Originally Posted by
Brocephus
Walk into a bike shop, or go on-line and look at new bikes, or observe all the bikes you see around the world on the streets, paths, in races, etc., and the overwhelming majority don't have fenders. There's your consensus.
I'm not saying fenders aren't a good product that serve their purpose well, all I did was express an opinion that they look goofy. No question, they are justifiably popular with daily commuters, and that they keep your bike and clothes cleaner (again, already stipulated).
Sex appeal sells, and speed is sexy. Fenders very rarely, if ever, make a bike look faster.
Plus, it's another fiddly part for manufacturers to deal with. They might have to produce/procure them in various sizes to suit their range of bikes, and they might have to trust local shops to assembly them correctly for the final customer...
There are numerous reasons why you don't see a lot of them on new bikes, but I also suspect the new bikes you are looking at are of the sporty variety. if you really start looking "around the world," you actually see tons of fenders. In most European cities, the only bikes without them are the more serious sporting bikes (so, the minority).