Submitted by
Greg
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto, Canada
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2007
Strengths: Sticks solidly into my fork once the bolt is fully tightened, and stays on even after a mile in rough gravel.
Weaknesses: None so far!
Bottom Line:
An awesome fender that can take some hits and keep hanging on! I'd reccomend this to anyone who's looking for a good fender for not-too-technical rides.
Bike Setup: Trek 3900 with bottle and cage, Trek cycle computer, pump, X3 mudguard on the back and Shockboard on the front (both made by SKS).
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
billy
a Cross Country Rider
from cola sc usa
Date Reviewed: December 5, 2002
Strengths: very good protection from mud, lightweight, more protection than THE fenders and looks way better at the same time(on XC bikes)
Weaknesses: maybe the mounting bracket, not really
Bottom Line:
i used a piece of innertube in the steerer tube to tighten the fit of the shockboard. had some play initially, but this was a quick fix. and of course it mates well with their rear fender. nothing but kudos for SKS.
Bike Setup: homegrown factory limited frame(nasty): w/atom race, crossrides, thomson all around, arch rivals, xt/xtr, flite gel, atacs
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
a monty
a Weekend Warrior
from yorkshire England
Date Reviewed: August 3, 2001
Strengths: stops the mud
Weaknesses: doesnt work with my RST forks fitted with Tecktro brake boosters the booster plate crashes onto gaurd on rough ground IE not enough clearance between pointless front bit
Bottom Line:
take a hack saw to the front half for avoidence of the booster
Submitted by
Serpico
a Cross Country Rider
from Cle Elum,Washington
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2001
Strengths: keeps mud and rocks out of your face.
Weaknesses: by the looks of the broken mount when i found it, the mount is weak.
Bottom Line:
i drilled a 6mm hole in fender and mounted it with a starnut. i recently purchased one for my singlespeed.i used their hardware but used a starnut on the fork.this fender does a great job ,it just needs a stronger mount.
Submitted by
Chris
a Weekend Warrior
from Edmonds, WA
Date Reviewed: May 4, 2001
Strengths: It works. The price is very right.
Weaknesses: The steerer tube attachment system requires some trial and error to get down perfectly.
Bottom Line:
After having a rock fly offthe front tire and under my glasses last year nearly blinding me, I decided front fenders weren't such a bad idea afterall. A couple of rides of dinking with the dam thing taught me to sand the inside of the steerer tube with some heavy grit sandpaper to keep it tight. Haven't had a problem since. The quick release works very well. I recently installed a THE fender on my other ride so I can do a comparison test. Kind of a form over function thing. THE has the sex appeal. Shockboard just works. After mounting the THE fender, Shockboard has a BIG lead.
Submitted by
Scotty
a Cross Country Rider
from Vancouver
Date Reviewed: April 25, 2001
Strengths: Easy install, pops on/off easily, great splash protection, keeps bike and face clean, detaches without braeking during a crah (so far)
Weaknesses: Large tires hit the fender when shock fully compresses (Marzocchi Z4), attatchment clip comes loose for first few months
Bottom Line:
Great fender for keeping you dry & pops off when not needed. Any tire bigger than a Tioga DH 2.1 (2.3 for other bragger brands) will bottom out on fender and send it flying.
Similar Products Used: THE moto, Front deflector sheild
Bike Setup: '98 Kona Lava Dome
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Cle Elum, WA
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2001
Strengths: Heavier plastic than THE fenders, simple to mount, and keeps mud out of your face.
Weaknesses: Really cheesey plastic slider mount.
Bottom Line:
Well I got this fender because I was getting tired of having mud thrown in my eyes and after using it one time out I could see that fenders are definitely a great accessory. The problem occured when I went to remove the fender after the first ride only to have the plastic slider bracket break off. I took it back to the store and they gave me a new slider bracket. The next weekend I went out on a downhill course only to bottom out my shocks onto the fender and you can guess what happened to the fender again. It came off somewhere on the course and I never found it. When I looked at what remained of the mounting bracket you could see that it broke just the same as it had before. I would not suggest this product for a person with shocks with a normal travel. All in all I was pretty disappointed that it only lasted to weeks with very little abuse. As to the manufacturer, get a clue!!! If you can't come up with a better mounting idea, stay out of the fender business.
Submitted by
Mr. Poopy Pants
a Cross Country Rider
from cola, sc
Date Reviewed: April 4, 2001
Strengths: it keeps mud off your face, pretty darn light
Weaknesses: mounting unit is a bit sketchy, but it is holding up.
Bottom Line:
Had to jerry-rig a piece of inner tube to make one of the 3 adapters fit into my Zoke atom race, no biggie. went riding the other day after a entire day of rain, it kept me extremely protected from flying mud. I wish i used the rear. my backside was covered. So don't be macho and say fenders are for fairies unless you're gonna sit down in your car after a ride and not use your jersey to protect your seat from all the mud. They are cool.
Submitted by
Steve
a Weekend Warrior
from Mountain View CA
Date Reviewed: February 26, 2001
Strengths: Cheap Light Easy to install Good protection
Weaknesses: Need to crank the mounting bolt good and tight
Bottom Line:
This is a great front fender for cross-country. Unlike most motocross inspired fenders, the shockboard puts the bulk of the fender behind the shock, where it's useful, while putting just enough up front to keep mud from flying up into my spectacles. As well, the fender pops on and off quickly and easily. I have however found that the mounting bolt needs to be cinched down very tight, and it needs to be retightened every few months when it's new - the plastic binder tends to deform over time. After a few months, it will settle in to place and stay tight.
Similar Products Used: Various downtube mounted mudguards
Bike Setup: Stock Santa Cruz Superlight
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Bart
a Cross Country Rider
from San Jose, CA
Date Reviewed: February 9, 2001
Strengths: The ShockBoard rocks my world. It's light weight and does an excellent job of keeping the wet out of my face.
Weaknesses: Mounting into shock/headset could be stronger. I broke mine after a year while removing the shock. I emailed SKS via their website and they mailed me a new mount kit! Excellent customer service.
Bottom Line:
I have gone from being a wet puppy riding in the mudd with mudd in my face to being a wet puppy riding in the mudd with NO mudd in my face. This is a huge improvement. I am actually riding less in the rain as I've been feeling guilty about trail erosion, but when I got out and there is still some goop, the ShockBoard comes through as needed.
Similar Products Used: Bottle cut in half. Strange piece of plastic from Zefal.
Bike Setup: Specialized FSR-XC Comp with Vanilla Air-RC Shock Upgrade.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
GammaDriver
a Cross Country Rider
from Pennsylvania
Date Reviewed: January 11, 2001
Strengths: A great idea, copied from the plastic fender companies that charge way too much for glorified plastic.
Looks moto
Protects te rider
Quick Release
Weaknesses: Mounting hardware is, indeed, as Rob stated in the post below - it needs some wider stress point than the head of a 3mm allen bolt (as mine just proved)
Bottom Line:
Well, it's looked moto, so it was cool to commute with for two days (it's kinda neat watching the front wheel travel compared to the fender every now and then...).
But two days of 20 degree weather must make the slide part of the mounting hardware too brittle. I let the bike fall against an evergreen shrub (which isn't nearly the same as letting a bike fall to the icy, snow covered ground) and the slider mount snapped completely.
On one hand I love the product for its price range (when compared to other fork-mounted moto-style fenders), but on the other I'm never going to be happy with a well intentioned product that doesn't hold up.
I have yet to really try to contact the company to see what kind of customer support they have (which is, in my book, a really important factor in today's mtb'ing aftermarket parts economy). The LBS I bought it from was nice enough to give me the new mounting hardware from a new fender on the rack, so it's not like I can demand a replacement mount from the company - still, it should be interesting to see if I can get a hold of them and what becomes of it.
----
Ok, before I posted I went to the site and used the English site-link to get to their online e-mail (and just recieved an automatic cursory promise of quick response e-mail). I notified them of my problem as well as the idea to make some mounting hardware out of metal (heck, just the slide-mount in aluminum would be great). I also asked if bike shops or consumers could buy a supply of their weak links, and if they had some kind of warranty (no warranty info seems to be listed on the product packaging in front of me). They sure do have a nice site, nice packaging and plenty of boasting - I'm curious to see if they're everything they imply they are.
Three overall chilis for now since I'm sure it protects if you don't let anything touch it.
Similar Products Used: Made my own out of a large gatorade bottle I cut up and mounted to the downtube with quick-ties and a rubber band (which is still impressign the heck out of me compared to the Shockboard product)
Strengths: Inexpensive, works great, quick release
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
Besides the price, which I guess the guys at SKS found out the competition was twice as high or more so they raised their prices because they are selling for $25 this year, the really cool thing about them is the quick release. If you don't need the fender on your bike it takes only a second to remove it and/or put it back on again.
If you ride at night these are a must unless you live in a desert. It keeps the crud off your lights, cables and glasses. Basically it makes riding in the winter a much more enjoyable experience.
I've taken some pretty good crashes and the fender has held up well and even if it breaks, your not out a ton of cash.
Strengths: +Does its job, keeps me dry. +Simple initial setup. +Easy on, easy off mountings. +About as substantial as any accessory can be and still be XC-light. +Looks like a bike part, not some moto-wannabe thing Zap would stick on his bike. +Matching rear fender available, and it's just as good.
Weaknesses: -Could use a *little* metal in the mounting hardware to toughen things up. -Could encourage idiots to rip up wet trails (yeah, like this thing's to blame).
Bottom Line:
Keeps me dry, even better than I thought it would. Keeps the crud out of my face, chest, and glasses. Comes off easily with a push button ratchet thing, good for dry days or for being up on the roof rack in 80mph traffic. No stupid problems: doesn't slip, resonate noise, or give off eye-blinding flashes.
It's not perfect, the mounting hardware's just a shade cheesy, but when somebody makes a perfect fender they'll say "Oh yeah, we used the SKS Shockboard as our starting point."
Bike Setup: 2000 STP 200 w/GripShifts and a few other doodads.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Philip
a Cross Country Rider
from Kodiak, Alaska
Date Reviewed: October 10, 2000
Strengths: SKS Shockboard. Almost perfect design. Looks way cool. Light. Super easy on and off. Great upper body/face mud protection. What else can I say? The best.
Weaknesses: Head tube mount? No problems at all yet, even after a lot of banging around, but the setup seems a little flimsy.
Bottom Line:
Wow, what a great product. I live in a WET place and am always looking for a way to keep buckets of mud off my face and out of my eyes, and the SKS fender is the best I have ever seen. It is so easy to pop on and take off with a great quick release slider. The plastic expander setup in the steerer tube seems a little lame considering how well thought out the rest of the design is, but it still is the best, most rigid, most trouble-free fender I have ever used. Props to SKS! Yes, fenders can be cool.
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