Who's Added Fenders?

[TinyCycler]

I bought a new Trek 7000 WSD on Saturday. The bike didn't come with fenders. The LBS told me I didn't need fenders but if I insisted I could buy them for $50 or so. I decided to buy the bike as is. Now I'm wondering if debris and water will kick up on me when I ride. It rains a lot in Baton Rouge, and unfortunately we've got a litter problem. The LBS told me not to ride in the rain (I wouldn't anyways unless caught in it) but our streets are often damp after the frequent afternoon rains. I'm trying to decide whether to buy the fenders that somewhat fit, or to forego them.

Please let me know your opinions on this matter.

Thanks
Terri

[KungPaoSchwinn]

(I wouldn't anyways unless caught in it) but our streets are often damp after the frequent afternoon rains.
Terri

That's exactly why i didn't get them,if i couldn't avoid the rain, i just let it hit me,part of the fun,in your situation tho,get them.

[rbrian]

It rains a fair bit up here too - I added them, dirty water up your back and in your face is just not nice. Plus, it gives me one less reason not to ride.

[bagel007]

You'll get wet when riding on wet streets. Your back and your legs will get wet. Fenders don't protect your from the rain, but from whatever the wheels throw at you with what they collect from the gound.

[Panthers007]

I didn't need to remove fenders off my hybrid - but I would have. I did remove the fenders on my old PUCH 3-spd. though. I have always removed the fenders from all 3-spd. bikes I've owned.

[TinyCycler]

What are reasons to not have fenders? To have them?

[Timber_8]

I commute with my bike so I ride rain or shine. Fenders are a must have for me. It not only keeps the road spray off me but also the component of the Bike. Keeps grit out out the chain & off the frame. I also think they make the bike look nice.

[Panthers007]

I believe - on 3-spds. - they are a torture-device invented to drive one insane everytime they go over a bump.

[rongarcia]

Congrats on the new bike, now go buy fenders for it because... they rock!! and what Timber 8 wrote above.

[qmsdc15]

A Jandd Expedition rear rack (above in photo) is actually long enough to keep the spray from your back. A strip of corrugated plastic can easily be bolted onto a smaller rack that has a similar center panel like the Blackburn (below in photo). A friend had the clever idea to thread an old spoke down one of the slots in the corrugation and then bent it to the shape of his wheel. It looked nice.


I have a front fender that clips into this little bracket, but I usually forget to put it on for rainy days. (Never mind the shock boots, the suspension hasn't worked for years and if 65er's touring bike is a hybrid because of the V-brakes, this one's a hybrid too, purely by virtue of it's hard tail, not to mention the frozen forks and 1.5 tires)


I installed a set of non-removable fenders on my work bike years ago, but found them to be more trouble than they were worth, and I didn't replace them when they got trashed.

[TinyCycler]

@gmsdc15, thanks for the pics. The long rear rack is a definite think about idea.

[qmsdc15]

The poll only allows one choice. I would have answered B, C, and D. The newest of my bikes that came with fenders is a 3spd that I got in 1968. I removed the fenders after they got trashed. I have added and removed fenders from subsequent rides, and I have owned many bikes that never had fenders.

[qmsdc15]

@gmsdc15, thanks for the pics. The long rear rack is a definite think about idea.

You are welcome. I love the Jandd racks.

[Luddite]

My bike didn't come with ****. I got everything added to it after. The LBS I got my bike at installs things without charging for labour if you buy the items there, the items are cheap, too.

I live on the "Wet" Coast. Fenders are an extreme necessity, even in the fragging summertime! Plus they come in handy when some jackass has sprayed water all over the road even if it's not raining out.

[Timber_8]

I think fenders look so nice in a bike, I actually think they look kinda funny without them

[KShep]

No fenders for me. I don't ride in t3h whet.

[sh00k]

^ ditto!

i use my bike for exercise and only take it out on 'dry' days... sometimes along the path, there is a small area of water - some i can avoid, some i cannot. i simply ride over the unavoidable ones at a slow enough speed and roll for a few seconds slowly for the excess water to drip off/mix in with dirt.

i actually don't add anything ot my bike. i added a schwinn pouch that mounds to the headset area and sits on the toptube - perfect for a wallet, keys, cellphone.

i am actually looking for 2 things for my new bike - 1) an affordable (preferably a Do-it-urself) cellphone mount and 2) a speaker system i can connect my blackberry to. something small and crappy, even 1 speaker will do. im not looking for $100 surround sound on my bike. LOL

I don't add racks, water bottles, lights etc. I don't ride at night at all and, on my usual 30-40 mile rides, there are several water fountains along the way so i dont have to carry my own water. i dont carry any bags either so no need for a rear rack/panniers, etc. very very minimal setup.

[dynodonn]

My fair weather bikes has no fenders, where as my foul weather bike has a set of Cascadia touring fenders installed on it, and I've found that these really keep the grit off the bike frame/components/panniers, as well as myself.

[KShep]

i am actually looking for 2 things for my new bike - 1) an affordable (preferably a Do-it-urself) cellphone mount and 2) a speaker system i can connect my blackberry to.

oh lawd ...tote the silenced cell phone in a pocket for emergencies/photo opps but please don't attach a speaker of any kind to your beautiful new bike. just my .02

[Cfd]

Two absolute necessities on my bike:
1) Fenders - it can get wet here in Upstate NY, and one needs to prepare accordingly;
2) Beer Cooler - It can get hot & dry here in Upstate NY, and one needs to prepare accordingly.

That's why they call them HYBRIDS, Right?

[sh00k]

LOLOL! [... ...] i simply want to listen to music and keep an eye on my phone for when i get an important call.

[Timber_8]

LOLOL! I am not one of those people with like 40 things mounted on the handle bars. i simply want to listen to music and keep an eye on my phone for when i get an important call.

No Comment

[KShep]

LOLOL! I am not one of those people with like 40 things mounted on the handle bars. i simply want to listen to music and keep an eye on my phone for when i get an important call.

Ear buds if you must listen to music....low volume. Phone on vibrate. Eyes on the road ahead. Ride safe mi amigo.

[sh00k]

LOL Timber and Kshep. I didn't mean what I said in a bad way. A lot of people have a variety of things they do on their bike and they need all the added things on their bars. What I meant was that I will not have any of that stuff. i like to keep my bike as stock looking as possible and only adding -necessity- features. im not going to be commuting or anything near that - just fitness jaunts of like 20-40 miles per trip. that's all.

sorry if i stepped on toes. definitely not my intent, my friends.

[Timber_8]

LOL Timber and Kshep. I didn't mean what I said in a bad way. A lot of people have a variety of things they do on their bike and they need all the added things on their bars. What I meant was that I will not have any of that stuff. i like to keep my bike as stock looking as possible and only adding -necessity- features. im not going to be commuting or anything near that - just fitness jaunts of like 20-40 miles per trip. that's all.

sorry if i stepped on toes. definitely not my intent, my friends.

LOL may a dirty mud puddle stripe the back of your head & the flys of a thousand horses fest upon the swill within that dirty water.

Dam that's nasty

My comment was about the speakers