Hand guards are nothing new, particularly in the moto world, yet the freshly released Crankbrothers Guardians stand out in more ways than one. The integrated design minimizes interference with handlebar controls, plus riders can adjust the fit across multiple dimensions to suit their needs.
I tested the Crankbrothers Guardian Integrated hand guard kit, which is designed to attach directly to most lock-on handlebar grips. The kit comes with shims to fit various grips from a dozen different brands, though the Trail One grips I’m running on my Yeti SB140 aren’t listed in the installation instructions. Fortunately, I found the mounts fit just fine without needing a shim. On my scale, all the required bits weigh about 70g per side.
Key specs
- Weight: About 150g for the pair
- Price: $59.99
- Buy from Crankbrothers
To install, replace the inside lock on your handlebar grips with the supplied Crankbrothers lock ring, and use the included shims (if necessary) to fit your grips. Then, attach the Guardian mount to the ring. Attach the guard plates, and you’re done.
With the Crankbrothers lock ring in place, it’s easy to remove the guards if you don’t want to run them on every ride.
Crankbrothers also sells a Universal kit that comes with its own handlebar clamp. This version takes up additional bar space but does save a little weight.
You can rotate the guards up or down, and adjust them side-to-side by up to 33mm. Crankbrothers also includes a set of spacers to set the guards farther away from the grips for riders with larger hands. I have big hands, and even without the spacers, I found there’s a ton of clearance, so I’m not sure many riders will end up using these.
There are two threaded holes on the mounts to choose from, which ensures a fit with most brake lever setups.
On the trail
My local trails stay brushy pretty much year-round, but that’s not all. They’re narrow, and tree trunk bark scrapes are all too common. With that in mind, I adjusted the guards inward as far as they go so that they lined up with the width of my bars and not a millimeter beyond. I can’t afford to have anything sticking out wider than my bars!
It took some time to get used to riding with hand guards in my field of vision. It’s not so much that the guards block your view of the trail, but they are a little distracting at first. I also felt like I had to adjust my timing when leaning between trees to ensure the guards cleared the trunks ahead of my bars.
In reality, that’s not entirely necessary. Because the guards are flexible, they act more like an early warning system that a bar might not clear. Once I got comfortable with them, I could sorta scrape the guards off a trunk and then dodge the tree completely with the bar. Of course, the guards won’t protect you if you miscalculate and get too close or ride too fast — your hand will end up smashed between the guard and your bars!
I like to ride without gloves whenever possible, and for this, the Crankbrothers Guardians are aces. Riding through briar-choked fields, I avoided scratches completely. I was able to ride faster since I wasn’t weaving side-to-side to dodge the nastiest prickers.
The Guardians are effective at deflecting small saplings, too. Getting smacked in the hand by a thin branch or small tree at speed is like punishment from a ruler-wielding school nun. You learn your lesson, but it’s painful. In that way, riding with guards feels like you’re getting away with something.
So why aren’t more riders running hand guards?
Despite the benefits I mentioned above, there isn’t widespread hand guard adoption in mountain biking. Why? For starters, not everyone rides trails that warrant them. If your trails are wide open and well-maintained, there’s not a huge benefit.
As far as disadvantages go, not everyone is a fan of the look, plus they add wind resistance that can be a non-starter for certain types of riders. The weight penalty is minor, though also non-zero.
Bottom line
I think for me, hard guards fall into the same category as fenders and knee pads, where I’ll decide to put them on depending on conditions. Seeing Crankbrothers wade into the category definitely adds credibility for those who want to give hand guards a try.
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