anonymouse99

I just plopped my pair of 60mm wide SKS commuter fenders on my new bike, and they are abnoxiously loud whenever I go over bumps. I've given it about a good week to get over the sound, but I can't get over it. I can't remember whether they were loud when on my previous bike, but I didn't have them on that bike for more than a few days before I decided to sell that bike and get a new one. Now, I'm beginning to wonder whether I sold that bike because these bloody fenders pushed me over the edge of sanity.

All of the connections are as secure as they will ever get. The only thing I think might help is adding an additional connection on the rear fender, which makes the most noise. Right now there are three connections: one near the bottom bracket; one near where rim brakes would go; and one via the rods which extend from the eyelets near the axle. I could possibly place a connection halfway between the rod and brake connections, via the rear rack, but even then I anticipate it won't alleviate all the noise.

I'm curious. Since I have never heard anyone complain about their fenders making noise, is this unusual, or am I just picky? My fine tuned machine has been made to sound like a beat-up old flimsy plastic toy about to fall apart, and it drives me bananas!

kurtmrufa

It can be tricky to get those nuts on the stays down tight. I greased the threads and tightened them down but still vibration brought them loose. So I went to the blue Loc-tite, and now they're fine.

It's not like it's forbidden to take a dremel to selected parts of the fender to make them not rattle against the fork, seatstays, or chainstays either... Or alternatively, rubber tubing edging the fender where it rubs the frame. All the places where it actually fastens to the frame shouldn't be causing rattling.

Banzai

Mine constantly rattle! I have the Planet Bike full coverage Freddy Fenders. It's the metal "arm" that attaches by the rear hub...the metal is flexible, and the whole thing just bounces a bit.

Cyclaholic

just turn up your ipod untill the fender noise is drowned out

EnigManiac

I never hear a sound from my fenders. I guess all the cars honking at me drowns out the sound.

Bop

I have had good luck using nylon zip ties to attach the fenders on my commuter and as kurtmrufa says, modify the shape as needed. On past frames I have used hard rubber washers between the front fender bracket and the fork/steerer mount. On one bike I used wads of some elastomeric putty-like stuff that came with an automotive tailight replacement lens. That stuff was amazing at dampening vibration at the attachment points, without getting squished out of a tight fitting.

Brad M

Mine rattle because I run them so close to the tires. When my tire picks up a pebble it scraaaapes along the inside of the fender and spit out the front.

chicbicyclist

Mine rattles too, but it is because the quality of mine is not so great. And it is designed to fit an Electra Townie. I'm looking into upgrading them to SKS soon.

MichaelW

On my SKS fenders I use a zip tie for the chainstay bridge. Drill a tiny hole about 1cm from the tip of the fender and use a small zip tie.
The brake bolt bracket needs to grasp the fender tightly. Squeeze the metal clamp gently with some pliers.
Make sure that the stays are all set to a good length and angle and are tight.
The brake bolt bracket can be adjusted for height. If the tip of the bracket interferes with the headset lower race you can bend it out a bit.

Daily Commute

My rear fender support rattled against one of the supports for my rear rack. I just zip-tied them together. Problem solved.

Steev

I've never paid attention, I honestly don't know, but you can bet that I'll be fixating on noises now that you've mentioned it.

Old Dirt Hill

The only noise I ever get is when tiny pebbles are picked up by the tires and thrown around inside the fender (I have the fenders as close to my tires as possible - only few millimeters off of the rubber) before they are zipped out the front. Other than that, they stay quiet and do as they are told.

pinkrobe

I'm using the ones designed for road bikes that don't go underneath the brake caliper. Everytime I go over a bump, the rear smacks against the rear brake with a "thwack" noise. I'm getting used to it.

beetwaste

fenders? bloomin' Yanks. We all know they're called 'mudguards' :-)

For the record, mine don't rattle, but I do catch the front one on my toeclips from time to time. I'd rather not have them, but this is Britain after all, and the rotten weather we get, I'd say they were essential.

RonH

I have Planet Bike Freddy fenders and they're very quiet.
Maybe those of you with bangy clangy fenders got the "wrong" brand (SKS ) or they aren't installed correctly or they're the wrong size.
I have 700x32 tires and got the 45 mm size.

0o0o0o

My front fender rattles because it's broken.

radical_edward

Loctite (blue) and spring washers on fittings where you don't use a nut. Nylock nuts and plain washers on all others.

If there is room on the fork and chainstay mounts (check for chain interference from the bolt head), get some longer bolts and thread them from the inside of the mounting holes so they stick outwards. Mount the fender mounts on these with washers and secure with a nylock nut. This method is a lot stronger than relying on the threads in your frame to bear the weight of a rack as well.

anonymouse99

Very good advise about threading the bolt from the inside. I would have never have thought of that, although I have already realized the necessity of using nylock nuts and have them everywhere a nut is used.

marqueemoon

I'm running fenders designed for 700c wheels on a 26 inch wheeled bike. I think the extra tension helps keep them from bouncing too much. I have to tighten them down at the fork crown and brake bridge every few months though.

HiYoSilver

Interesting, the 60mm fenders only use 3 mount points. The P45 use 4. Quiet. Don't know if you can go to 45mm, but that may be an option. I would suggest some bump testing off the bike and see where the noise is coming from. good luck.

TexasGuy

Where's the option of. I cycle to work but don't have fenders !

anonymouse99

All of the P-models have 4 contact points, whereas the "Commuter" models only have 3. Indeed, before I got the 60, I tried a 45 (commuter model) out and it too have 3 contact points. When I went to SKS's website and noticed the P-models have 4 contacts, I realized having one less contact might cause sturdiness issues. This very well may be the reason for the excess noise. Interestingly, though, I have already pinpointed the source of the noise and it seems to be coming from the the last contact point on the rear fender, via the stainless steel stay from the eyelet. However, the cause of the noise is not due to anything being loose. Instead it is a slight rubbing from that contact point as it vibrates that creates noise which resonates throughout the rear fender. I think I might stuff some inner tube between the fender and the thing which holds the fender and that might dampen the sound.

caloso

I use RaceBlades and they can rub the tire if not centered perfectly. Usually when I'm standing and sprinting; I guess the wheel and fork flex ever so slightly. Other than that, only the whirring sound of the water against the inside of the fender, er mudguard. Which is a very pleasant sound indeed.

HiYoSilver

You could use something like silicon cement. It would be easier to apply than tube materials.

anonymouse99

Holy crap! Not a sound from them now after performing a few mounting improvements. All the rattling eventually broke the flimsy rear fender mount to the upper part of the seat stay (position 2) that came included with the fender set. This break became evident from increased rattling, which might have been going on for a few days before I actually caught on.

There are three mounting positions:
1. near the bottom bracket
2. upper seat stay (location where regular rear brakes are normally situated)
3. eyelets, via thin stainless steel rods

I replaced that flimsy metal bracket at position 2 that broke with a custom mount derived from an thick solid 1.5 inch L-bracket (sawed and drilled). Since I had the wheel off (since the bolt at position 2 actually screws in from below and not from the front or back), I decided to replace a plastic spacer (cut eppendorf tube) I used to bring the fender closer to the wheel at mount position 1 with a metal one (ratchet socket bit). While I was at it, I decided to stablize the fender further by tying very tightly with monofilament fishing line a part along the fender which comes very close to one of the legs of the rear rack (with a piece of inner tube zip tied around the rear rack leg at that point). After doing all this, I was shocked at how solid the whole thing is now. There is no play in the rear fender whatsoever, and apparently all the noise before was created by the rear fender from flimsy attachments.