Fender [ mudguard ] preferences
 

I guess I'm not an educated consumer: saw some SKS "Commuter" fenders for sale on CL, and I assumed (making an a** out of me) that these were the "P" model -- they are not. The stays only support each fender in one location, as opposed to the P-model which supports it in two.

So I think I still need to look for some. If the choice is either the P45 or Berthoud stainless (for a black frame), which would y'all go for?

Thanks,

I have both and both work well. The SKS are breeze to install. The SKS also has a break away front fender that unclips if something gets stuck between the tire and the fender. Clips right back in with no problem. The SKS are shorter in their total coverage area than the Berthoud. The SKS are a bit lighter (I think) if that is of any importance.

The Berthoud look amazing and add a certain level of "sophistication" to the bike thay are installed on. They require a bit more work to install. I installed them on my 1972 Schwinn Paramount and ran into the following issues:

1. They are designed (primarily) for touring bikes with cantilever brakes. As such, the rear fender does not come with an attachment point or hole drilled for the rear brake bridge. You will have to do this. If you are using a bike with a drilled rear brake bridge, you have to fashion your own bracket or buy one from a vendor like velo orange.

2. The width of the actual fender may need to be trimmed to fit between the chain stays. Mine required this as the Paramount has 27" wheels/tires and they end up being 32mm wide. The Berthouds (if I remember correctly) came in 35mm or 50mm. I got the 50mm size.

That said they work very well and look great. Also keep in mind that velo orange has a number of fender options as well. I have a pic of each below.

Black Frame w/ Silver SKS:
[IMG]http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k2...ikePics206.jpg[/IMG]

Paramount w/ Berthoud:
[IMG]http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k2...ilypics458.jpg[/IMG]

I'll put in a plug for the Planet Bike Cascadia fenders: http://cgi.ebay.com/PLANET-BIKE-BICY...QQcmdZViewItem

Very nice coverage, good long mudflaps, and the silver finish looks much better than the usual shiny black Planet Bike fenders. Quite a bargain price, too, imo.

Neal

Thanks, fender1 and Neal, for the thorough and excellent advice.

Honjo's? from Velo-Orange?:D

Aaron:)

You're welcome. But I should also add that I haven't used the Berthouds or the Honjos, so I can't comment on them. I don't have a pic of the Cascadia's on my Trek, but they were by far the easiest to install and adjust for an excellent fender line. The fenders most used among my fleet are good old plastic Bluemels though!

We're rich in fender choices at this moment in history.

Neal

I think both are good options. The P45s will be significantly easier to install.