Fenders question
 

Guys,
is there a bike fender that really works?
Thanks,

Ricardo

sure is...

What kind of bike do you have?

Planet Bike Freddy Fenders, but not the clip on type.

Your LBS will have universal fit fenders which will attach to many makes of bikes. They are plastic, tough and lightweight. I suggest that you attach a long fender flap to the bottom of the front fender to keep the road crap from splashing all over your crank. Its amazingly effective.

A 1994 GT mountain bike. 26 * 1.90 inch wheels.

Ricardo

SKS chromoplastic fenders are the best. They need threaded eyelets on the frame. Your tyres need the P65 model

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/Default.aspx...Name=Mudguards

By 1994, it's hard to say. A lot of manufacturers have eliminated fender and rack eyelets because...umm.. they're so heavy or something. (Actually it's because they are a knock against the bike's racerboy image and because many road bikes don't have enough clearance to fit them anyhow).

If you take it to your bike shop, they'll be able to help you out. If you have front suspension, that's probably a no-go and the best you can do is a clip-on or a mudguard on the downtube. Otherwise, the best option is a set of bolt-on full coverage fenders. If you have a rigid frame but no eyelets, you can usually make do with some P-clamps and zip-ties. Otherwise SKS Raceblades are designed for bikes without eyelets, but they're more expensive and don't cover nearly as well. I'm also not sure if they're available in sizes wide enough for mountain bikes.

I only use a rear fender and the best one I found so far is the SKS X-TRA-Dry. It mounts/clips around your seatpost, but the clip is weak. I ran one zip tie through it and one around the outside of the clip. No problems with it moving and the zip ties help to slow down thieves a little.

I have used both Mt. Zefal and SKS fenders in this size and I prefer the SKS mostly because they look better and don't rattle when mounted with standard hardware. I have mounted fenders with zip-ties and those work fine too if you have an eyelet or screw defficiency. I have yet to ride a bike on which I could not mount fenders and this includes a Klein MTB with a suspension fork and no eyelets anywhere. You can do it!

Best,
e.

Ditto. That's what I have.

I've got the Freddy Fender and they work great. Although I will obtain the larger mudguard, as we get wind blown sand here by the beach and the grit gets swept up into the works too much, especially when the ground is wet.

Another vote for planet bike freddy fenders. They make them in several different mounting modes, so chances are one of the models will fit on your bike.

Ditto on both the Freddy Fenders, which I have now, and the SKS chromoplastic, which I have had before. Mud flaps help too.

Mine are made of coathangers with inner tubes stretched over them :D Effective and cheap.

Well, I have the Planet Bike Clip-on Freddys, for 26 to 35 tires, and they have worked great so far on my eyeletless, Gitane cross frame. The frame is really tight by current, quasi-mtb CX standards, but I can fit Ritchey Speedmax 30s in there for snowy/muddy days. Like today.

I had an incredible amount of anxiety about buying them, since everyone seemed to slam clip-ons generally as worthless, but I didn't see anyone slam the Freddy clip-ons, so I gave them a chance.

The front fender is pretty darned bomber--the fork crown isn't even drilled, but it was easy to use two zipties to straddle the crown. I have a pop bottle mudflap on the front. At the end of my 10 mile commute with 1.5 miles on snowy, muddy canal path, my gaiters were utterly spotless. The rear fender is a bit less stable. It's rock solid at the BB (zip tied) and so-so at the seat stay bridge (again, undrilled, so it's ziptied to a wierdo, lame-fitting hanger thingy that Planet Bike includes). At the back fender stays, the fender is very secure, but flexy laterally. Under harsh conditions, I get a little rattle, but I heard no rubbing at all-- even today, when all of the downed branches on the canal path from yesterday's snow fall meant lots of 2 and 3 inch barriers to hammer over. On smooth road, I don't even know I have the fenders. So for performance, I have no beefs.

I like the idea. Can you post a picture? You may be starting a trend.

Planet Bike has some, though they don't look like they go far enough down in front to me.

I am currently running with Zefals with a home-made mudflap on the bottom front. I got a rear pannier mismounted, caught in spokes and took out my rear fender about 8 months ago, so right now I'm riding with just a front. The rack stops a lot of crud in the back, but I need to get new fenders soon.

SKS gets raves; I'll probably go with them next.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fenders.asp

I am waiting on some sks p35 fenders for my cross bike (canti brakes). I think the hole in the fork crown should work but I have a carbon fork with no eyelets in the front. Do you guys think a ziptie or p-clamp will be ok with a carbon fork? I know it is not recommended to hang racks on the side of carbon because of structural weakness... it seems the best solution would be a piece of metal that could fit around the axle between the fork and the quickrelease clamp to simulate an eyelet. If the QR is clamped on tight enough it should be pretty secure. I dont know how to construct something like that though.

I just ordered SKS P35s for my 02 Jamis Coda. I will post my install experience with them.

Another vote for Planet Bike Freddy Fenders.

I have the ATB model on my non-suspension Trek 800. They're very lightweight, were easy to install and they work really well.

Only things I don't like: they rattle a little and the screws work loose (so check them regularly, a good idea for all bolted on parts).

I don't have Freddy Fenders, but I do find that Planet Bike stuff is usually pretty good stuff.

I've used both the Freddys and SKS's and am quite pleased with both. I was able able to mount the Freddy's on a disc bike with a litle MacGuyvering(shortened front struts,P clamp on the left rear).

I've also used Topeak DeFenders coupled with mudboards on the downtube and seattube. Complicated,but effective.

OK, maybe a dumb question, but... What fenders do I need for 27" wheels? My fuji runs 27x1-1/4" tires; I'm assuming I need fenders intended for 700c wheels, yes?

My Coda Comp has an SKS front with a Freddy Fender rear. When I tried to mount the Freddy front,it was too wide to fit between the fork legs. So I got the SKS's. The front mounted ok,but I had to mount it without the plastic safety clips. With the clips in place,the struts wouldn't make it around the curve of the fork blades(this was also true for the SKS's I put on my Trek;had to use the clips on the rear of that one). But when I mounted the rear,I didn't like how far it stood off from the tire. I tried mounting to both sets of rear eyelets,with and without the clips,and still wasn't satisfied. So I put the rear Freddy on. It sat closer to the tire,and was wider to boot.

I thought it might look funny having a front fender with dual struts and a rear fender with singles,but given the bike's polished frame and black highlights,it turned out ok.

The packaging for my SKS's said 27" or 700,so that should be right(Freddy Fenders should be the same). 1 1/4" is like 32mm,so I'm not sure which width would be best. I'd take the bike to an LBS and hold the fenders up to the tires to see. You'll also want to be sure the front fits between the fork blades.