Handguards are made of plastic used for the protection of the fingers of both hands. these are light weighted, cheap, and give a comfy ride on the hard downhill trails.
Protection:
- Acts as a breaker against the cold air to keep your fingers warm in winters or snowy seasons.
- Prevent fingers of both hands from injuries in case of crashes, falls, or accidents on the single trails.
- it keeps the levers and the brakes of your bike safe.
- these are beneficial in controlling bikes while riding on the trails.
- Boosts your confidence level on the trails.
- Provides safety against the thorns of the grown ends of the long bushes.
- protects your fingers and hands against scratching
- Protects your both wrist arms from rubbing on the trees present closely on the left and right sides of the trails.
mountain bike handguards have three types:
- Plastic handguards
- Steel handguards
- Aluminum handguards
these types of handguards make a big difference in performing their functions.
plastic handguards contain twisted rubber and flexible material in their manufacturing which is strong and long-lasting enough to give protection to your fingers but they also break if you crash more badly on the trails. as these are made of plastic material these do not cause any injury to your fingers and hands.
steel handguards curve and then they do not gain their original position, and there are chances of injury because the fingers will stuck in them badly. so it is difficult to depend on them on the downhill trails if you are riding at high speed and your bike got crashed.
the most appropriate is the aluminum handguards which will attain their original position after hitting a crash or a tree on the trails.
Handguards and kids :
Mountain bike handguards are the best product to purchase for the kids especially if they are new on the trails, trails can be harsh and unforgiving as adults you may know the limits but kids being kids are not so careful in my opinion these are the best accessories or protective gear that you can buy or gift your kids, they come in all sizes and usually have a cool look to them and for a beginner, they are really great protective gear that should be considered.
Mountain bike handguards have two shapes:
- Flat handguards(Open)
- C shaped(Closed)
- U shaped
- D shaped
The flat handguards give half protection to your fingers and hands. the reason is that these are flat the same as that of the levers of the brakes and these do not reach the edge of the grips of the handlebar.
The C-shaped handguards give full protection to your hands and fingers because these are curved at both ends and longer than the flat handguards and one end are fixed on the edge of the grips and the other end is fixed near the brake levers on the handlebar.
Mountain bike handguard stickers are also available to stick on their outer wind resisting surface. these make the handguards pretty good and attractive. you can make your own stickers if you got some logo designer friends or from a near buy computer shop.
Installation of Handguards in a mountain bike:
Handguards contain many spare parts which are:
- Two spoilers
- Two Brackets
- Screws
- Two Shields
The spoilers contain space edges. fix both the shields in the spoilers by hand. insert the bolts of the spoilers and tight them with the help of a screwdriver. Now pick the bracket and adjust it in the shield at a 90-degree angle, and tighten the nut of the bracket with a screwdriver.
The next end of the bracket contains a clamp hole that can fix in the handlebar of your bike. the size of the clamp hole of the bracket does not matter because it can easily be stretched and fixable in the pipe of the handlebar. insert the nut bolt of the bracket and tight it by screwdriver near the grips of the handlebar.
You can easily locate the position and angle of the handguards by moving them up and down with your own hands.
Best Mountain bike handguards:
there are hundreds of handguards available in the stock market expensive or inexpensive. Here are some of the famous budget-friendly handguards that I have used for my fingers and wrist arms safety on high-speed downhill trails.
- AVS Handguards
- Acerbis X-Elite Handguards
- GEO Handguards
- Cycra Stealth MX Handguards
- Powermadd Sentinel Handguards
- Cycra Rebound Handguards
- Zeta Impact X3 Handguards
- Cycra Pro Bend Ultra Handguards
AVS MTB Handguards:
The price of the AVS Handguards is 55$ and the weight is 112grams. These are thick and wider handguards.it is made of plastic thoroughly. these can fit accurately on the handlebars of your bike.it is fully made naturally for the long and tough trails with trees and long growing brushes all around. both of these guards will give protection to your fingers and the brakes and the levers.it brings in two material forms:
- Aluminium AVS handguards
- Plastic AVS Handguards
AVS Handguards acts like armor for your hands and it gives extra safety to your bike while riding on the trails. these are available in seven varying colors which gives you a clear chance of buying your favorite colored AVS Handguards.
these are much easy to install on your bike with the Allen key and Hex key(3mm and 4mm.) it is not necessary to take off the grips for installing.
Acerbis X-Elite MTB Handguards:
The price of Acerbis X Elite mini bike handguards is 50$ and the weight is 124grams. These are flat and C-shaped curved and adjusted on the edge of the grips. you can insert a small nut of the guard in the handlebar end by drilling. these guards are used for both motocross and mountain bikes. the Italian company is the largest manufacturing company of the Acerbis X-Elite Handguards.
these are specially made for the closer tree trails and also prevent the cold air from coming from the front. The extensions of these handguards will give your fingers full protection. the most beneficial feature of the handguards is their ventilation. so you can use these guards in both winters and summers. these are available in different colors depending on your own wish.
small and large sizes of Acerbis guards are available with metal and plastic brackets.
Geo MTB Handguards:
The price of the Geo Handguards is 75$ and the weight is 0.23kilograms. it contains a shaft collar and an extension plug. actually, these are curved handguards. when you unbox them these are two long straight plastic guards but the plastic used is much more twisting. you can easily twist them and adjust them on the handlebars of the grip region. these will bend easily and do not break easily. You can adjust the angle of these guards by moving these guards up and down.
These handguards are light weighted and without shields. these have two long straps extensions. these will perform well on the single trails and will protect your fingers well and good but according to my opinion geo handguards are not much safer when we compete them with the other handguards, because the hands and fingers are open all around.it has a single benefit which is that it resists the cold wind air in winter seasons.
Powermadd Sentinel MTB Handguards:
The price of the Powermadd Sentinel Handguard is 34$ and the weight is 562 grams. It is made up of soft and hard rubber combinations.it is available in many colors you can choose the handguard color which should match your bike color. these are also used for both winters and summers due to their ventilation feature.it also contains a soft foam that covers all around the guard shield properly which will give you extra protection. these are also available in extensions and curved shapes.
it contains plastic shields, four screws with metal brackets.it also contains mirrors two attached with both shields which are easily movable to reposition them inward.
Cycra Rebound MTB Handguards:
The Price of Cycra Rebound Handguards is 71$ and the weight is 1.5 pounds. These have aluminum metal brackets. these are famous as flag-styled handguards. These guards do not wrap around on the edge of the bar grips .these are flat handguards. these guards have door opening and closing features like these are foldable and unfoldable. you can easily move both shields in inward and outside directions.it is because of the twisted, flexible, strong, and long-lasting rubber used in their manufacturing.
You need a 4mm and 6mm Hex key for the tightening and loosening of the M6 nut bolts and screwdriver for the installation of these guards.
Zeta Impact X3 MTB handguards:
The price of the Zeta Impact X3 is 51$ and the weight is 420 grams. These are pro bend handguards that provide full protection to your hands, fingers, wrist arms, brakes, and levers. These have spacers between the brackets and the shield through which you can easily adjust the shields in a horizontal position. these are available in blue, black, orange, red, green, yellow, purple, and white colors.it contains 28mm and 22 mm bar clamps for mounting the brackets on the handlebar. these clamps are specific for the left and right. you can fix and tight them on the bar with a screwdriver.
After fixing the brackets on the bar, pick the shield which has two nut bolts adjust the shield on the front surface of the brackets, and tighten the bolts with a Hex key. the plastic rubber used in their making is strong enough after hitting something these shields would regain their original shape, it does not bend or twist.