Bike Forums - What Good Are Fenders?

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If your fenders rattle or rub you need a better fitting fender or perhaps a better mounting set-up (I am a freak about having a quiet bike). I have noticed even in the completely dry summer here and on good pavement my drive train stays a bit cleaner with fenders. I recommend fenders made from aluminum, but whatever works is fine. I even made some of my own from sheet aluminum with tons of mud clearance for an old MTB. There are downpours when no gear, clothing, or fenders, will do much to protect you (take Bike Snob's advice and lease a Hyundai, I did!). I have no rebuttal for those of you who think that an elegant and proper set of fenders on a never raced bicycle aren't worth it, to each his or her own.

:thumb:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abe_Froman (Post 20100342)

Fenders would be the first thing i’d get for commuting every day. Before pants.

Quote:

Originally Posted by work4bike (Post 20100015)

I've been riding for >30 years and I do remember buying fenders years ago (from a bike shop, not a box store), not long after I got into riding. I wasn't impressed and probably only had them on my bike for about a year; I got so disgusted with them, I just threw them away.

The other day I was riding in a very soft rain, just a drizzle, but enough rain to have a very slight pooling in areas. I have a rear rack for my panniers, but still I got the dreaded Skunk Stripe on my back, which I was wearing my brand new high-viz yellow shirt:mad::mad::mad:

This got me thinking...why do people still bother with fenders?

Tell me what I'm missing here...

You might find this video interesting -

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatchet (Post 20111325)

You might find this video interesting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B73T0Mqv2Q

Thanks:thumb: I've already checked out a few youtube videos on fenders, but missed this one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rumrunn6 (Post 20100107)

you threw out your fenders & now are unhappy that you got a skunk stripe, but are asking why anyone would want fenders? :foo:

Thanks rumrunn6, I thought it was just me that noticed that.

I love my fenders, and they look good on the bike too! I once took them off just before a 3 day tour, sinking I wouldn't need them. A few hours into the ride I traveled through a forest (on a path) that just had a heavy downpour. Awful warm, sandy water running down my back. Yuck! Never again.

I just installed a set of SKS Longboards on my bicycle yesterday. I chose the black fenders with the reflective stripes on the sides. There are a few changes since SKS made their installation video, the bracket that holds the rear fender to the frame is much improved, a simple snap on piece now. Also the pieces that cover the ends of the stays are different.

Overall it was moderately difficult to install, as expected. Cutting the stays was the hardest part, and my bike's got some unique features (belt drive, disc brakes, rack), all of which were not hard to accommodate.

The ride into the office this morning was wet, but not raining. No issues.

Choosing fenders is obviously a personal choice. I'm giving them a chance for the same reason I bought a belt drive bike - I want to ride in whatever rain we happen to get this year, and would like to figure out first hand all the issues to deal with.

23 x700 tires don't throw water on my back as long as I stay under 14 mph in the rain. But I do have a rain bike with nice Blumenthal aluminum fenders. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

Here is a timely article:

Myth 3: Fenders Slow You Down

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by noglider (Post 20113466)

Here is a timely article:

Myth 3: Fenders Slow You Down

.

Thanks for posting that Tom. I am always "defending my fenders" to our local group. I received some (taken off bikes) in good condition that I recently used and like. They are a plastic/metal/plastic laminate and are lightweight and solid. mt. Zefal are the only markings. I used them on my recent '65 Dilecta Le Blanc Touring build.

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Originally Posted by 79pmooney (Post 20101913)

My observations re: fenders from someone who has ridden year 'round in Boston, Ann Arbor, the San Francisco East Bay, Seattle and Portland, all places with roughly 40" of rain in various forms per year: Fenders should have ...

Two front stays, not just one unless the fender is designed frm the start to use just one set and be as rigid
Solid mounts at the brake bolts
A deep front flap that can be bent back without damage to either it or the fender
Breakable front stay ends at the dropout
Be rigid enough to not vibrate at speed and/or on rough surfaces, especially after front flaps are installed
Should be offered in yellow or white

I haven't had anything jam in the front fender and stop me yet and have never had or needed the front stays to fail but I have been wondering when that "yet" will happen for decades. I have had fenders that pass the rest of the above and fenders that flunk many of those standards.

There are several easy ways to make good front flaps. Cut down water bottles are very popular in Portland but I worry about them being stronger than the fender and breaking it. (If you ride a loaded bike with a heavy front end, ie loaded LowRiders; my preferred snow setup, the day will come when you wheel it off a curb and forget to lift long enough for the fender flap ti clear the curb. Crunch! Did your fender and flap pass the tests?

My preferred flap - I make them from 1990s era architect's film (as used for overhead projectors, large displays, etc. I double it up and tape the edges with clear packing tape. Plenty stiff enough to not deform in deep puddles but folds back with little damage when that curb thing happens. I only get several years out of each flap, but they are easy to make and install. (First one is the hardest. I drill out the rivets and replace them with #10 or M5 bolts, nuts and washers before the fender goes on the bike.)

When my film runs out, I will try leather since we have a very good leather store here, Oregon Leather. I'll report back when I do but don't hold your breath. I still have a few years of film to go.

Popular US made fenders that sadly flunk almost all of my standards are the Planet Bike fenders. One set of stays for a fender with less than rigid plastic. Front vibration happens very regularly, esp after you put on a real flap that generates air vortexes. Mount at the brake bolt is very poorly designed and not remotely stiff enough. The flap is a joke (but takingit off is just the drilling out of the rivets so work that was happening anyway). The plastic hanger at the brake bolt in back changes shape and fit relative to the plastic fender, becomes loose and starts rattling. I always end up making my own fitting at the chainstay gusset, again to stop rattling.

Fenders that pass all those standards save the flap are the SKS fenders. They are a joy. Now it they would just make yellow and white.

I keep posting about my experience re: Planet Bike fenders in the hope that someone there will see them and get the message. All they have to do is find an ancient set of Blummel fenders at some yard sale and copy them. 50 years ago, the British were making good fenders that passed all of my standards with flying colors (and in colors that could be seen on dark, rainy/grey northern winter days like today).

Ben

Ben, the scraps barrel at Oregon Leather has provided me with perfect material to create mudflaps for my 1974 Falcon (which still has its original Blummels) on our rainy Portland streets. I have even used thin strips to patch the gap below the brakes on SKS Raceblade Long Fenders. For muddy days on my 29er...good old milk jug and Gorilla tape mudflaps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by noglider (Post 20113466)

Here is a timely article:

Myth 3: Fenders Slow You Down

.

Actually, they might speed you up (in group rides). It is known there is a small benefit to the rider in front when he has a close draftee. Fenders encourage that draftee.

Never mind that you can ride as fast as you like without bolstering the racing stripe!

Ben

Why would a motorcycle racer put fenders on his bike? It’s not to deal with random rainstorms, I don’t believe they race when it’s raining. I suspect he does it to go faster! It’s interesting that fenders aren’t allowed in bicycle racing.....why?
(See article for pic)

Quote:

Originally Posted by joelcool (Post 20112931)

I just installed a set of SKS Longboards

heard a lot of good things about those, got a pic?

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Originally Posted by rumrunn6 (Post 20114405)

heard a lot of good things about those, got a pic?

Love my SKSs. Have heard comments that they rattle and are always going out of adjustment... I have not had that be an issue. There is a several inch gap where the attachment metal strip is fastened to the brake bolts resulting ( when the roadway is very wet) in a constant fine spray up onto the brakes. If this is an issue, you can bridge the gap with Gorilla/Duct tape. The skinny mud flaps at the bottom do a surprisingly good job of keeping most of the spray off feet and BB. For fanatical racers they are easy to pop off the support brackets in mere seconds when the sun comes out. Here in Portland, I think I'll leave them on until July 4th when the annual dry days traditionally return :lol:

When people say which fenders they think are the best, I wonder, does it really make a difference? I can't remember any fenders I didn't like. When people mention what a pain they are to install, I wonder, is it that hard, or am I lucky? Maybe I'm skilled and don't know it? Well, whatever. Here are SKS Chromoplastic® fenders on my Bianchi Volpe. They don't rattle or go out of adjustment.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ZD...=w1071-h660-no

Tom, you do good work! What is that thing way out in front and on top that looks like a bell? Is it a bell?

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Originally Posted by noglider (Post 20115037)

Some fenders shake side to side so much that they bounce against the tire and cause squeaks and potential safety issue if it gets muddy of if there are sticks on the road. Other types are not made with high quality plastic and become hard and brittle as they absorb UV light and crack over time.

Difficulty of installation is almost always based on the bike they're being installed on. I had a road racing bike with fender mounts that I could get on and off in 7 minutes. My allroad bike takes closer to 20-30 minutes as the brake/chainstay bridges and fork crown are not well designed.

I prefer fenders that are a little longer than the ones you have pictured as well.

Thank you, though I think the fender line isn't very straight.

It's a bell on an accessory mounting thingy. I can put a computer or light or whatever else on it with the bell.

Quote:

Originally Posted by noglider (Post 20115037)

When people mention what a pain they are to install, I wonder, is it that hard, or am I lucky? Maybe I'm skilled and don't know it?

Tom, I bought my latest touring bike and installed fenders on it myself. When I bought my daughter a touring bike a year later, I remembered it being an hour and a half of full-speed-ahead pfutzing, so I asked REI to install her fenders before we left with the bike. Those skilled mechanics managed to get her fenders on in only 90 minutes. Both the SKS fenders you mentioned.

It may be possible to do it faster if you install a bunch of fenders, but it does take some time.

OTOH, neither of us has had problems with them in the last 8 or 9 years.

Fenders also are air filled things that keep your boat from hitting the dock, repeatedly, while tied up in the Marina..

http://marinesuperstore.com/posit/im...0000007980.jpg

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Originally Posted by Bubbathump (Post 20114399)

Oh, they most certainly race in the rain. And they do so at speeds that are absolutely astounding. Also, they don't do anything to mitigate the spray coming off the rear wheel, so the rider following will essentially be blinded by the water spraying onto his visor.

But that's not what the fenders are primarily there for, otherwise they would take them off in the dry. As mentioned, the main reason is aerodynamics, as they need to channel the air around the wheel and fork legs, while also trying to direct the desired amount onto the brakes and radiator.

Ducati actually went without them for a while in the early days of their return to motogp, because their monster of an engine was producing so much heat that they needed all the cooling possible. But, this is why comparing them to bicycles is a little silly. Wider tires, large radiators plowing through the air... and most importantly, they hit speeds as high as 215mph, and hardly ever slow down below 40 or 50mph.

http://images.mcn.bauercdn.com/uploa...lis-motogp.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by noglider (Post 20115037)

When people say which fenders they think are the best, I wonder, does it really make a difference? I can't remember any fenders I didn't like.

I didn't like these - fixed gear so it was a problem.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lx...=w1024-h768-no

Add me to the pro-fender group. My work commute takes me over a busy 4-6 lane N/S main artery and interchange with the interstate, then through the countryside into the Amish country of NE Indiana. Whenever it rains, the horse, er, excrement, from all the buggies becomes poop soup and I look down and watch all the brown water spraying down from the back of my front fender and feel good about my purchase, even though they're cheap Planet Bike jobs. Also winter riding which introduces all sort of sand and salt into the mix. I prefer to keep that off my person and mostly off my bike. I don't know where people are living with streets so clean they don't mind being sprayed. Gross. I'm far from a germophobe, but gross.

Quote:

Originally Posted by noglider (Post 20113466)

Here is a timely article:

Myth 3: Fenders Slow You Down

.

Noglider, I was going to post that. Well, here is the racing picture to go with it (I did my last race in fenders, cuz I'm too lazy to take them off and it is a conversation topic...)

https://janheine.files.wordpress.com...pg?w=768&h=556

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiabloScott (Post 20117091)

I didn't like these - fixed gear so it was a problem.

Yeah, you do need longish wheelbase and room for your favorite sized tires.

Often I just put it on the rear, as that covers my *ss (CYA) and my downtube makes a good enough front fender for me 90% of the time.