million dollar question ~ fenders off for summer?
 

2 bikes with fenders

1 - my commuter - I have a road bike so it's less critical to move these fenders off and on
2 - my MTB which was for snow storm commuting - just got some summer tires for it and wondering what kind of hassle it is to try and remove the fenders without damaging the hardware. should i just leave them on? I'm not gonna do any wild off road stuff, after all I'm 51 hahahaha

so please share your actual experiences with fenders off and on year after year - does that even work? or is i best to just leave them on? I doubt i'll ride the MTB for than a couple times this summer. the 1st ride is gonna be a radical paved rail thats no suitable for a road bike. there might be sand but mostly it's just a crappy bumpy very abruptly hilly trail with occasional sand. I won't do nhat ride in bad (wet) weather. I'm saving it for a nice day. is it worth taking he fenders off for one ride? maybe a few more?

I leave my fenders on year-round. But with all the watering people do on their yards, you can get just as wet in the summer as you can during the rainy season.

You need to quit riding in people's yards. :lol:

I remove the front fenders if it is unlikely to rain in the next day or two. The rear fenders come off less frequently but definitely off for extended dry spells. The fenders on our tandem have stayed on since they were installed.

Not an issue - 3 of my bikes are fendered, 3 are not. Two of them that are not have rear racks that at least prevent skunk stripe if it becomes wet or muddy. Fenders on the roadie is just wrong.

That's why they keep sickin' the dogs on me!

That's not what the roadies say if you're doing a group ride in the rain! :-P

I take mine off for the summer since we have a well-defined rainy season that runs from late October through early May. Even with the break-away safety feature, there's still a slight risk with fenders of having something catch in them and locking up the front wheel. So I prefer to have them off during periods when the chance of rain is negligible. Removal and reinstallation only take a few minutes each time.