Need to know.
- Available at themudhugger.co.uk
- £26 including P+P
- Fits 26″, 27.5″ and 29″ wheels
- Weighs approx 78g
You don’t need me to tell you that a mud guard is an essential accessory for winter riding – whether you’re out racing or just shredding with your mates. Clear vision means more focus on the trail and more focus on going faster.
We’ve been riding the Mudhugger FR front mud guard for months – and previous versions for way longer than that. Here’s what we think of the newest version of the Mudhugger FR.
We’ve spent a lot of time with the Mudhugger and Mudhugger FR over the last few years. We first tested the original Mudhugger with great results, then met the new FR when it was first launched. We’ve now got the new and improved Mk2 Mudhugger FR which has been tweaked to make the fit more secure and to include some classy looking graphics. ‘FR’ stands for ‘Front Race’ by the way.
So Mudhugger started out with the ‘FrontHugger‘ and quickly expanded the range to bring in the Mudhugger FR, designed for DH and Enduro racing. It’s designed for those times when the weather really is bloody awful – it’s 70mm longer than the original at the front and 25mm longer at the rear. There’s also now a bit of a lip at the front end of the guard to help with mud clearance.
We’re big fans of the Mudhugger FR. It’s light-weight at about 100g, it’s almost invisible and it’s really quick and easy to fit to your fork. You attach it with zip ties in about ten seconds and there’s no faff required with getting angles right or bolting things into your fork crown. We also really like the coverage that it provides. The new graphics are also a nice touch – with a tonne of options available to match your bike.
This latest version of the FR has been modified slightly to offer a better fit and less chance of it moving around. Where the old ‘Hugger had six ‘slots’ for zip ties, this new version has 18 little holes. That means more options for fitting and the ability to add more zip ties and clamp it down tighter. The slight downside is that you can’t run big, sturdy zip ties any more – the smaller holes mean you need to run smaller ties – but that’s not a huge issue.
The FR offers more than enough coverage to ward off all the slop the winter can throw and as a bonus the design keeps cack away from your fork seals. We can’t also miss out the fact that Mudhugger manufacture their mudguards 100% in the UK – you can read more about the process here.
