AS PART OF A NEW AWESOME SERIES, I will review popular products that I TOTALLY own, or own’d.

I picked up the Race Blades (regular, non XL version) after reading the Competitive Cyclist review (by the way guys, if they take longer than a minute to put on, please list it in the product description page also!). So far, so good. Really good for how easy they are to adjust and switch between bikes. Their review pretty much had the main points covered so I’m going to get real with you on these fenders. They’re good, but not perfect. Downsides.

One of the biggest sources of annoying splash from your front wheel is the water kicked off and into the downtube, which then splashes onto your shoes. If you’re riding more than 5 minutes, and you’ve got regular Addidas on or something similar, you’ll be soaked quickly. The race blades half-solve this problem. There just isn’t enough curve and extension on the front fender to deal with water that hits the downtime. This could be solved by somehow attaching a mudguard or flap where the fender ends.

The other issue I’ve had is also with the front fender, specifically clearance. Even when ‘perfectly’ adjusted, if you’re in a sprint or climbing, or whatever you do with your bike that has you leaning, there’s definite fender rub going on.

These are minor complaints but something to consider if you have a choice between these and another model or the XL. I also just wanted to call out Competitive Cyclist again for their review/product description inconsistency. And also not offering the white version! So much for euro-ness.