Originally Posted by super-douper
2manybikes: i didn't think of cutting the ones i have. I'm not particularly concerned with looks and besides, it'll give me an excuse to use my dremel!
There really isn't much clearance between the brake bridge and the tire, so I might have to get new tires. I had the LBS swap out the 25c with 32c when I bought it. Now I wish I would have looked to make sure that my fenders would fit.
On one of my mountain bikes that I use in the snow and ice only, I have the fender over the brake bridge to keep the fenders far away from the tires so they will not clog with snow or slush. You could possibly go over it, under would be more protection and easier to clean the bike though.
Maybe 28 mm tires are a good compromise. I have some that I like.
Here are some high clearance fenders to keep the snow and ice from clogging under the fenders. They do keep the bike very clean. I don't mind cleaning the brake bridge. I actually filled in some open places with black electrical tape folded over on itself. It's light, and cheap. It works too. I also used it to make some parts of the fenders wider too.
I don't think you have to make anything anywhere near as ugly and big as these, I just thought you might like to see some fenders cut and modified a lot. Time to get the dremel tool out!