Originally Posted by
kickstart
I'm not sure how much credence I'd give some of those "stories", countless bikes have had rigidly mounted metal fenders fenders for the past 100+ years for use all over the world under every conceivable condition.
Of course anything is possible, you could be struck by a meteor too, but if you don't do a hamfisted install of junk fenders the odds are highly in your favor nothing will happen.
Lots of people don't use helmets or seatbelts, both have saved my bacon as did the breakaway fenders. I popped a strut when a flock of ducks swarmed me on the MUP. I was sure I was going down and the duck was getting beheaded. Strut popped, duck lived and I didn't go down. Lots of folks sounded like you (meteor odds?) when seat belts and air bags came out, it's your mobility, risk it as you see fit.