Best mudguards/fenders for gravel bikes: Reviewed and rated our recommendations for protection against muck and spray for you and your bike

Mudguards/Fenders are essential for any bike being ridden through winter, especially those likely to be ridden off-road like the best budget gravel and best gravel bikes. In general, mudguards/Fenders for gravel focus more on protecting you the rider, by keeping you warm and dry, but some designs will also help in reducing the muck destined for your drivetrain and components.

While a decent pair of mudguards/Fenders will make a huge difference to your comfort on the ride, preventing the spray of muck can actually increase the longevity of your favourite waterproof jacket by significantly reducing the abrasive grime that can otherwise become ingrained.

Despite road mudguards/fenders ultimately playing a similar role, the much higher risk of mud, stones, and tree debris leading to accidents or damage has meant that the gravel world has looked towards mountain bike offerings for inspiration.

To that end, gravel specific mudguards/fenders tend to be shorter in length, and wider in the body to ensure coverage of typically wider tyres. A perfect example of this is the Mudhugger Gravelhugger, a personal favourite of ours, which is essentially a scaled-down version of it's great MTB offerings.

We've hand-picked our highest-rated mudguards/fenders for gravel bikes, having been through all the UK and Pacific Northwest winters could throw at them. We've covered all the bases from those looking to run big knobbly rubber to those that use gravel bikes as their winter road bike.

The Quick List

Best fenders/mudguards for gravel bikes tested

Best Overall

Hailing from a mountain bike background, Mudhugger's Gravelhuggers are incredibly quiet, strong and stable guards for your gravel bike and have clearance for up to 50mm / 2" tyres. They make an excellent choice for those riders who like their riding mucky and rowdy.

Made from 100% recycled (and recyclable) plastic, the single-piece moulded guards attach to your bike with o-rings and zip ties or reusable Velcro straps. During our testing, they offered excellent protection for the face, body, bum and back and kept the worst of the muck off the bike too. They're not full-length though, so make sure you remember your overshoes.

Read our full Mudhugger Gravelhugger front and rear guards review

Best Value

Zefal's Shield G50s are a sturdy set of fenders that provide coverage for tyres up to 48mm wide. Great for those who like to run chunky off-road rubber on their gravel bikes. Coverage is excellent for their length, as they can be positioned nice and tight to your tyre (allowing for mud clearance, of course). And all of this for a considerable amount less money than many other gravel guards.

The downside? They're heavier than many others, but a recent update has made them super easy and fast to fit, which goes a long way in our book.

Read our full Zefal Shield G50 gravel fenders/mudguards review

Best Lightweight

At just 72 grams and if all you saw was an image of the Ass Saver, it's hard to see what the Win Wing2 is actually going to stop. That is the beauty of the design, unlike many other mudguards/fenders they are pretty ugly and cumbersome. The Win Wing targets the area where most of the spare and mud is flung from, intending to keep the most important part of you dry. Your posterior, and it does an extremely good job of that.

I tried the Ass Saver on ten different bikes with no issues fitting to any. Considering they are also rattle-free and made completely of recycled plastics it's hard to find a fault.

Read our full Ass Saver Win Wing2 Rear Mudguard review

Best for stability

The Speedrockers are German-fender experts SKS's offering for gravel riders who want a full-length guard but don't have frame mounts for fixing.

Both front and rear guards have stays so the guard can be long but remain stable on off-road trails. There's a two or three-point fixing using rubberised or Velcro straps to secure them in place on the bike and we found that the coverage and stability of the guards was good. However, they're let down by the complicated fittings which attract a lot of dirt and the front mudguard did have a tendency to slip down the fork in use.

Read more: SKS Speedrocker gravel fenders/mudguards full review

Best Short Front Fender/mudguard

Ass Savers' Mudder Mini fender/mudguard is a low-cost option that's extremely lightweight, discrete and stable while riding and we liked how easy it was to both fit and remove.

It takes up very little room, so you shouldn’t have any problems getting it in between your tyre and fork - Ass Savers suggests it fits tyres from 32 to 55mm and any gravel/cross fork.

If you're looking for just enough protection to keep the worst of the road spray off your face and lower headset bearing, then the Mudder Mini will cover you for this, but its small size meant that we did still end up dirty after mucky rides.

Read our full Ass Savers Mudder Mini Fender/mudguard review

Best Folding Mudguard/Fender

Ass Savers aims to make effective guards that are as discrete and lightweight as possible for those with an "if I must" attitude to mud protection. The Fendor Bendor Big rear guard is one of the largest rear-guards in the range for gravel bikes and MTBs.

Weighing 60g, the Fendor Bendor Big is certainly lightweight but remarkably stable with some well-designed creases and folds giving the thin polypropylene its shape and rigidity. Fitting is straightforward, the single Velcro strap means you can easily attach and remove it from your bike, but we did find compatibility issues with frames that had a mono stay and it may well not play nicely with rim brake calipers either.

Coverage isn't as good as many of the other guards, likely as a result of the gap between the guard and tyre, and it didn’t keep us as clean as some other options. But you can fold the Fendor Bendor up to stash in your pocket and there aren't (m)any other guards you can say that about.

Read our full Ass Savers Fendor Bendor Big rear gravel mudguard review

Notable Recommendations

Kinesis Fend Off Shorty Gravel Rear: The Kinesis is a mudguard/fender I have had my eye on for a while now. I have yet to actually get one on in for a test but let me tell you why I am interested.

In function, it looks to be very similar to the Mudhugger Gravelhugger rear option. Mounted around the seat stay bridge and arches over the back wheel, similar to that of a full road fender. After 3 years of exclusively using the Gravelhugger, I only have a minor complaint and something I think the Kinesis would solve. Where the Gravelhugger mounts at the seat stay, if you have a bridge like my Sonder Camino you do get quite a lot of mud & debris build-up.

As the Kinesis mounts to the bridge directly and has a much more open design, thanks to the stays mounted at the dropout like a traditional road mudguard/fender. I think it could elevate this build-up issue. Watch this space, I hope to have one in hand very soon.

How we test

The Cycling Weekly tech team puts hours into fiddling with fittings, battling with bolts and purposefully waiting until the weather forecast looks bad enough to assess the performance of these gravel bike mudguards.

Compatibility is perhaps the foremost consideration when picking a mudguard, there is no point in buying the best-rated mudguard if it simply will not fit your bike. In the test, we looked at mudguards with a range of fitting options so it should be possible to find one that is ideal for your specific frame style.

Most of us would prefer to ride a bike without mudguards if possible, so ease of fitting and removal is an also important factor when choosing the right mudguard - they need to be simple and secure to fit if you look out the window and see grey skies at the start of a ride.

Of course, the primary purpose of a mudguard is to guard you against mud, so the testers looked at how much protection was provided for the bike, the bum and the face and weighed that up against the other criteria to rate the product.

What to consider when choosing a Mudguard/fender

Tire clearance

The last thing you want is for your lovely plump tires to be worn down by an ill-fitting fender / mudguard. Although there are many benefits of wide tires, sometimes it’s better to go for a slightly smaller option that won't rub on the 'guards.

Mud/branch clearance

Even if your tire isn’t rubbing on the fenders / mudguards, when the conditions are particularly muddy - and if the clearance isn’t capacious - you’ll end up with a large amount of unwelcome resistance as the accumulating clag acts as a brake on your tire. In particularly muddy conditions, a narrower tire can be the better option, all things considered.

If you're riding through forests where there is a lot of tree debris on the floor, a more minimalist guard set up is safer than the classic full-length look. Fenders / mudguards that reach near to the floor can get jammed with branches that are flicked up by the wheels - which can have pretty disastrous consequences.

Toe overlap and bag clearance

Another pitfall to be aware of is clearance on the other side of the guards: i.e., how nicely they play with your bags and feet. On smaller frames especially, toe overlap with the front fender / mudguard and giant saddle bags fighting for position with the rear mudguard are real issues.

A more minimalist guard can help here, being smaller in size and being more flexible in their positioning. However, that does come at the expense of some protection from the spray, so there is a balance to be struck.

Bike and bag protection

Fenders / mudguards aren’t just there for the rider, they also benefit your components. Keeping water away from your bearings, especially those in the headset, will reduce your risk of mechanical issues and make your parts last longer.

Although waterproof bike-packing bags are available, given how unpleasant a wet sleeping bag or drenched tent is, testing the limits of their water repulsion isn’t in your best interests. Even a small guard goes a long way to keeping the worst of the water off.

Rider protection

A shower might pass quickly, but the roads and trails stay wet for a long time after the rain. Avoiding the resultant spray will have a massive effect on your comfort and, consequently, your ability to keep on riding.

Wet clothes suck away heat from your body, while the water also softens your skin making you more likely to suffer from chaffing. You could avoid this by wearing full waterproofs, but no matter how technical the fabric, it’ll always be more clammy to wear one than not. A good set of guards goes a long way to circumventing these issues.

Frame protection

Fenders / mudguards that attach to the frame and fork of your bike are incredibly versatile. They are easy to take on and off and fit a wide range of different bikes. The downside is that in attaching to your frame, they run a very real risk of damaging your paintwork - and in extreme circumstances, even your frame.

To prevent this, it’s worth getting yourself some helitape. This clear tape that is incredibly strong and won’t be worn through by the straps of your guards. It’s almost invisible when the guards are removed, so your frame will stay looking as pretty as ever.

Some brands will provide a form of this tape with their fenders / mudguards, but it is worth buying some extra, as you’ll then be able to swap the fenders / mudguards between bikes - and also protect your frame where your bikepacking bags attach.

FAQs about Mudguards/fenders