Commuting - Ideas wanted- What did you make your mud flap from?

I'm going to put a mud flap on my new commuter and am looking for ideas for a durable homemade solution. Plastic milk jugs are not available where I am, so that's not an option for me. What do you use and how did you attach it? Thanks.

Part of a plastic school folder? Do you have those there? Or, part of a drink bottle? Even part of an old bicycle water bottle (bidon) you can cut it so if that has interesting lettering on it, you can make it show.

Detergent bottles are tough and rounded, which adds to their stiffness. You can rivet the material onto a decent fender (sks chromoplastic) but not a brittle one.

i used an old bottle.

cut a nice piece off (maybe 1/5 of the bottles diameter) the big 20oz plus bottles are better due to long length.

attach it you the inside of your front fender somehow. i drilled two holes in the bottle and my fenders little rubber flap on the end of my planetbike fenders and attached it with a ziptie.

it really works best if you can get it as close to the road as possible. mine hangs only about 2-3 inches from the road when i ride.

it is such a good addition everytime it rains or the streets are wet your toes will thank you!

I'm going to put a mud flap on my new commuter and am looking for ideas for a durable homemade solution. Plastic milk jugs are not available where I am, so that's not an option for me. What do you use and how did you attach it? Thanks.I had an old auto floor mat. It is stiff enough put floppy enough. I attached it with 2 small bolts and nuts. The nuts started to pull through so I put flat washers on. Works great.

http://cs150_1.comp-sci.edgewood.edu/ccorbett/images/reflector.JPG

This is what I have done, it keep out the road grim out of my Burley Nomad and when I don't have the trailer it's a great reflector.

GEEK

Found this on the internet:

http://www.phred.org/~alex/bikes/fendermudflap.html

may i sask a side question:

why use the rear flap??? the front keeps my toes dry but i never noticed a reason for the extra protection in back...

and also i like the bottle better flap than the rubber mudflap on the link. it is curved to channel water down (not around the sides like i'd be afraid a flat mudflap would do a little) and since it is a stiffer plastic it don't wiggle side to side at all.

btw: that license plate flap is AWESOME!!! :D

here is a crappy pic of my flap (barely visible on the bike on the far right of the picture) notice how long it is which is key to protecting your toes from splash.
http://s94916384.onlinehome.us/alleycat/DSC01336.JPG

Rear flaps are mainly for the benefit of following riders. Amongst Cycle Tourist Club members, a very narrow flexible strip (3x15cm) is sufficient to protect fellow riders from splash.

You can see a commercially available front flap at:
http://www.ctcshop.com/product.jsp?style=12075

I cut up a kitchenaid silicone rubber pot holder that came for free with some kitchen gadget we got as a present (see this link for example of what I'm talking about here http://www.lnt.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1352293). They're available in several stylish colors, are made of a very flexible & strong material, hang nicely and look cool if you cut them so the little bumps in the rubber are lined up properly. Fastened it by drilling holes in fender and flap and using small zip ties. I know it's a little Martha Stuart to adapt fussy kitchen stuff, but it's a much nicer, more durable rubber than I could find laying around the garage or in the hardware store...

I like having long front and rear flaps. The rear flap keeps grime off my son when pulling him the trailer in Oregon drizzle or when riding in front of other bike commuters of which we have _many_ in PDX...

Stair tread mats (rubber) can be bought by the foot at most hardware stores. Excellent article on mud flaps by Alex Wetmore. (http://phred.org/~alex/bikes/fendermudflap.html)

A wide leather belt makes a classy flap & they are available cheap at thrift stores.