I'm going to buy fenders for my 1987 Trek 400. This bike will be used for wet commutes and touring.

I really like the appearance of old-school hammered alloy fenders. Stainless steel fenders also look good, but are heavier. Plastic fenders are the most practical. Which is best?

Michael

I voted for plastic as they are light and very durable. Yeah, the metals have an added aesthetic appeal but speaking from personal experience from the amount of abuse fenders endure, metal will be more prone to dents, bending and more visible scratches.

As awesome as steel is as a material in general, I'm going to go with "not steel". Steel just rusts and corrodes too easily.

I'm using these SKS Chromoplastic fenders on my bike. They're pretty nice. Durable, just flexible enough, and not subject to corrosion. They also come in black.

I love my Planet Bike cascadia plastic fenders, very durable. Stay away from aluminium, road vibrations make them crack very fast around mounting brackets.

IMO, rather than focus on material, I think the important thing is coverage and the mounting stays. First, you want fenders that are wide enough to cut down spray and not be a hazard as stuff gets sucked underneath the fenders. Second, you want to make sure the front fender is long enough on the aft side of the wheel to stop spray from kicking up onto your feet and drive train. You could install a mud-guard if the front fender doesn't provide enough coverage. Finally, you want fenders with good stays and a good mounting system, like the Berthoud fender and stay system (https://www.wallbike.com/berthoud/ssfenders.html). Bolt-through-mounting fenders such as these eliminate rattling and cracking, etc. Good luck!

I don't know why aluminium fenders have a reputation for being weak, I broke 2 pairs of SKS fenders before I upgraded, and had no trouble since. SKS does have the nicest mounting hardware though.

I voted for plastic; however, I believe the application, budget and aesthetics dictates the fenders material. For something like a classic Trek (like the Trek 400) Hammered Alloy or Stainless Steel would be a great way of going.

I have Cascadias on my commuter but that's only because I can't find anything nearly that big in aluminum. The Cascadias are good and cheap, but they lose out to the Honjos on my other bike because the Honjos are prettier and lighter. In addition, because the Honjos are lighter, they're also less prone to the "wiggles".

If your aluminum fenders are cracking around the mounting point, that's only because you didn't use leather or rubber washers around the mounting points.

Anyone try the Berthoud carbon fiber fenders?

If we're going exotic.... https://www.sykeswoodfenders.com/syke...ders/home.html

I voted plastic, though it was a tough choice. I used to have steel fenders on my touring bike, and really liked them, but I saved over a pound of weight by switching to plastic. As for the look, I prefer white plastic; but sadly that's hard to find.

I've got PB Cascadia fenders on my commuter/touring bike but you would think they were metal if you didn't know better. (They actually have a thin layer of aluminum sandwiched between layers of plastic.) I like them because they are relatively lightweight, durable and don't dent.

I couldn't agree with this statement more. While others have mentioned that the SKS fenders are nice, I have always disliked their mounting hardward. As SlowRoller mentioned, the Berthoud style fender mounts are just great. I'm currently running SKS Chromoplastics with some the Berthoud style mounts (purchase at a reasonably cheap price from VeloOrange). My setup is completely silent, even over the crappy streets I ride on and I haven't had any problems with branches, leaves, or other trash that is kicked up during my ride. From a style standpoint, you can't beat the hammered metal fenders.

$245 !!

Not that hard:



Edit: I used this stuff to paint my black plastic SKS Commuter fenders silver, and it actually worked quite well. Deep scratches will show the plastic's original color, but the paint sticks to plastic very well and does not appear to flake.

I have two bikes with fenders on them.

My utility bike has planet bike plastic fenders on it. They look fine, are durable, inexpensive, were easy to mount, pretty much ideal from every practical perspective. I have another bike which is my normal daily commute bike - it has honjo fluted fenders (aluminium) on it. They make more noise than the plastic ones, they are less durable, they were a PITA to mount on the bike but ohhhh - they are sooo pretty .

FWIW, the commute bike normally gets parked in my office, I rarely leave it outside. The utility bike is used in bad weather, to get groceries (it can pull a trailer), and any time that I know that I am going to have to lock up the bike outside.

Did a quick check on the '87 Trek 400. It's a pretty nice looking bike. I think best looking will be the hammered ones. Costs a bit more and takes a bit more maintenance than the stainless steel ones, but I think it will be worth the bucks.

So did you make a decision yet, Michael?

Hey Kevin,

I'm leaning towards silver plastic. I need to see a pair at retail before I decide.

Cheers,

Michael

I have bikes with both SKS and Planet Bike fenders. Both work fine, but the SKS are clearly nicer looking and come with high quality Stainless Steel hardware. The PB fenders are cheaper, a bit easier to install, but some of the hardware is regular steel. I have the SKS fenders on my commuter and the cheaper PB units on my wife's bike and our cheapy tandem. I like the look of some of the fancy Stainless steel fenders, but they cost too much for my wallet, weigh a more, and and can still have some corrosion issues (stainless is not completely rust free. Any set of properly fit fenders will make cycling on bad weather days a much less unpleasant experience, but for my money the SKS's are my favorite on a good bike, and PB's get use on any low use/cheap bike.

Happy riding,
André

Please don't. Flat fenders are an abomination.

I love my Planet Bike Cascadia plastic road fenders in black. They are lightweight but durable. Black blends with the tire color so the fenders are more subtle in appearance.

Hi Andre'

Thanks for the recommendation. Which are longer, PB or SKS?

I'll also be running a 700 x 28 tire. Is the P35 wide enough?

Michael

Aluminum, if you can justify the $$$. Plastic fenders eventually snap as the plastic degrades, though I just repair mine with packing tape.

My SKS fenders are a little longer than the PB fenders. I have a set of the P35's and they work fine even with my Noklia W106 (700Cx35) winter tires. The chromoplast plastic is very durable. I am going on my 3rd winter and they still look as good as new. If you know someone that has a set of bolt cutters they make cuting the hardware to length a lot easier. You could also use a Dremel tool, but cutters are nice and quick. Like I stated in my 1st comment, it takes a little fiddeling to get all the bits and pieces adjust perfectly for your biek. The nice thing is that it can be fit perfectly to a wide variety of bikes.

Happy riding,
André