I've got a 80s Bianchi Nuvo Racing road bike that's going to be my winter Seattle commuter. I've never used fenders before so I'm wondering if I can get by with one of those clip on types that attaches to the seatpost, or if I should get a set of full length fenders. I understand how the back protects you from the skunk stripe up the back but does the front fender do much? Seems like the spray would just hit the frame?

https://ecom1.planetbike.com/7017.html

These might be what you're after. In my experience, it's the front wheel that gets your feet all wet and sprays water (and all the sand and other grit on the road, especially in winter,) right into your drivetrain and derailleurs.

No, the spray definitely gets all over your feet and lower legs.

Fenders can be a pain, but they're a necessity for anyone who wants to ride in wet weather.

I ride front-fenderless all winter. My commute is only 3.8 miles each way, however. I wear boots on wet days. Black jeans are best at hiding the road grime.

If your commute is much longer, you may want to get a full fender set.

Oh, and the bit about the spray hitting the frame, yes it hits the frame and then deflects off the downtube onto both of your feet. When you turn it sprays right in your face.

They're not necessary at all if you don't ride when it's wet. Of course, that doesn't leave many commuting days for a typical Seattle winter.

They also help to keep your water bottle clean.

+1

Riding around, in all seasons, I can actually hear pebbles, rocks, salt, and other road debris being kicked up and knocking against my front (and rear) fenders.

Also, I've had the misfortune of riding in line behind a cyclist on a hybrid in traffic that didn't have fenders! Let's just say I'm glad I was wear sunglasses... After getting hit two times in the glasses by pebbles from his tires, one pebble shot up from his tire and hit me in the collarbone! OUCH!

Front and rear fenders are a must if you're riding in wet and or dirty conditions. You'd be shocked at how much stuff your tires kick up at you... And others.

I have the opposite opinion. Of course, I live in Denver, not Seattle. But I used fenders for a while and found them to be annoying and not very helpful. First of all, if it's raining you'll get soaked anyway. People may say rain water is different than dirty water splashed up from the street, but I found that to not matter much. I guess it helps that I wear bike specific clothing and can shower and change on each end of my commute. The fenders I had were also noisy and gave me toe overlap issues. I just thought they weren't worth the hassle. They were pretty much useful only when it wasn't raining but when I had to go through runoff of some sort.

I'm getting a new commuter bike purely for the fenders (and rack) compatibility.

If you don't mind everything that is on the road; oil from cars, grease from dead animals, urine from who knows what, spraying up onto your legs and possibly in your face, whenever you ride when the road is wet, they're not all that important.

I personally ride on gravel road about 8 miles a day, so what splashes up from the road is VERY different than the rain; even with fenders and a mud flap, my shoes and the bottom few inches of my legs are totally covered with sand and mud, but above that it's just wet.

I don't really know what could even be "irritating" about them. I've always had them on, and they're just part of my bike. I don't think I'd know if they were on or off except when it was wet.

If they're noisy, they're not attached right or something; maybe they're just badly designed. I've had Freddy Fenders, then SKS and now have Planet Bike Hardcores, and they were all fine until they broke (once due to a stick blowing into the spokes during a windstorm, once due to vibration from the gravel roads eventually just shattering the mounts over 10000 miles).

Another good thing about running a backscratcher is that they're easy to swap from one bike to another. That came in real handy last winter, when all the snow days had me on the MTB for commutes. Oh, and they last forever, mine's been through at least 10 winters now and shows no signs of giving up soon.

Some fenders like the PB Speedez like another poster mentioned are pretty easy to get on or off (about 5-10 minutes). They can be cinched up pretty well with some hose clamps or you can use the rubber band type things it comes with. You can leave them on or take them off with very little effort or time.

However, you will be amazed sometimes with what your fenders keep off your bike, your person, and your drivetrain (depending on the length of the fenders). When I ride on dry days I hear all sorts of noises that get kept from being launched back at me or other people. On wet days it keeps my feet from getting to wet and keeps the spray or other grime away from self and my drivetrain. If you ride fast enough you can't avoid every little pitfall that the road throws your way.

Without a front fender, all the crap gets splashed right into your face. What a disgusting thought... I consider the front fender to be as essential as the rear fender. Maybe even more.

Only a little bit gets in your face, it only happens to me when I turn, and turns being taken slowly in the rain results in less spray. A little different situation on the MTB with 2.1" tires, however. Lotsa face spray from that.

If, like me, you ride on gravel roads or roads with lots of puddles on them, you can get pretty darn dirty even without turning, because a lot of gunk splashes to the sides from the front tire and hits your shoes. Even a front fender and a mudflap doesn't totally stop this though it helps.

I find safety glasses to be the most important thing. I normally don't ride over dead animals, debris and am pretty familiar with the potholes on my commute route. I have to change clothes and clean up when I get to work anyhow. However, I'm not a 100% dedicated commuter so I will usually take the car if it looks like it will rain in the next hour particularly if it's not shorts season. Maybe if I lost my D/L I would get fenders on a dedicated foul weather commuter bike; otherwise I'd rather leave my road bike without. Not sure I have clearance for fenders anyhow.

I live in one of the most arid climate zones in the US (southern cal, with average 10-12" rain per year), and I still ride with fenders year round. For a daily commuter with the shortest possible route to work of around 8 miles, fenders with front mudflaps keep a lot of dirt out of the chain. With fenders, I can typically ride 400 miles or so between chain cleanings. That's good enough to last me 2+ weeks, and longer if I rotate between my two commuter bikes. The only time I ever do any bike maintenance is on weekends, I just can't be hassled to clean the chain every hundred miles or so.

Front fenders are completely UNNECESSARY!









As long as you only ride in a perfectly straight line.

Today I rode through some tarred-up road gravel from a resurfacing. I'm quite glad my front fender was there to keep the gravel chunks from flying up and hitting my body or my face.

I ride in the Denver, CO, area, and I ride year-round (or will once I've been commuting a full year ) with fenders. For me, front and rear fenders are a necessity, not a luxury, on my commuter bike.

could be a tight squeeze.

And riding slow. Even if you just rode in a straight line the tires still spray at a wide angle. If you have skinny tires then I think front fenders are not necessary. If you have mtb tires then you would definitely want some front fender coverage.

I wish people would stop using fenders as they cut into my business...

Their chains and drive trains last longer and with a front fender a good headset will last forever as it keeps the tire from throwing water up the head tube and into the lower race.

With that being said... I run fenders on all my commuters.

From my experiences in the shop rehabbing old bikes I have found that fendered bikes tend to be in far better shape as those fenders have prevented water from infiltrating the headset and in the case of bikes with open seat posts, the bottom bracket.

It really reduces the amount of service a bike needs.

In the old days folks would put a cork in the head tube and seat post to prevent water from washing out the grease and damaging the bearings... I still do this on my bikes that do not have fenders and also do this for customers.

I am preparing for some winter riding on my commuter bike. and I have a very fred-like question.

Do fenders basically fit on all bikes?

There is usually a fender solution for every bike... even race bikes with tight clearances can be fitted with fenders although these will not be nearly as good as full fenders.

The fenders on my long bike are what I consider to be ideal... even though I ride this bike in the winter and in all kinds of bad weather it stays very clean and it really reduces drive train wear.

Joe_Mo: One thing worth paying attention to on this bike is the mud flap on the front fender, - it drops down pretty close to the ground. To keep the drive train clean this is very important. Most of the front fenders I see on bikes don't drop down nearly far enough in the back.

As for whether front fenders are really necessary or not, IMHO they do more good than rear fenders. A rear fender helps keeps you clean, and in my case I don't really care since I change when I get to work anyway. The front fender keeps the bike cleaner.

That being said you don't absolutely need fenders and I often wonder how much good a rear fender does the bike anyway. It seems that a rear fender would deflect a lot of junk back down on the wheel that would otherwise get thrown clear of the bike. I might be wrong on this one, but like I've said, it's something I've wondered about.

Generally I'd say though, the more wet, sandy, salty crap you ride through, the more helpful a front fender is.