prefer the more minimalist designs. This could be because their bike doesn’t have mudguard eyes, so they use the ‘strap-on’ types. These are great for solving the problem of no eyes and can be easily removed. However they do tend to be a lot shorter. So although you are following the letter of the mandatory mudguard rule, perhaps you’re missing the spirit?

Will this extension help?

The Feathertail Mudguard Extension seeks to solve this problem by providing a polypropylene extension that will fit any existing mudguard. It arrives to you flat and you fold it along pre-scored lines into shape and then attach it you your guard; simple! Its extra length means you are no longer spraying riders behind you, for which they will be grateful; could there be an extra cake in it for you?

Weighing only 21 grammes and costing £14, they could be the extension you need to make those wet winter rides more bearable. I’d be interested to see if they also work on the front mudguard. Keeping your feet dry in the winter is a lot easier if you’re not spraying your legs and feet with cold water. Overshoes can help, but if its running down your shins, the water will bypass them. I’ll see if we can get a hold of the Feathertail and I’ll let you know how we get on. If you’re already convinced head over to their site to get one now!