Homebrew01

I was installing Crud Fenders on my old Cannondale to make it rain-ready, when I got stuck. There's not enough clearance between the calipers & the front tire (700x23). The caliper arms sort of "droop" down. Any thoughts on a better caliper to use in this situation ? I'd prefer another Campy of some type (different model or year), but it's my rain bike, so I'm not too picky as long as it has good stopping power. The QR is in the lever, so non-Campy will work.

PDXaero

For less than new brakes why not get sks raceblades or the like?

gregf83 

+1. Works for me. That little extension on the front doesn't do much in any case.

echappist

worst comes to worst, cut off the part of the fender in front of the caliper.

Also make sure not to cinch the tie, and it looks like you could probably move the fender down and back a bit to create more clearance.

PS. These thing aren't fun when there's rock salt on the road as it easily builds up underneath the fender & you'll have to clean them off...

idoru2005

+1 on not cinching the tie too tight. If you do, it will deform the fender enough so that the front part of the fender dips down and will rub the tire. You may need to tweak the position of the support arms on the fork to get everything to sit right without rubbing. BTW, looks like you have enough clearance between the caliper and the tire...

I also had a problem where the front part of the fender was dragging on the tire. You can actually remove that front piece which is what I did initially. Then I found out I could get everything to fit correctly by loosening the ziptie slightly.

Homebrew01

Thanks for the feedback. I've removed the front tab and will give it a test ride soon I hope.

As for SKS, are they better than Cruds in some way ? I didn't do much shopping but had heard good things about Crud, so grabbed a pair when they were on sale in the spring. My old Cannondale (1985) has pretty tight clearances.

Keepfiring

I've tried raceblades and they're certainly way better than nothing but not a substitute for full fenders. Without that little piece in the front that's giving you trouble, I found that my tire and fender were working together to dump all sorts of water directly onto the front brake. Similar thing happened in the rear, with the tire throwing water at my feet. Course, if it's wet enough out you're going to get soggy anyhow, and raceblades still prevent spray from tagging you directly.

Homebrew01

The fender still extends a tiny bit beyond the front brake ... just past the nut shown in the pic, so maybe it won't be too bad.
I'll probably ride my mtn bike when the roads are a real mess, and the road bike when they're semi-clean.

ADSR

I believe current-generation skeleton brakes have more clearance. Veloce can be had cheap, although be prepared to go to town with a cotton swab if you ever want to clear all the road grit that builds up in there.

caloso

Not Campy, but I've noticed that Tiagra calipers have a skosh more room underneath than Ultegra--just enough get a fender under the calipers and over a 25mm tire.