A great reason to use zip ties instead of hardware to mount fenders
 

Yesterday on the way in, I stupidly ran over a 1 inch branch. It was sucked up into my rear planet bike freddy and ripped the whole thing from my bike. The fender was zipp tied entirely to the bike with only two zipp ties (sufficient to hold it, but not to rip anything apart). I simply turned around, picked up my fender and remounted it with no problems when I got home. I can't help but think that the fender would have been pretty banged up had I mounted it with hardware.

I use them for the mounts at the BB and the stay bridge on the rear, and at the crown in front. Also they work very well for stabilizing the rear fender by tying the stays to one of the rack supports. Very solid setup.

Use zip ties to hold the rack in place on the seat stays as my rb doesn't have braze-ons there. It has bolt threads for the lower part for fenders, I think. But I used them to hold the rack legs in place. Put some blue Threadlock on the bolts and all seems well. I wound some electrical tape around the seat stays and used a couple of black zip-ties. The medium 8 inch ones. I carry a couple exrta in my seat bag in case one snaps, but I've been doing this for years and haven't had one break, yet. Sometimes I'm carrying as much as 30 lbs of gear, too.

Just mounted some Christmas lights I got last year from Target, so now I've got zip ties all over the place as I wrapped my frame w/t lights. I just wish they had a set that blinked, too.:p

Actually the plastic fenders can get completely folded on themselves without any issue. My friend has accidentally done it to her front fender at least twice now. One of the metal bits was bent a little but that only took a second to bend back. The fender looks pretty much like new still.

Zipties are fine, but there's not really much disadvantage to hardware in this instance from my experience.

+1

Zip ties don't survive in the summer daylight very long in my experience. I do use them as needed, but I carry spares.

BTW, I use SKS Raceblades when fenders are needed and have found them to be adequate tho not as good as a full set w/flaps that's for sure. Don't use zip-ties w/them as the rubber wraps hold pretty well.

On just about every accessory I have that mounts with a screw or bolt, the screw has been replaced with a zip-tie. I carry spares.

Depends on the plastic type. I find the white somewhat translucent ones don't last more than 1 month in Arizona sun, but the opaque more softer feeling plastic ones (black mostly) have lasted me several years.

Al

+2 - zipties are no advantage. My rear Freddy folded in half twice in one day, came right up into the triangle, and hit me in the leg. Long story involving my dog, and the kids, and her leash, and her running behind me. yada yada. Anyway, I though it was ruined when it happened. Nope. No evidence, no damage, no problem. Mount them with the hardware, they can take some real abuse.

I must be lucky in never having any problems with my fenders. I run PB Freddy HC's with stair-tread mudflaps almost to the ground. I've run over plenty of blown down branches and never had anything sucked up into my fender wells.
Hopefully I'll have the same continued luck since I'm looking at either Berthoud or Honjo steel fenders for my new bike. I don't think stainless would be as forgiving as thermoplastic.

I like bolts, but zip ties work good for tying milk crates to a bike rack.

"Hopefully I'll have the same continued luck since I'm looking at either Berthoud or Honjo steel fenders for my new bike. I don't think stainless would be as forgiving as thermoplastic"

My Honjo's are polished aluminum and with tight clearance, they got bunged up from small rocks & debris that got picked up. I haven't had any problems with the Berthoud stainless steel fenders. They are much stronger than the plastic fenders and don't dent as easily as aluminum. In cold weather, I have had plastic(Zefal & Esge) break or shatter when sticks jammed into them. Don

I adjust my fenders so that the clearance behind the wheel is slightly smaller than any other point on the tire. I figure that any rock or other FOD that gets inside will either be small enough to pass through or too big to get inside at all.

+1
I also plan on a set of those Honjos some day.

With my Fred's, I set them as far from the tire as the frame will allow to get debri clearance. It also has a noticeable effect on water spray: the closer the fender, the more atomized water you have to ride through. The farther away the fender (to a point), the more solid the run-off, or, less spray. It tends to fall faster in larger droplets. Stair tread with the little ridges carries it to the ground better than a smooth flap.