pamaguahiker 

Looking to the knowledgable opinion sharers.

In Pa, a good majority of the roads that i ride on are oil and chips, or tar and chipped. On freshly treated roadways, it isn't uncommon to catch the occasional stone. But on a ride yesterday, i caught a very big stone between my front fender and tire. It sent me forward, harshly. So i am now considering the idea that the composites have their downfalls. It is also a one fixed point fender. My question is, will a steel Honjo or BERTHOUD type fenders hold out better? i have heard stories of thin Honjos catching stones also with similar effects. Any ideas on how to prevent something such as this in the future?



Thanks in advance!

pamaguahiker 

I should say that the composite snapped back into shape quite quickly and surprisingly was usable as well with some tweaking of the fender quides. I did however use a wrench to take off the fender entirely for the rest of the ride because i didn't feel like having any risk. I was chumped enough after one spill for the day.

Doug64

You might consider trying SKS fenders with a quick release safety feature. They were developed in Germany after several injury accidents that were caused by debris jamming in relatively immobile fenders. When debris jams in between the fender and wheel, the stays pop out of the nylon clip.

MichaelW

This is an essential safety feature for any tough plastic fender. Mine have released twice, saving me both times from unfortunate events. They also save the fender from damage.

Bandera

Agree, put my classic Blumels on the shelf and installed Planet Bike mudguards for this feature.

-Bandera

arctos

Assuming you have sufficient clearance between tire and fender, I would replace thin wire fender mounts with a 1/4" aluminum bar stock bent into a long U shape as the main fender support from the fork braze-on to near the bottom end of the fender. This has worked well in avoiding the presenting "stone jam problem" for 25 years on and off pavement on my touring bike and mountain tandem. I am using the same composite Syncros Fenders from Canada [which unfortunately have not been available for some 20 years]. They came with the aluminum bar stock supports mentioned.

hybridbkrdr

Arctos, do you have a pic of that?

fietsbob

you did apparently straighten it out, perhaps the clearance under the mudguard can be set-up a bit more , next time..

heat guns can relax crumple bends in thermoplastics.

arctos

Arctos, do you have a pic of that?



It is a 14 inch long (Top to bottom) 1/4 inch round aluminum bar stock flattened and drilled at ends for braze-on bolts at bottom of fork blade. This is a spare for a 26 inch wheel/tire size. This works for 2.1x 26" on the mountain tandem. A wider and longer bend could be made to fit larger tires. The 700c support is longer and fits 700x47 tires on the touring bike. see 2nd photo
I had mounted the support inside the fender as originally specified but now have it zip tied to the outside of the fender which seems to be a stronger position in use. (The original riveted clips inside the fender failed after the first year.)

hybridbkrdr

Oh, whoops, I thought that was meant to prevent the rocks from getting between the fenders and the tire. Haha.

pamaguahiker 

Good idea, i got caught working over the last couple days and didn't have a chance to log back on until today. This looks like a very good way to go for the safety! I believe i am going to discard the fenders in place now and get some new ones such as the sks. I had this image of the classics being more resistant and less prone. Regarding clearance FietsBob, there isn't much room to work with on this bike. i have been using a Bianchi Cyclocross frameset, set up with racks, etc for a touring rig and it really doesn't have the correct geometry and the front wheel flop from bag and design are a killer in itself. It requires a good effort and this winter. i am tackling several projects. One is to convert my Bianchi (last year cro-mo cyclocross frameset) back to cross/gravel road bike and get a dedicated touring type rig. I have begun preparations already. But i will want fenders on the new rig and I am grateful for the info on the sks safety feature. It is something i wished i have in place the other day! It is nice to hear the SKS have released as designed. Sometimes those 'fixes' never quite work out like planned.

Arctos, that's a nice support set up. Home Inguinuity at work.

fietsbob

tire savers , those little pieces of bent wire and plastic tubing, drag lightly on tires.

they can be fitted to the bottom of mudguards..

Their purpose is to knock off stones and flint, from tires..


(without mudguards, the back bolt on the brakes is where they mount..)

irwin7638

On thing is sure, you wouldn't be able to bend an aluminum fender back into shape. I recently change my VO fenders to SKS Velo 55 as a precaution against this type of incident. The Velo 55 fenders don't require stays, although there are optional stays with a built in quick release available.




Marc

Wanderer

A couple of quick questions. How big was the rock? How much clearance did the fender have? Thanks

pamaguahiker 

It was a very large stone, as in dime to quarter size. and to answer the other, 5-10mm at most which is why i am opting to go to a more purpose oriented frameset and build. I know i need to do things "correct", and i want a new rig. I haven't built up an actual new machine for a very long time. i am overdue. The only reason i would have ventured to VO fenders were because i thought they were equivalent to composite for weight, and also more durable, which i am seeing that may not indeed be the case. With stays and available QR VO fenders, Would this be an option? Or am i better off sticking to the composites with QR?

Carbonfiberboy 

I run fenders a lot and never had this happen. Another SKS user after my fancy metal fenders failed. OTOH I don't run tires with tread. I don't see how a smooth tire could pick up a large stone.

alan s 

Sticks and stones can be kicked up by your front tire and picked up by the fender. A mudflap adds greatly to this risk. I picked up a small stick once, and broke the fender in half at the crown. I'm very careful to avoid riding over anything that could potentially get caught in my fenders. As a side note, both SKS and PB fenders now come with the QR for the front fender stays.

Doug64

I'm not sure how it happens eithter, but this is the back wheel on my road bike. The fenders had very little clearance. The fender folded accordian fashion as depicted in the drawing. It popped back out. I think it can be other debris besides stones that just flip up and get caught.

This brought me to a screeching halt, and did not do my back tire any good! I'm glad it was on my back tire, because I did not have the releasable front clips on these fenders. I actually rode it home, not realizing that the tire was damaged.

Flog00

Sarah has these fenders on her Raleigh Sojourn.

https://ecom1.planetbike.com/7020.html

pamaguahiker 

There are no tread on my tires as well. And as i said, the tar and oil, or tar and chip roadways are very rough and heavy coverage of various size. It's the nature of the beast to travel the roadways, otherwise, you don't ride at all. My roads are not pleasant all the time.

Pedaleur

From someone who has gone over the bars without them, I agree wholeheartedly.

(Very slow speed; no injuries, damage)