Originally Posted by
Silverexpress
Installing front fenders on a suspension fork that does not have mounting holes or bosses for a front fender.....
Stuff you'll need:
1. Hose Clamp - Preferably stainless steel (common at auto parts stores)
2. Tool to cut the fender - Recommend a Dremel with a cutting bit for the plastic and a cutting wheel to cut the steel bracket
3. Screwdriver to tighten the screws
4. P-Clamps - found at hardware stores; used in plumbing
5. Rubber tape - made by 3M also found at hardware stores. Got mine at Home Depot (USA)
Instructions
1. With your cutting tool cut the vertical leg of the mounting bracket often found at the top (err middle) of the front fender. Leave the metal portion that is riveted to the fender.
2. Cut two slots just wide enough to accomodate the hose clamp. One slot goes to one end of the remaining L-bracket that was on the fender, and the other slot goes at the other end. (See Pic IMG_0008)
3. Thread the hose clamp through the slots as shown (See pic IMG_0009)
4. Apply rubber tape to the fork bridge - this will provide a more secure hold for the clamp, and you can use something else besides the 3m stuff. Like, a piece of an inner tube or even a piece of a tire.
5. See IMG_0014 for final install.
6. See IMG_0019 for install of P-Clamps.
A few observation:
- Since the fender doesn't weigh much and it doesn't have to carry any weight other then its own, a hose clamp is overkill. You could use nylon zipties for connecting the fender to the bridge. Lighter, simpler and easier with less chance of damaging any part of the bike.
- Fenders with stays are good and solid but they run very close to the wheel. Depending on what kind of conditions you might ride in... mud, snow, oatmeal
...and the width of the tires on your bike, packing of the material under the fenders could be a problem.
- Commercial shock fenders do a pretty good job without all the excess hardware. They don't quite cover as much protection as a full fender by adding a splash guard to the downtube of the bike, you can get to the same level of protection. And the fender doesn't interfere with your brakes...for those of us with linear brakes...or the operation of the fork.
Here's my snow bike. The red arrow points to the splash guard which I also run on my unfendered mountain bikes to keep the mud out of my face
