Touring - Planet Bike Fenders

I'm pretty much set of getting a pair if Planet Bike Cascadia Fenders for my MTN bike for my upcoming tour. Were these improved recently? The reason I ask is that I see varying prices on these on-line (not available at my LBS) and I want to be sure that I am not buying an older model.

Thanks,
John

They haven't made any changes to them that I am aware of. I run the Hardcore ATB's on one bike and a set of Cascadias on another and have never had a problem with either set.

Aaron :)

Can you give me thoughts, pluses, minuses, on the hard core MTB vs. the Cascadia?

Johnb

The only recent changes that I know of have been the addition of "break away" tabs on the front fender. The difference in price may be older models without the new tabs.

Can you give me thoughts, pluses, minuses, on the hard core MTB vs. the Cascadia?

Johnb


Hardcore are all plastic with short mud flaps the Cascadias are aluminum encased in plastic and have a longer mud flap. I use the Hardcore on my MTB that sees trail use. The Hardcore are also cheaper and come in yellow. :D

Aaron :)

http://inlinethumb61.webshots.com/46524/2470958460066886751S600x600Q85.jpg

Thanks for the info:thumb: I suggest getting those round rubber things for over the metal rims - much quieter ride ;)

Thanks for the info:thumb:
I suggest getting those round rubber things for over the metal rims - much quieter ride ;) (you didn;t think someone wouldn't comment would you?)

FWIW, Cascadias are not aluminum encased in plastic. They are just plastic.

FWIW, Cascadias are not aluminum encased in plastic. They are just plastic.

Depends on the color, Silver ones have aluminum the black do not. I don't have any black Cascadias only the silver ones.


Polished Aluminum bonded to Superflex unbreakable all-weather polycarbonate (http://ecom1.planetbike.com/7057.html)

Aaron :)

The mounting bracket for one of my Cascadia's broke. I saw on their website that they sell individual fender parts, so I emailed their customer service with this picture. They mailed me a brand new bracket a couple days later free of charge. Great customer service!

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_L_8mrDIZA5c/TbC8Zq3eUQI/AAAAAAAABzI/HUtwyfnCe_8/s640/IMG_2464.JPG

Depends on the color, Silver ones have aluminum the black do not. I don't have any black Cascadias only the silver ones.

Aaron :)

No, they don't. The silver is just a paint on the underside of the clear plastic fender and can wear off. I have three sets, one I cut apart. Maybe you're thinking of a different brand.

The Cascadia's are awesome...! A very well thought out product.

They come with spacers and fittings which allow them to be used with disc brakes. I thought that I'd be making a run to Home Depot for extra hardware...but in actuality, the installation took about 15 minutes. The mud flaps are extra long...but they are made of very flexible rubber, and they will bend if you need to put your bike on a "tray" style roof rack.

Highly recommended...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v382/capecod_wrx/tdh_rig.jpg

No, they don't. The silver is just a paint on the underside of the clear plastic fender and can wear off. I have three sets, one I cut apart. Maybe you're thinking of a different brand.
http://ecom1.planetbike.com/7057.htmlhmmmm... I guess They are lying

To th OP get yourself some Woody's fenders...you will not regret it. I have replaced my casdcadia ALUMINUM fenders with Woody's...just sayin.http://www.woodysfenders.com/store/

Esge / SKS is another to consider, they are the aluminum core plastic ones.
I have a 30 year old set, still going fine..
there is a separation in the aluminum, a conductor , insulated,
so as the mudguard can become part of a dynamo powered lighting circuit.

http://ecom1.planetbike.com/7057.htmlhmmmm... I guess They are lying

To th OP get yourself some Woody's fenders...you will not regret it. I have replaced my casdcadia ALUMINUM fenders with Woody's...just sayin.http://www.woodysfenders.com/store/

Most people would not consider a couple microns of aluminum painted "bonded" to polycarbonate to be aluminum fenders. It's like thinking a galvanized bolt is made out of zinc. ;)

Those woody fenders look pretty sweet though, no matter what they may be made from....:D

Well, so much for being set on PB Cascadias. The LBS, listed on PB's website did not have any in stock. They did have SKS- looked good, so I bought a pair.

After a tune-up on the bike, l'll mount them and racks at the same time.
Our new stove was delivered today, my wife commented how I was as excited about a pair of fenders as she was to get a new stove. Lasagna tonight!

John

Most people would not consider a couple microns of aluminum painted "bonded" to polycarbonate to be aluminum fenders. It's like thinking a galvanized bolt is made out of zinc. ;)

I don't know the thickness of the Al layer, but it makes a difference in the rigidity of the fender. An all-plastic fender is pretty floppy compared to an Al/plastic laminate fender. You can tell the difference immediately when you pick one up. It's thicker than beer can Al, something I've used in the past for cheap handlebar shim (to convert a 26.0 to 25.4mm)

FWIW, some SKS fenders are all-plastic (at least they were a few years ago). Not all SKS are "chromoplastic". Be careful when shopping.

I think every manufacturer makes a range of fenders. I have had Zefal, SKS, Planet Bike, Blumels and many generic brands. I like the PB fenders and their customer service. I also have a couple sets of alloy or stainless steel fenders. Outside of some of the super cheap off the wall brands all of them have done the job they were purchased for.

Aaron :)

Boy Aaron, you have owned a lot of fenders! LOL! Thanks, I had Mt Zefals years ago- they were fine. In this case, SKS over PB was simply supporting the LBS and timing.
Price wasn't bad either. Enjoying this forum-thanks everyone.
John

Cascadias are great fenders. I've have two sets, silver and black, on different bikes. The Cascadias are better fenders than the Hardcores because they have longer mudflaps and more braces on the front fender. I prefer Cascadias over the SKS because of the built-in mudflaps, which are very effective at reducing spray. Cascadias are also very simple to install. I bought both of my sets on-line for about $40 including shipping.

Boy Aaron, you have owned a lot of fenders! LOL! Thanks, I had Mt Zefals years ago- they were fine. In this case, SKS over PB was simply supporting the LBS and timing.
Price wasn't bad either. Enjoying this forum-thanks everyone.
John

Goes with the bikes...N+1 :innocent:

I prefer fenders on all but my go fast road bikes and technical mountain bikes, so bikes that get ridden get fenders. I have been riding for over 40 years and it seems it must be against the law to sell bikes in the US with fenders installed ;)

Aaron :)

I have SKS fenders on one bike and Cascadias on another. I prefer the Cascadias. The adjustment system they use is a lot simpler to use IMO.

You can get SKS mudflaps if you want to mount mudflaps on your SKS fenders. They're called SKS X-long spoilers. PB mudflaps will work as well but they don't fit as well. Both PB 45's and 55's will fit SKS 45mm fenders.

Here's a picture of the PB 45mm mudflap on an SKS 45mm fender. I did this to extend the front.

http://i.imgur.com/xqkK6l.jpg

My SKS have mudflaps, front and rear. In looking over everything here, I might have preferred the Cascadias, but I can't believe how mnay fenders are out there, aluminum, stainless, wood and even bamboo!

If I ever make a cruiser, I going to run Fat Frank tires and woody fenders:thumb:

John