Hybrid Bicycles - Who's Added Fenders?

I bought a new Trek 7000 WSD on Saturday. The bike didn't come with fenders. The LBS told me I didn't need fenders but if I insisted I could buy them for $50 or so. I decided to buy the bike as is. Now I'm wondering if debris and water will kick up on me when I ride. It rains a lot in Baton Rouge, and unfortunately we've got a litter problem. The LBS told me not to ride in the rain (I wouldn't anyways unless caught in it) but our streets are often damp after the frequent afternoon rains. I'm trying to decide whether to buy the fenders that somewhat fit, or to forego them.

Please let me know your opinions on this matter.

Thanks
Terri

(I wouldn't anyways unless caught in it) but our streets are often damp after the frequent afternoon rains.
Terri

That's exactly why i didn't get them,if i couldn't avoid the rain, i just let it hit me,part of the fun,in your situation tho,get them.

It rains a fair bit up here too - I added them, dirty water up your back and in your face is just not nice. Plus, it gives me one less reason not to ride.

You'll get wet when riding on wet streets. Your back and your legs will get wet. Fenders don't protect your from the rain, but from whatever the wheels throw at you with what they collect from the gound.

I didn't need to remove fenders off my hybrid - but I would have. I did remove the fenders on my old PUCH 3-spd. though. I have always removed the fenders from all 3-spd. bikes I've owned.

What are reasons to not have fenders? To have them?

I commute with my bike so I ride rain or shine. Fenders are a must have for me. It not only keeps the road spray off me but also the component of the Bike. Keeps grit out out the chain & off the frame. I also think they make the bike look nice.

I believe - on 3-spds. - they are a torture-device invented to drive one insane everytime they go over a bump.

Congrats on the new bike, now go buy fenders for it because... they rock!! and what Timber 8 wrote above.

A Jandd Expedition rear rack (above in photo) is actually long enough to keep the spray from your back. A strip of corrugated plastic can easily be bolted onto a smaller rack that has a similar center panel like the Blackburn (below in photo). A friend had the clever idea to thread an old spoke down one of the slots in the corrugation and then bent it to the shape of his wheel. It looked nice.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/IMG_2828.jpg

I have a front fender that clips into this little bracket, but I usually forget to put it on for rainy days. (Never mind the shock boots, the suspension hasn't worked for years and if 65er's touring bike is a hybrid because of the V-brakes, this one's a hybrid too, purely by virtue of it's hard tail, not to mention the frozen forks and 1.5 tires)
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/IMG_2829.jpg

I installed a set of non-removable fenders on my work bike years ago, but found them to be more trouble than they were worth, and I didn't replace them when they got trashed.

@gmsdc15, thanks for the pics. The long rear rack is a definite think about idea.

The poll only allows one choice. I would have answered B, C, and D. The newest of my bikes that came with fenders is a 3spd that I got in 1968. I removed the fenders after they got trashed. I have added and removed fenders from subsequent rides, and I have owned many bikes that never had fenders.

@gmsdc15, thanks for the pics. The long rear rack is a definite think about idea.

You are welcome. I love the Jandd racks.

My bike didn't come with ****. I got everything added to it after. The LBS I got my bike at installs things without charging for labour if you buy the items there, the items are cheap, too.

I live on the "Wet" Coast. Fenders are an extreme necessity, even in the fragging summertime! Plus they come in handy when some jackass has sprayed water all over the road even if it's not raining out.

I think fenders look so nice in a bike, I actually think they look kinda funny without them

No fenders for me. I don't ride in t3h whet. :p

^ ditto!

i use my bike for exercise and only take it out on 'dry' days... sometimes along the path, there is a small area of water - some i can avoid, some i cannot. i simply ride over the unavoidable ones at a slow enough speed and roll for a few seconds slowly for the excess water to drip off/mix in with dirt.

i actually don't add anything ot my bike. i added a schwinn pouch that mounds to the headset area and sits on the toptube - perfect for a wallet, keys, cellphone.

i am actually looking for 2 things for my new bike - 1) an affordable (preferably a Do-it-urself) cellphone mount and 2) a speaker system i can connect my blackberry to. something small and crappy, even 1 speaker will do. im not looking for $100 surround sound on my bike. LOL

I don't add racks, water bottles, lights etc. I don't ride at night at all and, on my usual 30-40 mile rides, there are several water fountains along the way so i dont have to carry my own water. i dont carry any bags either so no need for a rear rack/panniers, etc. very very minimal setup.

My fair weather bikes has no fenders, where as my foul weather bike has a set of Cascadia touring fenders installed on it, and I've found that these really keep the grit off the bike frame/components/panniers, as well as myself.

i am actually looking for 2 things for my new bike - 1) an affordable (preferably a Do-it-urself) cellphone mount and 2) a speaker system i can connect my blackberry to.


oh lawd :eek:...tote the silenced cell phone in a pocket for emergencies/photo opps but please don't attach a speaker of any kind to your beautiful new bike. just my .02

Two absolute necessities on my bike:
1) Fenders - it can get wet here in Upstate NY, and one needs to prepare accordingly;
2) Beer Cooler - It can get hot & dry here in Upstate NY, and one needs to prepare accordingly.

That's why they call them HYBRIDS, Right?

LOLOL! [... ;) ...] i simply want to listen to music and keep an eye on my phone for when i get an important call.

LOLOL! I am not one of those people with like 40 things mounted on the handle bars. i simply want to listen to music and keep an eye on my phone for when i get an important call.

No Comment :notamused:

LOLOL! I am not one of those people with like 40 things mounted on the handle bars. i simply want to listen to music and keep an eye on my phone for when i get an important call.

Ear buds if you must listen to music....low volume. Phone on vibrate. Eyes on the road ahead. Ride safe mi amigo. :thumb:

LOL Timber and Kshep. I didn't mean what I said in a bad way. A lot of people have a variety of things they do on their bike and they need all the added things on their bars. What I meant was that I will not have any of that stuff. i like to keep my bike as stock looking as possible and only adding -necessity- features. im not going to be commuting or anything near that - just fitness jaunts of like 20-40 miles per trip. that's all.

sorry if i stepped on toes. definitely not my intent, my friends.

LOL Timber and Kshep. I didn't mean what I said in a bad way. A lot of people have a variety of things they do on their bike and they need all the added things on their bars. What I meant was that I will not have any of that stuff. i like to keep my bike as stock looking as possible and only adding -necessity- features. im not going to be commuting or anything near that - just fitness jaunts of like 20-40 miles per trip. that's all.

sorry if i stepped on toes. definitely not my intent, my friends.

LOL may a dirty mud puddle stripe the back of your head & the flys of a thousand horses fest upon the swill within that dirty water. :innocent:

Dam that's nasty :eek:

My comment was about the speakers

oh hahahahaha. and yes, quite nasty. I have to take a sh0wer now.

I bike plenty and the fenders will:
A) keep your back dry and jersey/jacket clean
B) Butt dry
c) avoid splash up or dirty water, mud etc
d) Most important keep the brake cables and housing fairly clean. This
allows you to wipe dry the bike versus a big time cleaning.

Oh yeah, the guy riding behind you will be VERY appreciative

No Comment :notamused:

Yeah, a guy who's looking to mount music player and cell phone on his handlebars ought not go on about how he only puts essential accessories on his bike. ShOOk, bicycle jerseys have pockets for ipods, phones, etc. You don't need to festoon your serious bike with silly items. A bell, a light, perhaps a computer are the sort of things that you can put on your handlebars. Ipods and cellphones, that's geeky. I'm telling you because I like you.

I agree with you about the fenders, but we are seriously out-numbered here. Hybrid riders are too sensible. A bicycle with fenders, unless they are those beautiful handmade wooden ones, is about as sexy as orthopedic shoes.

Here's a hybrid that looks good with fenders.
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=32829

I agree with you about the fenders, but we are seriously out-numbered here. Hybrid riders are too sensible. A bicycle with fenders, unless they are those beautiful handmade wooden ones, is about as sexy as orthopedic shoes.

Here's a hybrid that looks good with fenders.
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=32829

Ahh You wounded me, R U saying my bike is not sexy, Its like all black & red with just the right amount of trickery to make you notice me as I cruise by at a mild 20 mph clip. The ride is so sexy you are not even aware that there is a rider powering it down the road.You ask yourself why am I so attracted to that sexy beast and then you realize it is the sum of all it's parts, & as it rolls off out of sight you think to yourself "Dam that ***** was hot!" I am to sexy for my Rider
:love:

You are sexy (although I don't swing that way). Your bike not so much. Too much stuff on it. If you are passing other riders at 20+, they probably won't have time to notice your "sensible shoes".

I think fenders look so nice in a bike, I actually think they look kinda funny without them

Yes! Me too.

Good grief, fenders? Surely at this time we should not show such disloyalty to Les Paul.

Ahh You wounded me, R U saying my bike is not sexy, Its like all black & red with just the right amount of trickery to make you notice me as I cruise by at a mild 20 mph clip. The ride is so sexy you are not even aware that there is a rider powering it down the road.You ask yourself why am I so attracted to that sexy beast and then you realize it is the sum of all it's parts, & as it rolls off out of sight you think to yourself "Dam that ***** was hot!" I am to sexy for my Rider
:love:


BBBBBWWWWAAAAAAHAAAAAAHAAAAA! You guys are too funny!

The 2009 Trek 7000 WSD is swoopy with flowers painted on it. It looks nothing like the sleek 2010 model. Does that make a difference? Would fenders suit this bike?

Swoopy with flowers is begging for fenders. For me, a long rack and a clip-on front fender, but I'm a dispatch rider. I lock my bike up 20 to 50 times a day, fenders get in the way. For you, non-removable, full coverage fenders would be a nice addition. Get some that you can paint to match the bike, with the flowers too. That would look really cool.

I love a big Rack

I love a big Rack
:eek::D


I bet you say that to all the girls....bikes;)

Oh no! Too funny. ROTFL and honest to God, I've never said that to anyone before.

I love a big Rack
Nice to see that you used the appropriate and respectful capital "R" at the beginning of Rack. ;)

Although the Rack that my wife has is a little larger than average sized but not what I would call "big", I like it. She's been told it's really nice and has received many such compliments. I agree and think it's a great accessory. I can't imagine riding a bike without a nice Rack. :thumb:

*****

I think fenders look so nice in a bike, I actually think they look kinda funny without them

I am exactly the opposite, I actually think bikes that have fenders look weird. :lol:

My bike is more of a fun and fitness machine, it doesn't really serve any function like commuting for me. So I am in the fortunate position where I can use it only when the weather is nice, so I have no need for fenders either.

:eek::D


I bet you say that to all the girls....bikes;)
When I see a bike with a nice Rack, I don't know what it is but I usually talk to the Rack. I just can't help it :D

The LBS told me not to ride in the rain

Unbelievable :eek:


I hesitate to cast aspersions at people I don't know, but whoever told you that is either ignorant, ill-informed, or an idiot. There is no reason you can't ride in the rain.

I have fenders on my touring bike (main commuter) and hybrid (used to tow kid's trailer and trail-a-bike). My single speed road bike does not have enough clearance for fenders. I use fenders for these reasons:

1. Keeps dirt and grit from being flung off the front wheel onto the crankset and chain - this translates into less wear on my drivetrain.

2. Keeps dirt/water/mud from being flung off the rear wheel into my kid's faces when I am towing the trailer/TAB.

3. It keeps me cleaner when riding on wet/muddy roads.

So far I have not added fenders to any of my bikes, it never rains in LA (or so I'm told).:p


But I really like the new brass fenders (http://www.flickr.com/photos/11058312@N04/3291047996/)Soma has now...