Folding Bikes - SKS vs Planet Bike mudguards/fenders

Anyone have any opinions on which are superior, the SKS Dahon edition 20" mudguards or the Planet Bike Freddy Hardcore Recumbent 20" fenders?

I know the Planet Bike ones provide more coverage, but they're also more expensive and their larger size might not necessarily be an advantage for a folder. Does anyone have any complaints about the SKS mudguards equipped with most Dahon's? Are they good enough to keep you dry under a rain cape/poncho during a torrential down pour or just good enough to keep you clean during the kind of precipitation you might cycle in without protective clothing? I suppose that mudguards/fenders should be as big as necessary, but no bigger.

I had no problem with the 20" SKS guards when I used them. Coverage was fine - no tell-tale stripe up my back etc.

I had no problem with the 20" SKS guards when I used them. Coverage was fine - no tell-tale stripe up my back etc.

That means a lot coming from London. What about the front fender? Any black speckle on your pants and chest?

That means a lot coming from London. What about the front fender? Any black speckle on your pants and chest?

It worked fine too, from what I can remember. I don't think you'll have any problems with them (well I didn't).

The Dahon I've got came with SKS and so far, it serves it's purpose and I'm satisfied with it cause it's very light and flexible.

It's straightforward to look at a mudguard and tell if it is going to work - water leaves the tyre tangentially, so draw an imaginary tangential line from the tyre tread past the tip of the mudguard to see where the water is going.

Mudguards do not need to be wide ... the water leaves the tire in the center and than spalshes back.... one could probably live with a fender which is only half the width and cover 90% of the dirt ( water, much etc )

thor

That means a lot coming from London. What about the front fender? Any black speckle on your pants and chest?

Hey, London's not as bad as it's been made out weatherwise, some days it hardly rains at all, and even the fog lifts for a while some days !

The Dahon I've got came with SKS and so far, it serves it's purpose and I'm satisfied with it cause it's very light and flexible.
Can anyone else say if the Planet Bike fenders are equally light?

Nobody has mentioned tire width. We know the MKS can handle the 2.0 BA's (see Dahon web site), but what about the Freddies?

My wife and I bought SKS fenders with our Dahon Speed P8 folders in late 2007. We used them for 18 months before really putting them to the test. In real rain, when the streets are wet, the SKS rear fender allows a big rooster tail to kick up. The fender does a "pretty good" job of protecting the panniers/rack, but a LOT of water is kicked up for the rider following behind! If you're cycling by yourself, the SKS would work. For us, I'm buying the Planet Bike rear fenders [available singly from Calhoun] for our upcoming trip thru Eastern Europe! They offer 35 inches of arc--compared to only 27 inches of protection offered by the SKS rear fender.

I have the Freddies on my Speed P8 with 2.0 big apples. They fit fine, but I did bend the stays slightly to make more room. My fiance has the SKS on her MU XL. Both sets work fine, but I think I prefer the SKS. The Freddies are quite wide & the rear brake presses against them as it makes contact with the rim. You can trim that section easily. I mounted the Freddies on my P8 because I was towing our dog in a trailer & didn't want her being splashed.

I have the Freddies over BA's on my Downtube Mini. They work great, I have exactly the same issues as daveF.

Have plant bike on a BF, dont really like them, even with relatively small tires the clearance is minimal. Every now and then the plastic barrels come loose, you hear the noise, and hope that irreplaceable part hasnt jumped off in the street. Aftermarket fenders are expensive and generally arent that great. Surprising that most companies wont just make their own fenders with their bikes and include them. The quality will be superior and its not difficult to make if designed for that specific bike. How many 50 year old bikes have their original fenders? A lot. And these aftermarket things never install just right, arent durable, and are expensive.

Have plant bike on a BF, dont really like them, even with relatively small tires the clearance is minimal. Every now and then the plastic barrels come loose, you hear the noise, and hope that irreplaceable part hasnt jumped off in the street. Aftermarket fenders are expensive and generally arent that great. Surprising that most companies wont just make their own fenders with their bikes and include them. The quality will be superior and its not difficult to make if designed for that specific bike. How many 50 year old bikes have their original fenders? A lot. And these aftermarket things never install just right, arent durable, and are expensive.

The barrels on mine are always rattling off too. Fortunately Planet Bike has good customer service and mailed me a whole bag full of replacements, but I wonder what I will do when that bag runs out.

Does anyone know if the SKS fenders also have this problem? By your logic maybe they're better because Dahon includes them on their bikes?

I have a set from Planet Bike and a set from SKS. The Planet Bike ones seem to me to be a little more adjustable. However, they tend to get knocked askew more often by folding than the SKS ones do. IMHO, both are good products. I could not get either set to fit with Big Apples on my 2004 Speed P8. I have the SKS ones on my 2008 Speed P8.

Follow up to my previous post.....I got the Planet Bike Fenders to replace the rear SKS, and they performed quite well on a 6 week tour though Eastern Europe--Spring of 2009. It didn't rain on us as much as I thought it would, but they got tested for sure! We had to take buses and a train to keep up on our itinerary [Athens to Helsinki] and again, the Planet Bike Fenders were no problem folding and unfolding the bikes. We ride Dahon Speed 8 folders. Check out the blog at www.bikingeasterneurope.blogspot.com -Evan.

I have SKS on my DT Mini.