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Stopping mud and spray before it hits your dropper post’s slider and main seal is sure to keep the post running smoother, longer. The Win Wing looks strange at first glance. I am an avid user of the basic Ass Saver (a plastic flap that basically slips under your saddle and as the name suggests, saves your ass) but the Win Wing’s design is really taking things to the next level.
PLACE. The next step to install the Win Wing is to attach the wishbone frame as close as possible to the rear tire. I found that loosely fitting the frame around the seat stays, adjusting its position about 5mm above the tread, then tightening the straps, was a foolproof method for a proper fit. In reality, the Win Wing fits a lot of bikes that simply won’t fit conventional fenders – no fender mounts required. But the biggest compatibility feature might just be that wide 19-60mm tire width clearance range. That covers almost every road, fixie, all-road, cyclocross, gravel, trekking, and cross-country bike out there.
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It may be minimalist, but coverage is impressive if you prioritise a dry rear-end. Russell Burton / Our Media Recognizing that their ideal product should excel at its purpose then go hide out in your garage as soon as the weather shifts is fundamental in the Win Wing design: it’s remarkably stable while riding, very light, protects riders from the embarrassing spray streak, and is a cinch to take on and off the bike. The Win Wing Gravel fits practically any gravel bike, protecting the rider in even the worst conditions. No matter the terrain, on-road or off, the Win Wing won’t rattle or jam, and with only 72g, you won’t even notice it’s there.
A simple wishbone looped over your tire and strapped to the seatstays, the Win Wing fender stops mud and water right at the source. Ass Savers call it “tangential coverage”. The Win Wing stops spray at the tire, before it’s thrown towards your… ass. And I kinda love it, from road to gravel, even to protecting the dropper post seals on my XC bikes. Two key selling points for the Win Wing fenders are that they fit a wide range of tires ( and bikes), and they are lightweight. This is not really a fender for everyone. Some don’t like the look of this gray recycled plastic loop hanging over your rear wheel. Some really need the total protection of proper full-coverage fenders. And some – like our own Editor-in-Chief – would rather have a wet butt than nasty muddy water bottles. And those are all valid concerns.
Ass Savers Win Wing strap-on rear fender
The fender offers zero spray protection for anything below the top of your seattube. If you have it on a full-suspension bike (like this Canyon Lux Trail), the pivots are still exposed to spray and the swingarm will still fill up with mud… or in my case pine needles. I later realized I’d positioned the Win Wing a little high. Ass Savers recommends that you “aim for 5-10 mm tire clearance” for the Tangential Coverage to work properly. That’s very close to the tire. As you can see in several of these photos, the bike I was testing it on happens to have mounts at just the wrong place on the seat stays. This prevented the Win Wing from being repositioned into the perfect spot. I tried it on a different bike the next day, and moving it a little lower seemed minimize forward spray, although conditions weren’t nearly as wet. Either way, the ass-saving function of the Win Wing makes it well worth it. The concept of the Win Wing is tangential protection. Putting the fender just a few millimeters above the rear wheel catches all of those tangential lines of road spray, right at the tire where they originate. While mountain bikers are used to mud, gravel bikers face a different challenge. Anyone who has ridden on a wet gravel road is familiar with the mixture of fine sand and water that seems to be designed especially to seek and destroy bearings, not to mention what it does to your eyes on a long ride.
The fender blade is made from 80% recycled polypropylene and has five holes that are used to connect it to the Wishbone. There are three in the front-center of the blade that are used to insert the peg at the top of the arc. Each of these options changes the angle of the wing and enables bikes of varying sizes to achieve the correct angle. Ass Savers recommends a horizontal to “tail-up” position to maximize performance. I mounted it using the middle hole, which tilted the blade slightly upward on a size large drop-bar 29er. There are two additional holes that match with the two outer Wishbone pegs—one on each “wing.” Once they’re all attached, it’s remarkably solid, given its scant 71 gram weight. During the R&D phase, Ass Savers found that water does not spin off the wheel through the full radial cycle but rather comes off at a tangent that, of course, is aimed right at the saddle. As a result, it’s only the rear half of a full fender that guards against moisture and dirt. With this in mind, the Win Wing is intended to be mounted very close to the tire and angled up (there are three center holes on each blade to aid in achieving this angle). The Wishbone mount comes in two sizes, a Gravel size and a Road size, with each model corresponding to category Blade widths. He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.The straps seem amply strong though, so it’s probably safe to pull it one hole (or even two) tighter than you initially thought was enough. I go until the hole is visibly elongated when hooked. Just as important as a tight fit is the angle of the blade. There are three different settings to compensate for the angle of your seat stays. Choose the one that allow a horizontal or a tail-up position. Avoid a tail-down angle as this will reduce the efficiency of the fender. John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work. Boulder, and Colorado more broadly, is heralded as getting 300 days of sunshine a year (there’s a reason I have chosen to live here) and, even in the summer “monsoon” season, the routine afternoon showers are short-lived, and (of late) less substantial all around. As such, I’ve never felt the need to outfit any of my bikes with permanent fenders, though they do lend a certain utilitarian panache to a classic skinny-tubed steel steed, imo. Sure, it would be nice to have on my commuter but in my current location it’s far from necessary and I recognize that half of that desire would be motivated purely by the aesthetic glint of hammered alloy. And, there simply are few fender options with big enough coverage for mountain bikes. Modern knobby 2.4″ trail tires (61mm) push this fender a bit beyond its limits, but essentially anything smaller than that fits fine, offering plenty of room for most XC bike tires. Extra benefits, too…
The Win Wing is made up of four easy to assemble components (Image credit: James Watkins) Design and Aesthetics
Ass Savers Win Wing Review (video)
As the gravel segment expands, cyclists face new challenges. The issue of having dirt thrown in your face is a well known problem among mountain bikers. With huge clearances for wide tires in the front fork, gravel riders are now facing a similar issue. As unlikely as it looks with its partial tyre coverage, this mudguard really does keep you clean from the knees up.
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