langdon

I am in the process of converting an older Giant Boulder for winter communting. I'd had mud guards on it before but that isn't going to be sufficient for protection from snow and slush. I doubt there will be any issues mounting a full fender on the back since it has eyelets and a chain stay bridge.

However, its suspension fork is another story altogether. No designated eyelets and the clearance between the brake and tire seems smaller. Does anyone have experience in installing full front fenders on a comparable bike? And have recommendations on what model and brand to buy?

wvridgerider

Buy a rigid fork for it, it will be lighter and if you are on the road you will not miss the suspension

Aubergine 

Although I agree with wvridgerider, if you don't want to go to that extreme there are a few things you can do.

First, you can use zip ties to hold the top of the fender to the fork crown. Planet Bike fenders, I believe, even come with mounts with channels for the zip ties, for use when there is no mounting bolt. Another benefit of zip ties is that you can often pull the fender up higher so that it doesn't rub on the tire.

Second, you can use P-clamps to hold the the fender attachment rods to the fork. P-clamps are rubber-covered metal clamps with a hole in the stem of the "p".

if all else fails and you can't fit the fender between the tire and the fork crown, cut it into two pieces. Put one piece behind the fork crown and one in front. You'll need to Jerry-rig the attachments in such a case, but it will work just fine.

spdracr39

Won't a full fender plug up with ice and slush ? I would stick with mud guards.

Tundra_Man 

+1 on the zip tie idea.

My winter bike has a suspension front fork similar to the one shown in the OP's photo. I bought some Planet Bike fenders and just zip-tied all of the mounting points. Works fine. A rigid fork would probably be more ideal, but I haven't yet been motivated to spend the money for a new fork when the old one is functional enough.

And I rarely have trouble with the fender plugging up with ice and slush. On my winter mountain bike it never happens. My MTB fenders have a good inch of clearance between the tire and fender so they stay unclogged. My hybrid bike only has about 1/2" or less of clearance and I have gotten caught in snow with that bike as well, but only had it clog up once during an unusually heavy (and unpredicted) snowfall.

Shimagnolo

No.
As soon as the ice/snow build up to the point of touching the tire, the tire knocks it out of the fender.

79pmooney

I am a big fan of large flaps on the front fender. Yes, there are days when that flap is a disadvantage, maybe one or two a year, but if you live where you are riding in wet, dirty slush, esp salted slush, those flaps are a huge blessing. Where I have ridden winters (Boston and Ann Arbor) that was many days every winter.

I add (or in the case of Planet Bike fenders, remove the existing flap and add) flaps extending down to a few inches off the road.

Ben

langdon

So the consensus is that a set of Planet Bike fenders/zip ties is the best route to go? Any of the ATB models stand out as a better choice than the others?

I do need a little clarification on what exactly you guys using this method are using to mount the top of the fender (around the brake) to. The lack of a hole in the center of the top of the fork leaves no obvious area to use IMO. It appears that point "B" leaves the fender next to no clearance between it and the tire.

LesterOfPuppets

You can put a front fender tab on the same bolt as the reflector.

Then for the stays, get a junk tube, a couple of 5mm bolts and nylok nuts and a roll of this
Oatey 3/4 in. x 10 ft. Galvanized Steel Hanger Strap-339232 - The Home Depot

With these you can fashion your own P-clamps to go around the fork legs. I don't think anyone makes Pclamps big enough for fork sliders, so this is what I use to make my own.

To give you an idea.
Pclamp


Pclamp with fender stays mounted to it.

Aubergine 

That's where we need to use the zip ties, Langdon.