Fenders?
 

What are your thoughts on fenders? Mine is a love/hate realationship with them...Love them when its raining and hate them the rest of the time. I finally found some nice ones at MEC made by Planet Bike. But really feel like they slow me down and the bike handles differently. Perhaps it is all in my head.:(

My 16 mile one way commute is 8 miles of gravel/sand and the rest paved. My bike stays filthy. Fenders keep the dirt down and lengthen the mileage between cleaning and lubing the drive train. I also get to work cleaner even when its dry. My commuter weighs 35 lbs, my baggage is about 15 lbs, I am about 225 lbs, the fenders < 1 lb, I doubt taking them off will speed me up much or change the handling of the bike.

I really don't notice mine except when I ride through a puddle and my arse stays dry. Love that.

I love my fenders on my Schwinn touring bike (I usually use it for commuting). I think the speed reduction is mostly in your head and with a little practice you'll be able to eliminate that idea* = ]

I have some planet bike ones on that bike (without the mudflaps though = [ ) and they've done me great still.

*unless maybe you commute on some crazy super aero carbon fiber frame and you've been trained to feel a slighlt wind resistance

To me the benefits of fenders well out weigh the negatives. They probably slow you down all of 30 seconds on a 20 minute commute. FWIW years ago when I raced I rode with fenders on my training bike, was constantly razzed about it, but I came home cleaner than the other guys and they always wanted to draft me on wet days:p

Aaron:)

The only negative I can think of involves excessive rattling. Since I could fix that with a little work that is not much of a negative.
No skunk stripe = DJ is a happy boy.

I occasionally get caught out in the rain on my racing bike without fenders. In no time flat my bike and I are filthy. Not so much on the commuter.

The "slowdown" is all in your head. Or if you're absolutely convinced that it's real, add an extra 5 pounds of pressure to your tires to counteract it. As for any rattling, that's easily taken care of by ensuring that all the nuts are tightened and making sure that none of the struts are hitting other parts of the bike. Mine had a slight rattle that was fixed in about 3 seconds once I found where it was coming from. It's been nice and quiet ever since.

I found the best way to stop the rattle is to use a small rubber or leather washer under the screw heads. I actually have some stainless steel ones with rubber on the back side that I snagged from work. Velo Orange sells the leather ones, or I suppose you could make your own.

Aaron:)

If you ride in the NorthWest, fenders are a part of life! I like the Giles Berthaud Stainless Steel fenders best & have Honjo aluminum fenders on 2 of my bikes. Most road bikes have minimal clearance for fenders, especially at the front fork. Biggest negative for me was when one of my road bikes picked up small pieces of gravel & carried them through the fork crown area. There wasn't enough clearance on the Honjo fenders so I now have a few inside to outside dents that mar the smooth surface and its shine.
There are several plastic fenders that work well but they all become brittle with age & in cold temperatures which has led to a couple of shattering incidents from picked up sticks. You can cut the fender & mount it above the crown (I've done this on two bikes) but that requires fabrication of your own mounting hardware. Don

I got some of the Freddie Clip on fenders. I'm sure they don't give the type of coverage as some, but the great part is I can put them on when it's going to rain and leave them off when it's not supposed to. They go on and off really easily (think 30 seconds for both). I'm sure the day will come when I get caught in a surprise shower, but I've been lucky so far.

I have a little rattle too, when the rear fender smacks into the rear brakes, but I've been too lazy to do the small amount of grinding with a dremel that it would take to fix it.

Steve

I ride an MUP so they're not just for rain; they're for animal and dog droppings as well.

I live and commute in a dry climate area where fenders might seem useless most of the time. But I leave them on all year. Simple reason is that I don't like to clean the chain very often, and prefer to keep road grime off the bike too. Full coverage fenders (not the cheap clip ons) keep a lot of the dirt off the bike and chain, and for a daily commute bike that's a good thing. Plus, when the roads here do get some water on them, even from heavy fog, they are really nasty cause there's so much accumulated crud on the surface.
Fender rattles can be solved by using thin felt washers purchased at any hardware store. Put those in between places where there is metal to metal contact. My fenders don't have any rattles.
Fenders slow you down? On a commute bike carrying along a bunch of daily essentials in a bike pannier, rack trunk or big seat bag, can't imagine how fenders would slow you down enough to notice. Besides, what's the hurry in pedaling to work? Relax and enjoy life, and don't wear a watch!

Are the Honjos so delicate or fragile that they dent through that easy? Just curious, as I'm looking into upgrading from SKS to Honjo.

I'm convinced that fenders are a good thing when commuting. I will re-install them before my next commute because they are calling for some rain next week and here in Alberta, you never know when it will hit.

Not exactly delicate but aluminum dents pretty easy compared to Stainless Steel. The Honjo fenders are more difficult to install than the Giles Berthaud & I like the Giles B. hardware better. When I got mine, Giles B cost $60 & Honjos ran $90 with all the hardware. If you go Honjo, the hammered ones are prettier & probably a dent wouldn't show as much. My smooth set got the ding & it's pretty noticeable. I'll try to get a pic up, as some of the dents tapped out with a small ball peen hammer but one was sharp & didn't come out. I'm going to do a tear down on that bike, so maybe I'll have better luck with the fender off & something to back up the other side. Don

Hmmm...I'll start looking at the hardware differences. That may affect my decision.

Aside from that, how do the Giles B and the Honjos compare in weight?

I'd be interested in seeing those images.

Cheers!

How can fenders cause a bike to "handle differently"?

If your fenders are "rattling" then they aren't installed correctly. Mine have never rattled at all.

For those looking for less expensive metal fenders than Giles Berthaud or Honjo, Velo Orange has recently started to sell their own line of aluminum fenders for only $35.

http://www.velo-orange.com/veorfl49alfe.html

only time I felt slower with fenders was when I inadvertently knocked one and it was rubbing on my entire commute. Didn't notice it until I got to work and realized my bike wasn't rolling around like it should when moving it to the storage location.

I should have gotten the hint that my fender was rubbing on the wheel when I felt slower and was getting passed by everyone, and I do mean, everyone on a bike. The "WTF? how come that old lady on a 3sp can go faster than me? Am I bonking?" question popped through my head during my short morning commute.

needless to say, I was blazing fast on my return trip.

I like those fast-attaching plastic ones. Keeps you cleaner in the rain. :)

Try a Headlands screw on. It can be attached without tools in 30 seconds. The Headlands fender I have is the longest I have seen and thus keeps the most water off of your back.

I will be getting these soon.

I put some RaceBlade quick release fenders on my commuter bike earlier this summer but took them off after a few weeks. We are having a terrible drought in the Southeast and it's hardly rained all summer. I didn't see the point of carrying around the fenders if they weren't doing anything. Seriously, I started bike commuting in April and have not had to commute in the rain yet. A couple of times we had afternoon thunderstorms that cleared off before I left work, with a few puddles on the street, but nothing other than that. I'm storing the RaceBlades in my office in case it ever starts raining again.

I live in northern spain,the rain season is 8 months long and
although sometimes is easy to avoid showers (my commute is not very long)
sometimes it is not.Anyway the roads are allways wet and fenders are a must.
But i dont like my bike with fenders, i know she is not much heavier
but she looks like she were.I know it is stupid.For me is only a question of
aesthetics.The handle problem:if you are in an elevator.

It rains up here for sometimes 25 or more straight days. Not a hard rain, just a persistent drizzle that keeps everything soaked. I've got PB Freddy HC fenders with homemade mudflaps, and I leave them on 100% of the time; even when it's nice out and I'm on a half century organized ride. There's no difference in handling, they don't rattle, they're a nice place to stick more reflective tape, and I just think they look nice.