Ass Savers Win Wing rear mudguard review

The Ass Savers Win Wing Gravel rear mudguard is a lightweight blade that attaches to the seat stays of your bike. It has been designed to prevent your rear end from getting wet while minimising the faff and rattle that comes with a full mudguard. It does a superb job, making it one of the best MTB mudguards out there.

Ass Savers Win Wing Gravel rear mudguard - Technical details

The Win Wing is a pretty simple package, consisting of only four parts. There is the plastic blade, the wishbone holder which is made of glass-fibre-reinforced nylon and the two ultra-tough TPU straps. The blade is made from 80% recycled polypropylene and the whole setup packs really small, making shipping and recycling easy and more sustainable.

There are two versions of the Win Wing available; the road version accommodating tyres up to 38mm and the gravel version (tested) that suits tyres up to 60mm in width.

The plastic flap, the blade, attaches to the wishbone’s clever little knobs and then the whole thing attaches to your bike’s seat stays by way of soft, slightly flexible zip-tie locks. The backside of its angle can be adjusted by choosing at which point it attaches to the top of the wishbone.

The whole thing weighs 72g, making it a very lightweight mudguard option. As with many Ass Savers products, it is available in many designs and colourways, so you can add a little personality to your bike if you wish. All of the Win Wing parts can also be purchased separately in the event of a broken or lost piece.

Ass Savers Win Wing Gravel rear mudguard - Performance

The Win Wing looks strange at first glance. I am an avid user of the basic Ass Saver (a plastic flap that basically slips under your saddle and as the name suggests, saves your ass) but the Win Wing’s design is really taking things to the next level.

I am not claiming to fully understand the physics of the way water and dirt spray off my back wheel but when Ass Savers said this thing works as well as a full mudguard, the company wasn’t lying. The traditional Ass Saver flap is only good at keeping your bum relatively dry, with little protection against spray when it comes to your thighs and legs.

The Win Wing blocked the water from hitting my backside, from the lower back to the legs. It is not a group-ride-approved full-length mudguard though and will spray riders behind you, so if you want to be nice to your fellow riders, you still need something more substantial (or ride alone). As an additional plus, the Win Wing stopped the spray from hitting my seatpost, meaning that my rear light stayed dry and visible.

The reason I usually don’t put my full mudguards on my bike isn’t only down to my laziness, but also the fact that they seem to always, rattle or squeak or make a noise - especially on gravel. The Win Wing is silent and stays put without any whining. It also doesn’t scrape the ground if you need to wheel your bike through gates on its back wheel.

The simple attachment system also means that it’s super easy to swap between bikes and it is also compatible with a wide range of tyres. This has been a godsend as I have accumulated more and more test bikes to ride and fitting anything more complicated (or permanent) on each would be too much of an effort. The Win Wing takes about half a minute to take off from one bike and attach to another - and while swapping it around I’ve noticed it’s also not scratched my seat stays (I would still recommend attaching a piece of frame protection tape as a precaution). And if you’re worried about theft, Ass Savers has designed it with a little zip-tie hole so you can zip-tie it to your seat stays semi-permanently.

It does need to be fitted close to the tyre, 5-10mm clearance being the recommendation and, while this first looks too close a call, it is the way it works best. The whole construction is also flexible enough that it doesn’t snap if something gets stuck on the wheel and hits the guard.

Ass Savers Win Wing Gravel rear mudguard - Verdict

As hard as it is as a Finn, I must admit that once again the Swedes have beaten the rest of the world and come up with a product that is simple in design and application - despite the questionable aesthetics.

There are other, lightweight quick-attaching mudguards out there. SKS Mudrocker (£35) is one example, and Mudhugger Rear 29er Mudguard (£27.50) but neither offers the same performance or ease of use as the Win Wing does. Either they slip down the seatpost, require a multitool (or zip ties) to fit or rattle.

At £22 I think this setup is excellent value for someone who perhaps has multiple bikes to ride, and hates the faff and rattle of a full-length mudguard. I can’t say anything negative about the Win Wing - it’s a piece of engineering I wish had been made a lot earlier.