Originally Posted by
Slice2
jcm - Have you ever tried adding a flap on the leading edge of the front fender? I'm thinking that something long enough to direct the spray downward would do away with the 'atomization' concern, plus you can then run the fenders closer to the tires & get less water spray out the sides which otherwise ends up on the rider. Even a (partial) second fender attached to the existing one, supported by another set of struts?
Or maybe some sort of 'cap' on the leading edge that would prevent water from shooting directly out the front. It would need to be contoured to the tire w/o contacting it; would probably collect a lot of road crap behind it though.
Yes, I have. It's easy to do using another rear fender. Very strange looking, I might add, but pretty effective. If you go to ANT bikes' website, you'll see some retro French style bikes with those front fenders. There are photos around of 1930's French gendarmes with all sorts of rain shields on their bikes. Some commuter bikes in Europe still have fender skirts. Not practical for touring, though.
The issue of spray is a difficult one to deal with. Spray happens. You can minimize it by spacing the fender as far from the tire as possible and using as wide a fender as you can fit.
EDIT: I went to the ANT site, but there have been some changes - no pics of the full front-fendered bikes.