even if wet with rainwater, the fenders keep the rider cleaner from dirt, oil, & gasoline residue in the street.

Fenders are not just for rain and puddles. Running through dog poop or other animal dung and having it sling up on the water bottles and other stuff is horrible.

I just got to say, there are some awesome bike pics on this thread! I really like Dakon that was posted (looks like a folder, anyways), and seeing the old bikes still in service is kick ass.

I like fenders, some bikes just Need Fenders.

I like fenders.

Is it true that Seattle people have gills??

That's a nice lookin' bike! I use fenders only when rain is in the forecast, and they're the clip on kind, but it sure saves you a lot of wet!

EDIT: I also have the trekking bars like on your ride. How do you like them? I love mine...

Yes! And it's dark 16 hours a day 6 months out of the year. And the sun only comes out for 5 hours in August; the rest of the year it's cloudy and raining. The people here are passive aggressive introverts. There is NO bike culture, at all, everyone just stays inside and mopes while drinking terrible diner-style coffee. So stay away, don't visit, don't move here, and tell all your friends how awful Seattle is.

And remember pictures like this:

are evidence of nothing more than excellent Photoshop skills.

I really love mine as well, especially after about 60 loaded miles on a tour. They also hide the fact that my 90's Specialized CrossRoads started life as a hybrid and not a dedicated touring bike. I found that bike with trashed rims and covered with mud in a thrift shop for $5. I rebuilt the hubs with new rims and spokes, added the racks and Trekking bar.
I built my own dynamo driven dual LED headlight. It incorporates a 15X30 degree lens and a narrow 10 degree lens with two SSC P4 U-BIN Z-power LED's. No batteries required and puts a 20 watt halogen light to shame.

I think many bikes look positively indecent without fenders - EEK, a naked bike!! Hee. Growing up on the West Coast probably has something to do with that.

Really fancy modern road bikes can look a little weird with fenders, I will admit. But commuting/utility/touring bikes need them!

I likes all my bikes without fenders - however - when the weather looks nasty (and this includes winter snow and slush travel too) - I take a few extra minutes in the morning and put on my easy mounting zefals and DO enjoy them. I got rather tired of the racing stripe up the rear and the mud splash up the front. Have a mudguard too for both on and off road with the mtbs. They're all easy on and easy off - and the ones I have do last through taking the commuter/mtb some "urban" mtb (stairs, curbs, walls) and the fenders don't move at all.

for a MTB, wouldnt mud guards be better then fenders?

mudguard does the chain and middle splash nicely --- but the back tire throws the junk up on your back and the front tire seems to have a spit that hits the front of you. Couple of times in the morning commute I didn't have time to attach the front or back fenders (I live with roommates who seem to like to move things, grrr) and boy, it makes me realize why I like fenders (never used to).

FYI - kinda fun -- we had a gully washer here last week - and the one underpass I go through ALWAYS floods - I mean it kills cars. I saw it and hit it - my full foot revolution was underwater and the water/waves were nearly over my 26" tire - kept on going though - I had full traction - in fact a car paced me through the long stretch - personally ... I liked the amazed look of the woman's face as she watched me.

Course - I did a deep clean on the bike the next day. It was really BAD!

>for a MTB, wouldnt mud guards be better then fenders?

There's a difference? I thought "fender" was just the american word for "mudguard"? Or are you distinguishing between those mounted on the wheel, and those mounted underneath the downtube?

Steve

mudguard = downtube - I have another total off roader, but I take this one off in the city. I've been trying a variety of stuff on some different bicycles and have found successes and not so successes - all in trying to keep the road stuff off me. The mudguard/downtube seemed to help more in heavy stuff ie slush and muddy stuff from hitting the chain and my mid section (or splashing up to my face). Like I stated - still playing around with variations to keep it off me by using the mtb as a commuter.

That's what I meant by fenders. Like another poster mentioned, I'm going to get wet and dirty anyway, and I don't mind. what I do mind is a mud stripe on my back and mud being kicked up into my face from the front. Mud guards take care of that.

Here in the Big Apple, it's not so much rain that worries me (if I wake up in the morning and it's raining out, the bike stays home and I take the subway), but the trail of drippings left in the wake of garbage trucks. Yes, I find fenders to be essential for commuting even on the driest and sunniest days of summer.

Is the rain somehow different in Maryland that you get covered in wet grime even if you're using fenders?

I have no problem with getting rained on. I live in the PNW, so I ride in a lot of rain. Matter of fact, I don't even wear rain-proof gear; I just wear warm base layers so I don't get a chill even when I'm sopping wet... But that's just clean rainwater.
My fenders keep my bottles, shoes/shins and drivetrain from getting sprayed with all the oil, cinders, dirt, garbage juice, etc. from the road.

I'm trying to decide if I should switch from my SKS P-45 fenders to Honjo 43mm fluted fenders when I get a Nitto M-12 front rack and Ostrich handlebar bag. Black and chrome just looks too awesome for words.

This is a point I neglected to include. Without fenders or even with a clip on rear fender (I never found the front clip on worth it) I would wear booties and a waterproof shell when it was actively raining and/or there was a good amount of water on the roadway and still get quite wet on my ride to work. With full fenders I don't wear booties, wear a wool top and wool socks and get, at worse, damp. The shell and booties only comes out for longer rides in the rain now.

Well, I only get damp unless the puddle splash from a semi nails me like what happened on Monday. I was quite dripping but still warm and comfy.