My instinctive reaction to that is "try some real mudguards", but...
Do I have to reiterate yet again just how much I detest mudguards? They are a right total complete, utter PAIN IN THE ARSE, and for my use case wholly unsuitable.
...Would appear to make that difficult, unless you fitted a rack you could use as scaffolding, maybe.
OTOH, I'm still a firm believer in the "modify the bike to suite the rider, rather than modify the rider to suit the bike" approach.
Have I mentioned how much I dislike racks too?
If you're getting splattered from your bra strap upwards, that must be from the very back of the wheel, surely? In which case I think you either need a full mudguard with AUK-compliant flap, or something long and wide above the wheel.
Or a waterproof jacket. Take off at end of ride, let dry, shake off dust. Done. No rattling, no gumming with mud or snow, no weird noises from cross winds. But my summer jacket doesn't go down far enough to cover my arse. I must admit to being less than pleased with the rapha waterproof I've got. They did replace it for me this week as it hadn't kept the rain out at the weekend, but I'm thinking for next summer I'm going to go for something that is longer, has a hood, and a slightly looser fit. For longer rides, the comfort increase is worth the penalty of a baggier, heavier unit.
Or a bike which can take proper mudguards Or get your current bike adapted by having eg Argos braze in a mount there?
Yes, I should sell my bike, and replace it with a Pashley Guvner, with 3 speed sturmey archer, drum brakes, ply wood mudguards, front and back racks, sit up and beg handlebars, and a carbide lamp...
Or pay out lots to have someone welding bits to the current bike...
Or I could cut up a €40 euro pair of trousers...
Or a bike which can take proper mudguards Or get your current bike adapted by having eg Argos braze in a mount there?
This is how bikes turn into touring bikes.
Or Oma fiets...
If this is the Vagabond, I have just looked at a picture and the 2018 Vagabond has mudguard eyes and the rack mounts ideally placed to fit a substitute brake bridge for hanging the rear guard. The only problem that I see is the clearance between seat tube and wheel and I would presume absence of a chainstay bridge, and there are ways of getting round that with a guard ending higher up above the rear mech and a suitable collar. It even makes it possible to rotate the guard towards the back to come a bit lower, although that is sub-optimal compared to a decent mudflap. Of course if the bike concerned is the race bike then I don't know what I'm talking about but otherwise if it was mine and I needed guards it would get them (bodged in my case - I have my reputation to think of ). Probably wouldn't even need the brazing torch!!
I don't need guards, I just need waterproof shorts, or a longer jacket, or both...
There's loads of space between the tyre and the seat tube, it's one of the things I love about this frame. Means I don't have to stop to clear the snow out as much. Means I can fit the studded tyres in winter, and the GP5k's in summer. I'd like to not gum up that space with some piece of plastic.
Edit: I didn't think Crudcatchers went wide enough for QG's usual choice of tyres; certainly my Raceblades (wide version but from a few years ago) only just cover 28mm. Finding guards to cover 40x622 and over could be the real problem (wide guards in 26" don't seem to be such a problem). If the guards aren't wide enough to do the job properly then the arse will remain wet (all the ingenuity in the world can't overturn the laws of physics!)
The box claims up to 35mm. I got them as an experiment, and they confirmed everything I already hated about guards.
Depending on the ride I use either
- 32mm GP5K (Summer)
- 28mm GP 4 Seasons (Spring and Autumn, purchased in error, had wanted 32mm, will replace with 32's when these die)
- 37mm Conti Topcontact winter (Winter below 5°, but snow/rain/ice isn't forecast)
- 40mm Schwalbe G+One allround (offroad inclinations, spring through Autumn, when I can be arsed to swap the gp5k's off)
- 42mm Schwalbe Marathon Winters (ice ice baby!)
I really love how the vagabond can take all of these, how I can bomb round on the MTB tracks, or do a 300k audax. All on one bike (I may even try cyclocross on it!)
Don't chop too generously, at least to start with.
My experience is that it's better that they are long enough to cover the knee at the top of the pedal stroke.
The end of the shorts leg works back and forth as you pedal, and if you get rain on the top of the knee, the dampness gets spread upwards by the movement (not a lot, but it's better avoided if easy).
If it irritates behind the knee, you can cut the back a bit shorter.
The movement of the fabric of the trousers over the knee cap over 260km last winter really buggered my knees. It's one of the reasons I'm not just opting for using waterproof trousers. So I'm gonna cut to be at least just above the knee. I'm not fussed if my thighs get damp. I just want to keep the area that is basically contacted by the chamois dry, my legs I don't care about.
I started on rainlegs, but non-breathable fabric, unsealed seams, and water running off the edge all meant that they got replaced by waterproof shorts for all but commuting. I'm now using what got replaced by Gore C5 waterproof shorts.
Gore appear to no longer make fully waterproof cycling over shorts for women.
Neither do Vaude.
Scott's don't go big enough...
Neither do Madison's...
and Maloja's largest size is just about big enough for my thigh...
Apparently there's not enough women, especially larger women, that like riding in the wet enough to drive demand...
*sigh*
J