The new Ass Savers Speed Mullet is an odd little contraption. With a design adapted from the Fendor Bendor strapped to the seatube to deflect rear wheel spray, this Mullet dangles off the downtube to catch front wheel spray before it hits your feet.
Ass Savers strap-on Speed Mullet front fender
With the same easy-to-use velcro strap on the ‘business’ end, you cinch the Speed Mullet onto the downtube just behind the front wheel. Then, the wider ‘party in the back’ folded plastic fender reaches down towards the ground, halting most front wheel spray in its tracks.
Sure this thing isn’t going to stop anywhere near as much water spraying on your feet as a set of proper full-coverage fenders (like when you turn the wheel, for example!) But Ass Savers claims it truly is effective at cutting down road spray. Your front wheel does remain remarkably straight for the majority of time you are moving at speed. And it takes only seconds to strap onto virtually any bike, from carbon to steel, and whether it has braze-ons, downtube cable routing, or not.
Availability
Ass Savers founder Staffan pairs a Mullet with a fork crown-mounted Mudder-style fender (hmm… that looks like he’s using a prototype of a smaller Gravel Mudder fender) on his Gravel Plus OPEN U.P. and 2.1″ mountain tires to keep (relatively) clean and dry.
Like the rest of their simple designs, the Speed Mullet is also quite cheap at 12€. It uses well laid out folds to hang it & keep in place on most downtubes, and includes small channels where it folds around the downtube so as to not interfere with external cable routing. Keep it for the occasional wet bike commute, or use one to limit spray hitting your feet (and crankset) for long, grimy gravel rides. The Speed Mullet will be available in black later this month, March 2018.
