The Grey Ghost: the phatty pholder phenders thread
 

I've had these SKS fenders for a while-- bought on discount without some of the screws and parts. I picked up $3 worth of screws, fired up the dremel and used my afternoon off after riding around to do some errands and finally got them installed.

Tires are conti Town and Country 2.1s. I have some Schwalbe Marathon Winters that are 1.75 that I hope will not look too bad and not catch too much wind and debris when the ice and snow come.

The ride to and from work today had a good stiff headwind both ways. It's hard to tell how much of a difference the big fenders caused in my speed, but I dig the way they look so much and will be glad to ride in puddles without being soaked that I'm willing to take a few MPH off the top.

The V-Brakes compress the fenders a bit with use, and took some adjustment to not rub my slightly out of true wheels, but I made it there and back again today to work! :thumb:

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...e/DSC05302.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...e/DSC05301.jpg
tight fit
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...e/DSC05300.jpg
Piece of a rack to extend fender.
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...e/DSC05298.jpg
Color Scheme...
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...e/DSC05294.jpg
Dremel tool to the wire supports.
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...e/DSC05293.jpg

I like it.

Fat tires FTW :thumb:

Being 6'4", I find that the extra substantial feel the tires give the bike basically make it feel larger, and help to absorb the slings and arrows of hard core urban commuting better, especially on a folding bike's frame. I put it through a lot, and the 2.1's are more about keeping the bike together than cushioning my derierre.

The larger feel to the bike makes it feel more surefooted to me. I bought it with the original kenda 1.5s and I'd never take this bike back down to that size tire.

Maybe I should call it the silver ghost. Classier, but less alliterative...

I'm not sure if it would make a difference in your application, but when I installed fenders on my Schwinn I replaced the OE front v-brakes with a set that had longer arms. After the upgrade the fender no longer interfered with the brakes. I think they cost ~$14; well worth it.

I think there are brakes out there that even circle out wider as well as extend longer.

Another option-- suggested by a student of mine who has kept the most awful wal mart bike living for several hard years with many ingenious kludges-- is to add a washer to the posts of the brake pads, which would effectively spread the arms of the brakes once they're re-adjusted to sit out more to make room for the washer.

Slick, right?