The All Mountain Style Mud Guard does a fair job of keeping roost and spray out of your face, is small and unobtrusive, and has a chunky build that should last. AMS do a ton of strong graphical designs, too. The thick plastic doesn't bend easily enough and can reduce clearance to your tyre, however, and it can only protect you so much.
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At 243mm long and tapering fairly heavily, the Mud Guard (how's that for a no-nonsense name?) catches any filth spraying from the centre of the tyre, and gives a useful bit of protection to your stanchions and fork seals. It can't stop anything flung from the larger chunks on the outer edges, however – it's a minimalist design with minimalist coverage.
Despite that diminutive size, it's not without niggles. The securing holes are quite large, which means the guard can shift even when ziptied down firmly. And while it's straightforward to fit, the heavy-gauge plastic is a bit too resistant to curving into shape and sitting flush to the fork.
The 1.2mm polymer isn't flexible enough to really tuck in beneath more angular fork bridges, while the ziptie holes aren't spread out enough to force it into position either. As a result it can curve too close to the tyre edges, reducing clearance to the point of scuffing on bigger or more aggressive trail tyres. That in turn led to a build-up of mud and filth throughout this test.
There isn’t much variety in this style of mudguard - it's a simple, elegant solution for almost any fork. Improvements are usually minor and involve materials, such as recycled plastic. The All Mountain Style Mud Guard is a crystal polymer and not recyclable – which feels like a real shame.
I think the Mud Guard would work better using a lighter plastic (and perhaps with some markings underneath for adding more suitably-spaced holes), as the curve created by the fork brace gives it a fair amount of rigidity anyway.
Really it should also be recyclable, and/or made from recycled plastic.
With an absolute truckload of graphic options, low weight and a decent price, the All Mountain Style Mud Guard is an easy way to add a bit of style and protection to your bike, but unless you've got a nicely rounded fork bridge and reasonably slim tyres – or you're just desperate to have a wolf's face stuck in your front tyre – it shouldn't be your first choice.
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