Why mudguard/pannier bosses?

It was a prerequisite to have a bike without fugly pannier rack/mudguard bosses,in most cases they were sawn off and Ive always wondered why companies persisted in putting these unnecessary things onto enthusiast level and race spec bikes in the first place.What were management thinking?Its like putting a toe bar on a race car...

Or a roof box on a Lambo?



Mid/high end bikes are used for more than just riding off road and racing. Some get ridden to work during the week then have nobblies put on for the weekend, some never see anything rougher than the odd pot hole. Some get used as trekking/touring bikes...

The mounts were handy for fitting the original Crud Catcher.

Was going to say that: in the winter, in the 90's, I used to run the original crud catcher rear mudguard which had two metal poles that bolted to the rack mounts. Was quite stable actually and didn't look too nasty.

I also had a crud catcher (actually found the two poles on a shed clear out today - no idea where the rest of it is)...

I was under the impression that the main reason for the bosses on the dropouts was more due to the fact that the frame builders bought them like that as they're a standard pattern and therefore a little cheaper than buying custom ones without bosses?

I chopped them all off on the Marin

WD

Can't speak for boutique stuff, but it probably was something of the time.

My 91 DB Apex has them, I've got a 91 and 92 Axis, too, and never thought to check. Thing is, BITD, I used my Apex for everything - off-road, as well as commuting and just getting around. At that point I had one bike, and that was it, no spare wheels for commuting so I had to swap tyres for during the week usage.

Although true to form, nothing I ever mounted to it required the mountings, I used reasonable length, but snap-on mudguards for commuting.

Fast forward only 4 years, to the same model of bike, but the 95 model of Apex, no rack mounts or mudguard mounting holes - so nothing on the dropouts or the forks, or on the seat-stays, and no hole through the seat-stay bridge to be able to add a bolt / bracket there. Something I found awkward when I wanted to get some guards for commuting, because I didn't want to be drilling the frame, but luckily found some plastic, fairly good length, that had plastic clips that simply snapped around the seat-stay bridge.

I noticed that on my Raleigh torus ti frame, whilst not mudguard eyelets at the drop outs, it seems to have a threaded hole in the rear wishbone that can only be for mounting a mudguard. Why, when there are no other fixings????

Ishaw, no idea but my misses' 200X P7 is exactly the same.

Q - Why mudguard/pannier bosses?

A - To mount mudguards and or panniers on

Simple !

TheGreenRabbit":2eagcmgv said:

Q - Why mudguard/pannier bosses?

A - To mount mudguards and or panniers on

Simple !

Click to expand...

Agreed, but the op wants to know why they fitted them to race frames where the use of mudguards/panniers was slim to none.

I'm also intrigued by the half way house I and another user has as well.