In our Tech Q&A series, we tackle cycling queries – big or small, complex or simple – with insights from the BikeRadar team and trusted industry experts. Next up, a reader wants to know whether he should opt for handguards on his mountain bike.
I was on a group ride a couple of months ago where a friend rocked up with some of those moto-style handguards. Everyone ripped into him, but he was convinced we would all have a set by next summer. Lo and behold, a couple of weeks later, one of our group broke his little finger when he got too close to a tree – guess who had the last laugh! So, would handguards have protected him, and do the team run them?
Anonymous, via email
You’re right that most of us find handguards a little aesthetically challenging, but they seem okay on a motocross bike.
There’s plenty of stylistic crossover between the two, but not when it comes to handguards. They don't feature heavily on our bikes, but Tom Marvin did run them later in the summer – and got some gentle ribbing. However, he was a fan.
Tom’s experience is that handguards offer impact protection for your fingers, and in addition, they help the bar deflect off trees, without grabbing them and chucking you off – so your friend might have been saved by handguards.
The rubber of your grip can stick to the bark, jerking your handlebar as you navigate through tight woodland, while the handguards seem to brush past with less impact on your steering.
They also do a good job of stopping undergrowth from snatching at your hands.
Nettles are shrugged off, while brambles are also pushed away – although they won’t prevent them running up your arms and catching your elbows.
While we can’t confirm this, we’ve also heard from dedicated handguard users that they give a little protection from cold wind in the winter, so they might help keep your hands a little more toasty in the colder months.
Finally, if you’re a regular crasher and have bent brake levers in the past, they should offer some additional protection for those, too.
While handguards might not be cool, we’re coming round to them as an idea.
