Mudguard Bracket?

[Orgasmatron]

Can anyone recommend a suitable bracket to fit between the top of the valanced front mudguard and the lower cross bar on the Scott kite forks?
Chris.

[PaulR]

Try Barry Jackson, details on the back page of Yowl. Regards

[Orgasmatron]

Thanks. I will contact Barry.
Chris.

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

Hi, there is no bracket, and the mudguard bolts direct to the fork cross-member. Most forks have a lug incorporated into the cross member, with one part projecting forwards and another to the rear, so two bolts hold the mudguard in place. There needs to be a hole in the guard for the fork slider stem to stick through maybe a quarter of an inch. Occasionally the lug is missing, and it is easily replaced by a strip of steel bent into a ‘C’ shape to go over the cross member. Don’t put a spacer between the cross-member and the mudguard, or you will run out of clearance between the tyre and the mudguard on full bounce, especially if you have a 21″ front wheel.
Brian

[Orgasmatron]

A bit of judicious measuring indicates that the distance from the top of the tyre (on a 19″ wheel) and the underside of the cross member is 4-5/8″.
The maximum travel of the sprung section of the forks measures 3-3/4″ (that is if it actually bottoms out on to the wheel spindle).
So, it seems that I have about an inch to play with, to get a bit of aesthetic improvement (if. indeed, any aesthetic improvement can be obtained on this design) on the mudguard fixing arrangement.
As suggested by Brian, a simple inverted top hat bracket but with a 1″ insert under the cross member.
It’s a great pity that Scott didn’t stick to Webb girder forks ; those kite forks certainly are ugly!
Chris.

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

It’s not so much the forks that are ugly, but the big gap between the tyre and the mudguard, hidden to some extent by the mudguard side valances. On Webb forks of course, the mudguard can be a close fit to the tyre, and I take a lot of time and trouble to ensure that the mudguard is the correct radius to suit the tyre diameter, and that the gap is constant for the entire length of the mudguard. Nothing looks worse than a mudguard that isn’t parallel to the tyre ! All part of the aesthetics of the machine. Dennis Howard would sit for hours smoking his pipe, just looking at his Scott, and deciding on where the mudguard fitted, the angle of the stays, and so on. I have similar feelings about the angle of the handlebars and levers, and when I see a bike where they don’t look ‘right’ it really puts me off the bike !
Brian

[Orgasmatron]

With regard to measuring things to get them right Brian (and a comment you made previously about the gearbox tray requiring a groove for the brake rod), I note that my rear brake lever measures 2-1/2″ ctr to ctr of things that matter and if this was increased by one inch, the brake rod would not foul the gearbox tray at all.
Chris.

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

Yes Chris, but if the rod sits too low it can then rub on the frame instead… (on the inward extension of the lug that takes the bottom engine bolt).

[Orgasmatron]

Time to get the milking stool and pipe out and give it a bit of thought then.
It’s a pity that I don’t smoke or have never milked a cow ; perhaps a chair and a beer.
Chris.

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

Sounds like a good idea…..

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