Not out of line at all. Leather is great, but not ideal for continued exposure to spray, so I'd suggest that the wheel side of “composite” flaps be plastic; black or clear. Also, they should be long, nearly touching the ground -- Junk Yard Bike is about the only one in this post whose flap is really long enough to be effective in keeping spray off the BB and pedals. It's easy enough to trim them to length. I bought a V-O mudflap on a whim, but it's too short for my fenders, and like Grand Bois I think that it's overly thick. I'd be willing to mount it on the outside, but I think that it's simply too stiff, and might fatigue the fender when buffeted around by wind. I think that the flap should be flared, of course, but also have some flex, and hold it's shape by taking the fender concave shape, more at the top than the bottom. That way, a bit of flex could happen, preventing fatigue of the fender end, but it would still keep shape well -- I think it's a very fine line between too floppy and too stiff, actually.

Does anyone else have a “fix” for the deposit of crud that develops on the tops of the chainstays where the rear fender crosses them (and is coped to fit between them)? I have only one bike with fenders, and this bugs me -- SKS two-stay model. I'm thinking of laminating a flared plastic extension to the inside of the fender, that covers the insides of the chainstays beyond the fender at this location, but I've never seen a bike with something like that.