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Old 01-08-09 | 12:00 AM
  #18  
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lonesomesteve
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From: Seattle, WA
More to fenders than just eyelets

Originally Posted by dayvan cowboy
is it just me or does the gary fischer drilled for fenders? i think i might see them in that picture
I think the Fischer does have eyelets, but I wouldn't assume that means you can easily run "real" full coverage fenders. Here's my two cents on the fender thing. If you really plan on using this bike in place of a car then that means you'll spend some time riding in the rain (possibly a LOT of time depending on what the weather is like where you live). You can ride with 23C tires and no fenders in the rain if you want. However, I wouldn't because 1) it sucks, 2) you get really wet, 3) your bike gets much more grit and bad stuff in the drive train which wears it out faster, 4) 23C tires don't give you much traction on wet pavement, 5) all those things suck.

There are plenty of quick easy fenders that can be attached to bikes that weren't really meant to run fenders. Race blades, clip-on seat post rear fenders, etc. They're mostly better than nothing. But none of those work nearly as well as full coverage fenders like the ones on the Raleigh One-way pictured above. To run fenders like that you need the eyelets and adequate clearance between the wheels and the frame. In my experience it just never really works to put full coverage fenders on a bike that uses low profile brakes (which is what the Fischer has), especially if you want tires any bigger than 23C.

I think what you need to ask yourself is, do you want a bike that looks cool or do you want a bike that works well for your intended purpose. And I'm not being sarcastic. Nothing wrong with buying something just because you like the way it looks. Just understand the trade-offs when you do it.

So if you want something that can run fenders and bigger tires, I'd recommend something that uses long reach brakes (Schwinn Madison is an example) or cantilever brakes (like the Bianchi San Jose above). If you want something that looks cool and racy, or hip and tarck, well pick whatever appeals to you.
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