Hi @Archwhorides,

Did you happen to notice that I quoted you about 30 C studded tires earlier in this thread (post #17)?

Jim

Ugh, I gotta tell you Jim, this is the first post of yours that I've read in a long time. Usually I see your historical narratives and think:

Fenders, mudflaps and waterproof lights. My all-weather bike.

I find that the flaps on fenders like the ones from SKS or planet bike work just fine.

My winter bike with studs. Normally sees rain but this has been an unusually snowy winter. Replaced SKS fenders with Pacific Design Works metal fenders this season.

It's a 2008 S-works Tricross.

They should all have flaps almost touching the ground. Even in dry conditions it keeps the chain cleaner. Most of the dirt on the drivetrain comes from the bottom of the front wheel. A flap almost reaching the ground needs to be flexible to go over things. I use wide MTB tubes folded over to glue to itself making the flap two layers of tube. One layer will just return to the original tube shape. My long flaps will go up over snow. And up or down stairs, rolling over something like a small log, etc.
When going fast the flaps move back a little and they catch a little less air. Very little.

Speaking just for myself, my collection of inadequate front fenders stemmed from a combination of accepting things as they are and not believing the alternatives were as much better as the enthusiasts claimed. I was aware that my front fenders were only doing half their job, but I just figured that's the way it is, after all they looked like pretty much all the other fenders on the market. When the Cascadias came out I bought a set and didn't see a huge difference.

When I finally got the Longboards (for the reasons described above) I took the bike out for it's first ride on wet roads. When I got home I thought I'd have the usual mess to clean up to get it looking new again. I was genuinely surprised to find the drivetrain mostly clean.

Now I'd like the get some more fenders that have that kind of coverage, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Besides, I've got a really big collection of shoe covers.

I just got the huge 65mm Longboards for my utility bike, along with 2.15" Big Apples. I'm kind of disappointed that they're nowhere near as long as the normal 700c Longboard fenders. They look almost like standard fenders in terms of length.

My everyday commuter is always rain ready. I used to ride classic old steel clubman with downtube shifters and 28-32mm tyres. I changed to a high tech, low maintenance urban commuter with Alfine8 hub, dynohub, disc brakes , al frame and 26" wheels using Big Appe rubber.
I really appreciate low maintenance riding, and would fit a belt drive if I could.

[MENTION=124426]Jim from Boston[/MENTION], I did see your quote, my apologies for not flipping it back properly; I'm on day 3 of the Norovirus and my concentration has been challenged (and my ability to cycle to work). I'm particularly disappointed about missing *today*, which would be a heavenly wintry ride.

Me too, I've got a closet in the kitchen stuffed full of them, and every time I come back from the grocery store I've got a few more...

Grocery store plastic bags always seems to be full of holes for me, or they get holes in them so easily that they're really not suitable for shoe covers, not for me anyway.

rain is the best chain lube, my chain is always so silent on days like this.

Yeah, but tell me how they are the days following.

Not going to be an issue until Monday at the soonest.

My chain starts to rust up quickly the day after riding in the rain, or after I give it a shower myself. It could be the road salt, but I find I need to clean and lube it every few days during the winter months.

Single-use, for sure. I keep a couple balled up in a little plastic container in my kittier for emergency use -- more often to cover the leather saddle.

Thanks for your reply. I recall well that discussion about 30C studded tires, and I note you are switching brands. Right now it’s about noon in Norwood, and the roads have a nice layer of hardpack snow, perfect for studded tires.

My wife said “Nyet” to riding to work this AM, though I would have ridden on dry, traffic-light roads early this AM before the snowfall, so I stayed over at work. Her main fear is the snowplows. I may ride home tonight after the plows are finished, and hopefully the roads not too sloppy. My inbound traffic is pretty light after 7 PM.

FYA, local long-time cyclist @buzzman wrote a nice post about the snowplows that I bookmarked a few years ago:

Love this.

Fenders, mudflaps, lots of lights, quick release trunk bag, fixed gear and chain guard.

I stopped riding fenderless back in '14 - I had spent most of the previous year training and road racing in the deep south and since I only had one bike I never used fenders. Trying to plan around wet roads and rain in the winter to riding through multiple thunderstorm bands during the summer weeks. One rainy opener ride I had enough. The air temperature was a mild 60 degrees but the spray from the road left me soaking and cold in a matter of minutes.

I went home, bought some raceblade fenders and have not looked back. I'm much happier now, I still get wet but it's not nearly as bad as before. Only bikes I own and ride without fenders are my MTBs and gravel racer. Life's hard enough to ride without fenders.

Current bike even has a rack, no more backpacks!


I will say that above a certain speed and road saturation it doesn't matter how wider your fenders are or how low your flaps are, feet are going to get wet from the water thrown up in the wake off to the sides of the time. For some reason this angle coming from wider tires is more in line with my q-factor than when I was riding racing skinnies. One down side of wide tires, at least.

Must be the salt on the roads (we don't do that here). I use Finish Line's wet lube (thick stuff) and my chain is usually good for a couple weeks of wet riding. It's a sloppy, greasy mess to touch, but it stays quiet and doesn't rust. Usually I end up wanting to clean the drivetrain because of build-up on the derailleur pulleys before it gets to the point where I think it needs lube.

I'd just like to say, there are a lot of nice bikes on this thread. I'm glad to see it.

When I first started commuting by bike I remember reading a lot of advice about having a beater bike for bad weather, and so I tried that. Unfortunately over the course of a year in my part of the world the wet days outnumber the dry ones about 2 to 1. Eventually I decided that my rain bike had to be something I really liked. It's nice to see that I'm not apparently not alone in reaching that conclusion.

Why does that sound like some sort of marketing slogan

Ditto. I just find whenever the chain gets wet I see rust the next day. Now, it may still be fine for a few more rides, but I just can't stand it. What can I say, I like a clean machine.

If I lived in that climate, my ONLY bike would be a rain bike.

And, I probably wouldn't be a cyclist. San Diego FTW! Glad I get something for all that Sunshine Tax I pay...