why2not

I have 60mm wide ATB freddy fenders on my commuter w/28 wide tires. My feet get soaked at the first puddle. Not really a big problem because I wear old canvas shoes when riding for exactly this reason. By the time I'm through the second puddle, I can feel water in my shoes sloshing around each revolution.

But I've been strongly considering going clipless & wouldn't want a good pair or shoes to go through that drenching. I could do sandals, but they'd be a bit chilly in the winter. I could "bag' my feet, but I'm not really into that either.

Basically, I'm wondering if everyone else with fenders feet get as wet as mine do? I could try adding additonal mudflap length, or pivot the fender further back (move the bracket). Currently the bottom of the (stiff) mudflap sits about the same height as the center of my hanger bracket.

RonH

Sounds like you have the fender mouted incorrectly or something is amiss. The mud flap on the front fender should be about even with the BB.

fender1

You need mudflaps that actually protect your feet. The ones shown on the bike above or the ones that come with most fenders, are way to short to do any good. I have attached a link on how to make some. I have done this and it was a HUGE improvemnet in keeping my feet dry and my bike/drive train clean in bad/winter weather.



https://www.phred.org/~alex/bikes/fendermudflap.htmlou

why2not

It is, hanger is a bit of the old school in me from when I used to ride a bike with a one piece crank.

I guess to stay modern, I should say that it is about even with the center of the bottom bracket, much as in the photo RonH thoughtfully provided.

why2not

fender1, your link doesn't work, but I was able to get there by backing up to your bike page & finding your fender link. That's pretty much what have been considering doing, except I thought I might put a zip tie up a couple of inches on the fender & tuck the bottom of my homemade mudflap up into it when it isn't wet.

I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't something wrong with me, since it seems that most others don't post about this problem once they've added fenders.

bike2math

I recently replaced my mudflap with an even longer one that now touches the ground on even the slightest bump, I also made it wider than the previous ones at the bottom. My feet stay dry (as you said of minor importance). But if I ride after a rain then the entire bike stays dry (of major importance )

max-a-mill

do a search for mudflaps, you'll find plenty of chatter.

i have quoted spinal tap before on this subject but it never gets old to me...

big bottom
big bottom
talk about mudflaps, my girls got em

tsl

Agreed. Length is important, but width catches the splashing from the sides of the tire. Mine is about six inches wide near the ground.

Leiniesred

yup. Freddy's rear fender pumps the water right onto my shoes too. You'll need something that extends farther along the FRONT of the rear tires if you want dry feet.

Me? I just lift up my feet pee-wee herman style if I want to stay dry. Works great.

ollo_ollo

Neoprene booties for your feet + a longer mud flap does the trick. If you ride with others, add a flap to the rear fender to keep your ride partner happy.

CliftonGK1

$1.98 at Home Depot for a piece of black stair tread.
$2.45 (same place) for a bag of black zip ties

5 minutes to measure and cut out front and rear mudflaps from the stair tread, drill a couple holes in my fenders, and zip tie the flaps in place.
The flaps I made are about 5" wide at the base (on 60mm Freddy HC fenders) and hang to about 2" off the ground. I have no problems with my feet getting wet from splashing through puddles. My drivetrain stays extra-clean compared to not having fenders/flaps, too.
When it's raining and cold, then I put on the Bellwether No-Aqua booties for extra protection. If it's raining and warm then I just say 'screw it' and get wet. I'd sweat in all my raingear and get drenched anyhow.

Winter76

why not - i found that placing my fender closer to my tire lessened the amount of water getting by. Also the mods from fender1 are a great idea, althought I would make them wider to catch the horizontal spray.

MichaelW

If your tyres are 28mm, presumably they are also 700c. MTB style 60mm wide fenders are desigend to keep some mud-spray off a rider but not to keep all the water off. A close-fitting, bolt-on style of fender suchs a sSKS chromoplastic or Freddy will work much more effectively. You need a 35mm wife fender placed about 5mm from the tyre.

sean999

"Everyone else with fenders" doesn't have fenders like yours! I rode for years and years with 27x1.125 and then 700x35, with close-fitting but narrow fenders, with no extra mudflaps, and didn't get wet feet from puddles. Just because you have some kind of fenders doesn't mean you have *effective* fenders. Same as anything else!

-Sean

why2not

Ok. So moving the fenders closer to the tires might help also? Mine are proabably away by about 10mm. But I'm not real gentle with my commuting bike & I worry that with only 5mm of clearence, they'll end up rubbing after banging it around a bit. I also thought that being wide would actually decrease the spray, by catching more water. Looks like I'm not up to speed on my fenders...

Artkansas 

Mine stay dry unless I have to go through a big puddle. I find if you hold your front-most foot high, this eliminates most of the problem.

jibi

One word

Sealskinz

waterproof socks

oops thats 3

george

jcm

No. Mount your fenders with lots of clearance, if you can. Close fitting fenders atomize the water into a fine spray that you then continually ride into. Give the water an extra split second to form into bigger particles before hitting the fenders. It makes a difference because it tends to run straight down instead of forming a wet fog.

Flaps: The factory flaps on fenders are a joke. Stair tread is about the best I have found for making your own. Unless you break the plane of the tangent coming off the front tire, you won't get good results. In other words, a flap that is almost to the ground in front works best. Also, as a rule of thumb, make it twice the width of your fender and run the width well up into the curve.

Your feet will still get wet from wet pavement, but it takes longer. Puddles will be no problem.

https://i8.tinypic.com/4q5r5f5.jpg
https://i15.tinypic.com/4ukwn76.jpg

Bekologist

flaps. A big honkin flap almost to the ground.