saddlesores

y'all've missed the mostest importantantest reason for fenders:

sheep country.

Doug64

I think my wife would agree

mm718

Sounds like a reasonable assessment. What lightweight full fenders do you recommend? I've heard that plastic rattles?

DeadGrandpa

I bought a Jamis Renegade Expert, a carbon Road/Adventure bike with eyelets for rack/fender attachment. I don't think I want to put racks on it (have transitioned to Bikepacking gear), but have really been considering fenders just to keep the drive train cleaner.

DeadGrandpa

I used the Cascadia fenders from Planet Bike on a previous (now deceased) bicycle. I never heard them rattle, unless there was a rack sitting too low and contacting the fender. I raised the rack a little and no more rattle.

mm718

Still on the fence but these look nice. Thanks for the info. Good to see you back, DG.

Walter S

Good comments. I might add another plus for fenders. It's not uncommon for the road to be wet for a good little while after a rain. When I pass thru areas where it just rained the feeling is great. I can ride without getting soaked and hardly wet. A quick shower or light rain does not call for rain gear with fenders.

If I'm going to get wet I at least prefer water from the sky.

Aidoneus

LBS closed today. Maybe some one with experience can help me. I have a Surly Ogre with installed Planet Bike fenders. I purchased a set of Everything Bags from Cleavland Mountaineering to attach to the three bosses (?) on each side of my front fork. However, the fender's support rods block being able to install the bags. Anyone manage to have both on their bike at the same time?

rm -rf

I have the PDW Full Metal Fender City for tires up to 35mm wide. They are very expensive, but work well. Not too heavy at 510 grams. They are very solid and quiet, and never rub the tires. I leave them on the bike all the time now. They work with my 25c or 28c tires, of course, and have enough room for 35c Clement USH tires.

They are pretty easy to install, with just one stay for each fender and no fussy clips. Locate and crimp the rear brake bridge fitting. Attach the stay clamp and stay onto the fender. Adjust the stay length by a 2mm clamp bolt at the axle fitting. I had to cut the ends of the aluminum stays, they were slightly too long. Oil the stay clamp so it doesn't squeak.

But I had to add an extender for the rear fender's brake bridge mount, it didn't quite reach my bridge, so I made a flat bar aluminum extension (5/8 inch wide flat bar and a stainless M5 bolt and nut at Lowes). And the chainstay bolt didn't quite reach my chainstay bridge, so I got a longer M5 stainless bolt and a nylon tube bushing at the hardware store. ( I have a somewhat non-standard touring/gravel bike, so the bridges might be outside the normal range.)

It's very nice to have fenders for wet roads, like some other comments mentioned. And a tour bike isn't ridden just on tour--tour bikes do local rides, too.

Fenders are great. It's pretty amazing to ride through puddles an inch deep and only get just a few droplet splashes on my shoes. I don't have the "roads are too wet" excuse anymore.

Fender weight for up to 35mm wide tires (at least 45mm wide. The "35mm" fenders are for 25-28c tires.)
510 grams PDW City fenders (measures 45mm wide)
515 grams Planet Bike 45mm Hardcore
630 grams SKS P45 Chromoplastic Longboards

Happy Feet

I should have said they get wet just from the general rain running down the pants etc... not from the tires. I made some mud flaps from duct tape and no water actually gets on my shoes from the tire.

Ridefreemc

Ah yes, agreed!

DeadGrandpa

Slightly off topic, but how does one prevent the general rain running down the pants and into the shoes? I had this experience with gore-tex lined hiking shoes that I use for riding these days....all night the upside down shoes balanced over a heater in the motel room, drying out.

veganbikes

I have Cascadia's on my DT and have had no real issues at all. The last time I messed with them was installing the front rack and still no issues.

For the new one I am going with PDW Full Metal Fenders because they are lighter and I have co-worker who has them and likes them and I wanted to give them a try myself. I like my other PDW products and the color on them would match my bike nicely.

3alarmer 

...most of my fender installations run the fender braces inside the rack on the rear, I've not installed them on a bike with a front rack. Can't you just run the fender supports on the inside ? Maybe I don't understand what you mean by "bosses" on your fork ?

3alarmer 

...In order of my own preferences:
1. SKS Chromoplastics -- bombproof, lightweight, stylish, come in some colors like black and white if you want.
2. Any of the various stainless steel ones. Velo Orange sells them, Berthoud makes them (which require a little more mechanical sophistication to install), and there's an Asian brand I forget the name of.
3. Velo Orange sells some very stylish aluminum fender kits in a variety of widths. They will eventually dent, certainly the shiny ones will get scratched, but they work well and are easily installed.
4. Everything else I've tried.

Aidoneus

By bosses I meant whatever you call the three bolts--like the usual two bolts for installing water bottle holders--that run along the outside of each front fork. (I'm sorry, I really don't know what you call those things!)

I don't have any rack on the front, but I thought that using these bags would be a good way of carrying extra water in the desert and, combined with a handlebar harness, a good way of shifting some weight to the front of my bike. That is, without spending money on a front rack and bags--sort of half way to a bike packing setup.

I suppose I'll have to take my bike to LBS for advice. I just don't know enough to be anything but dangerous--to my bike or myself, that is. LOL

https://joecruz.wordpress.com/2013/0...bags/img_8062/

Aidoneus

I don't know how, yet, to put inline images for this site. But here is a site with lots of good photos of what I'm trying to install.

https://ridingprivateidaho.wordpress...ountaineering/

Doug64

I think I see what you mean by the pictures. The upper support stay from the fender to the eyelet on the fork dropout interferes with the bag? I've always called them "water bottle bosses" or cantilever "brake boss"

saddlesores

where are the fender struts attached?
you should be able to mount them to the
wee little eylelets at the bottom of the dropouts.

if they've already been cut short to mount farther
up the fork, you could easily make a small metal
or plastic spacer to move the strut bolt back a
bit. (assuming you can't mount it under the bag
mount)

your bike has v-brake mounts? cheap, lightweight
brake-mount platform rack from nashbar will
carry 10 pounds.

https://www.moruyabicycles.com.au/con...ss-mounted.jpg

LeeG

Goretex socks with rain pants over the socks. I commuted for a couple years in the winter with ice/slush on the road and my feet were warm. My shoes were a comfortable mesh type with spd cleats. It didn't matter that icy water was splashing through the shoes because my feet were dry and insulated.

Happy Feet

Well, in my younger days I would wear two plastic shopping bags over my shoes, but today I believe they sell some sort of overboot that does the same thing. I have a old pair of neoprene overboots but rarely use them.

Cycling : Footwear : Shoe Covers - Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC). Free Shipping Available.

Aidoneus

Let's see if this image uploads right! For some reason, the picture is upside down.

Aidoneus

Again, I don't know why the picture is rotated, but maybe it can be seen how one of the fender struts squeezes off room at the bottom boss.

Aidoneus

I believe that you have misunderstood. I don't have a front rack, and these bags are not panniers. They attach directly to the three bosses on each side of my front fork. Or they would if the fender struts were not in the way. Right now, I can just get the top bolt boss in before the strut prevents getting the rest in position.

DropBarFan

I always wondered how well Goretex socks worked esp with pressure from shoes possibly forcing water thru membrane or wearing quickly so it's interesting to read a favorable review. But in addition to good socks, what about gaiters for to keep cold rain from trickling down into shoes?