A little vanity is OK. You can get handsome fenders if that helps.

When I was young, I wanted only the best I could afford in bikes. Then when my bike -- my pride and joy -- got stolen, I learned to enjoy having a beater bike. After a while, I built one that worked great and rode great and looked pretty bad. It had straight bars which were slightly swept back, a rear rack with a milk crate on back, and fenders. I remember going through a scary neighborhood and some teenagers (about my age) were on a corner, and one of them yelled out to me, "Cheap bike!" Haha, you can always find someone in NYC who cares about bike style. But I felt like I had a secret they didn't know. They didn't know how nice my bike really was, and it had been inexpensive to build.

One of my bikes is a fixed gear, and I like how light it is. It was also pretty inexpensive to build, so I take it when I have a short ride. Now I'm thinking of putting fenders on it. If I put too many accessories on it, it won't be light anymore. It's pretty handy to have something I can carry up stairs easily. Today I thought about a dynamo hub, but oops, that's going too far. I have a dynamo hub on my main commuter bike, and I love it. Maybe I will do the fenders, though.

I still have a couple of racy bikes without fenders. I try to avoid rain when I ride them. I am a little vain. I hope I never have to ride a women's style bike. It just feels wrong to me.