ausin001

Just got a 1984 Raleigh Olympian to use as my commuter bike during winter. I'm looking for suggestions about decent tires for year round commuting (very snowy and icy in the winter months) and also for fenders that will fit this bike. Wheels are 27 x 1 1/4.

tsl

I'm not familiar with your frame, but the vast majority of frames from that era could fit full fenders just fine. With that assumption, there are many choices of full fenders that will work.

My commuting bikes take a lot of abuse. The rear fender gets hit by the automatic door slammer at work alot. (READ: Twice daily.) So I prefer plastic which flexes instead of dents. My fender of choice is the SKS P-series Chromoplastics Longboard.

Here's the secret decoder ring: Within the SKS line there are P-series Chromoplastics, Longboards, and P-series Chromoplastic Longboards. Three different models. The number after the P denotes the width in mm.

I prefer the look of the Chromoplastics and they come in silver which doesn't show the salt and dust quite so badly. The Longboard length puts the front mudflap just a smidge more than two inches above the road surface. It keeps my feet and drivetrain a whole lot cleaner and drier than the standard length.

Over my 28 mm (1 1/8) three-seasons tires I use the P-35 (35 mm width). Over my 35/37mm studded snow tires I use the P-45 (45mm width).



You can't see it in the pic becasue it's black and blends in with the dynamo hub, but SKS fenders have a breakaway mount on the front fender. When the front tire kicks up a stick into the fender, rather bending the fender or worse, jamming between the fender and the tire and pitching you over the bars, the fenderstays pop out of the mount. Stop, remove stick, pop the fenderstays back in and continue merrily along. Works nicely.

NOTE: That's not the standard mount in the rear brake bridge. This frame has insufficient clearance under the brake for 28mm tires and a full fender. Instead, you cut the fender so that it mates up to the brake caliper and use Reacharound Fender Brackets to mount it there. Pretty trick and it works just fine.