Commuting - Rode in the rain today. Is this the way fenders should work?

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ShinyBiker
08-20-07, 06:28 PM
We’ve had a bit of a drought here in the mid atlantic. Thus, I was kinda excited when it rained on me on the way home.

When I looked at my front wheel fender, the back part of the fender would drip, drip water from the inside of the fender. As I went over puddles of water in the road, water would gather at the tip of the wheel in the front part of the fender and water would kinda spit out forward. Maybe the water would be propelled from the inside of the front fender? This surprised me and wondered if this is the way that they worked.

I got wet all over mostly from rain above, but I didn’t feel sprays of water hitting me from my wheels.

I have regular full fenders with no mudflaps of any kind. The front ones are maybe ¼ size and the rear ones are almost half moons. I did not get a chance to observe my rear wheel/fender.:(

DavidLee
08-20-07, 06:33 PM
Your fenders are working as intended. As for your rear fender, you know it's working by the lack of a dirty rain water trail down your backside. :)
wahoonc
08-20-07, 06:37 PM
Add mud flaps and spray guards and you can really make a fashion statement:D But yes it sounds like your fenders are doing their job.

Aaron:)

ItsJustMe
08-20-07, 07:33 PM
A front mud flap helps a lot.

Of course, my feet were still soaked because at about 5 minutes before the end of my ride this morning, it started pouring and the water running down my legs went straight into the shoe.

I don't really care much, I've gotten to where I don't even care if I'm wet or not, but it's a good idea to keep the mud off me so I don't track it into the building, so fenders are a must. Plus I saw a lot of oil slicks on the road, and there's some roadkill that's been ripening for months that the water is washing over, so I'd rather keep that stuff from spraying up at me.
bmike
08-20-07, 08:16 PM
full fenders help alot. mud flaps will help more.
make your own or get some flashy leather ones from brooks.

fender hardware also contributes to how the water moves off the fender. hardware that breaks the edges (like on SKS and other fenders) often will drip water that turns to spray. hardware on fenders like honjo's typically work a bit better...