Ass Savers Win Wing 2: Has Your Back

At the risk of breaking the golden rule by giving away the verdict at the start of a review—let's make this simple for those who want the goods upfront. The Ass Savers Win Wing is affordable, easy to install, and 100% effective. If you are thinking about buying one, the answer is a resounding yes. For those of you still undecided, please proceed. After all, I assume you want to know how well it saved my ass.

Our family moved to southern Vancouver Island over five years ago and it's wetter than most places in Canada. BC's capital, Victoria is part of a small microcosm that protects it from much of the rainfall experienced on the south island, however, once you head out into the trees, it can feel like you're riding underwater. In winter, our forests turn into a green-carpeted water balloon. At this time of the year, I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll be as wet and muddy as humanly possible by the end of any ride and chalk it up to another aspect of island life. Because of this, I hadn't bothered to figure out how to prevent this until this season.

I had a mudguard when commuting in Toronto during the early 2000s, primarily for springtime slush and the occasional summer rainstorm. The big, cheap plastic half-fender looked silly clamped to the seat post of hyper-sleek hardtail but the thing worked—and it worked well. Since then, I've tried a few other mudguards and fender systems that left me disappointed. I failed miserably at installation or found they didn't do what they advertised.

Over the past few years, I spotted the Win Wing from Ass Savers on a few local riders' rigs and social media. Seeing it immediately reminded me of my old chunky plastic guard but with a modern sleek form factor. I couldn't help but admire the clean lines complementing the look of my bike, but limited tire clearance had me initially concerned. There was something about it that just screamed effectiveness, so, I was pumped to see if it lived up to all the hype.

For reasons beyond my control, I had to test the Win Wing on my custom XC bike instead of a gravel bike, which the mudguard is intended for. However, I thought this situation could make for a great extreme test—seeing not only how well it saves my ass from wet gravel roads, but how it handles the mud.

About Ass Savers

There's no mistaking what Ass Savers' mission is—it's right there in the name. Founded in 2011 by designer and cyclist Staffan Widell, the company has become a leader in the Ass Saving industry. The team at Ass Savers hails from the “land of perma-moist,” Gothenburg, Sweden—a fitting origin for a brand focused on keeping cyclists dry. I wasn't aware of this, but Gothenburg is one of the rainiest cities on Earth, with around 270 days of rainfall a year. Combine those conditions with cycling culture and Swedish design sensibilities, you get something truly special.

Ass Savers boasts a range of ass-saving products with slick designs that not only look great but are also made from recycled plastic. Best of all, they ship worldwide at affordable prices, making them as accessible as they are practical.

Attaching the Win Wing

Out of the package, the Win Wing looked like it would be a snap to attach to the bike as it requires no tools—so I got right to it, put my bike on the stand, and tried to line up the Win Wing's wishbone frame from the side—that was a mistake. The Win Wing comes with clear adhesive strips to protect your frame from the wishbone frame, which is a nice touch, but it was tough to figure out exactly where to put them, especially with the bike on the stand. At this point, I decided it was wise to watch the installation video on the Ass Savers website.

I took the bike off the stand and got behind the back wheel as shown in the video. This made things much easier, as I could eyeball the placement on both stays and check the tire clearance all at once. Because my tires were slightly outside the recommended size range, I attached the guard at 25mm of clearance rather than the suggested 10 mm clearance—until I noticed the included sticker that said, “Mount Right, Mount Tight.” I stopped and re-adjusted to about 12 mm of clearance— slightly more than the suggested 10 mm.

To be clear, none of this is a complaint. Compared to anything that bolts into a frame, the installation of the Win Wing is a breeze. Once everything is aligned, the straps are quick and easy to tighten to the stays. With the wishbone frame secured, the next step is to attach the wing with two simple side snaps and a peg. Three holes on the wing let you adjust its angle in 10-degree increments.

The exact angle you choose will depend on the geometry of your rear seat stays. I went with the middle hole, which aligns close to a level, zero-degree angle. On my bike with its short stays, this still left the guard with a slight upward tilt and perfectly suited the bike's overall vibe.

Fit, Form & Function

The Win Wing's beauty lies in its simplicity and construction—you can watch how it was designed here. According to the Ass Savers website, the combined weight of the wing and frame is listed at 72 grams. While we're not exactly a weight-weenie website, it tipped my cheap scale at 77.4 grams—a difference of a large grape. Not exactly a dealbreaker.

It's said to effectively protect tires up to 60 mm (or 2.3”) wide, however, due to testing constraints, I had to put the Win Wing on my XC bike, which was currently running a new set of 2.4” Maxxis Forekasters. Eyeballing the width of the wing compared to my tires, I was a bit dubious about whether this would work effectively. That said—the Win Wing simply looks awesome. While Ass Savers offers the Win Wing in a range of bright, expressive designs and limited editions (like the Japanese PaperSky Collection), I opted for the simple black Gravel Dot model to keep attention on my bike rather than my mudguard. Don't let that dissuade you from exploring the fun designs on their website—they all look great.

After installation, I admired how sleek and flowing it looked with the bike's lines. The design doesn't fight the bike's geometry but complements it perfectly. The end of the wing is slightly turned upward, away from the wheel to add structural rigidity, but it also gives the whole thing a racecar vibe, which I love.

Now, let's give it a proper west coast ride.

The Win Wing in Action

My biggest concern going into riding with the Win Wing was lateral stability. I was worried it might shift slightly and catch the outer knobs of my Forekasters. In the best-case scenario, this would lead to an annoying rubbing sound; in the worst case, it could fling me off the bike. After a bunch of rides in various gravel and singletrack scenarios, I can confidently say that neither of these things happened.

I found myself peeking at the mudguard through my legs while riding, trying to see if it moved. It simply doesn't budge. How such a simple piece of plastic can remain so stable and noiseless is a testament to Ass Savers' refined design.

Of course, the most important test was whether the product saved my ass or not. According to the Ass Savers website, the Win Wing is designed to “protect your backside from the knees up.” Throughout my testing, the weather didn't deliver the aquatic deluge I had hoped for, but compared to the rest of Canada, it's still wet. On my daily 60 km ride, I hit every puddle I could find—dozens of them. My feet were soaked, and I took a ton of face shots from the front wheel, but my ass? Dry as a bone. Even with tires exceeding the recommended maximum width, my backside was 100% saved.

The proof is in the photos. Yes, I stupidly took a picture of my ass out on a cliff (cue the imagined headline: Cycling influencer dies from plunge taking a photo of clean ass). Was it worth the risk to show that not one drop of puddle made it onto my pants? Absolutely.

Quick Look: The Mudder Mini

The Ass Savers team was kind enough to include a front mudguard called the Mudder Mini along with the Win Wing. The Mudder Mini is designed as a gravel/cyclocross mudguard designed for non-suspension forks and tires up to 55 mm wide. Despite knowing this, I decided to give it a shot on my CX bike anyway—because why not?

Unfortunately, the Mudder didn't quite fit above the tire and under my fork's brace. I ended up mounting it near the fork crown, which, as you might expect, didn't do much in terms of actual protection. That said, it did allow me to snap some good photos! This is a case of user error rather than the product itself, so I'll hold off on passing judgment. I'll return here with an update once I have my new gravel bike up and running in the next couple of weeks.

Seal of Approval

If you've ever read the article on enshittification, you know that most products today just kind of suck. Too many companies are focused on selling a brand narrative rather than making something great. Ass Savers, thankfully, is the opposite of enshittification. They're genuinely producing products that not only work—they excel.

There's nothing I would change about the Win Wing. It works exactly as advertised, delivering 100% coverage (at least for me), even when I knowingly pushed it just beyond the boundaries of its design. It's stable, silent, and sleek—qualities you rarely find in one product.

With its standout looks, affordable price, and eco-friendly construction from recycled plastic, the Win Wing becomes a no-brainer. If you ride in wet environments and don't already have one, seriously—what are you doing? Get one. Your ass will thank you.