DIY mudflaps?
 

It's been unusually rainy here lately, and my Velo Orange aluminum fenders are doing their job for the most part, but the feet are suffering, not to mention the drivetrain. I could buy some mudflaps, but I'm cheap, and I might want to customize a bit (length, for example). Who can give me some fabrication advice? Materials, design, attachment, whatever.

I think instructables.com might have some diy projects.

I recently bought these water-proof slipper things from J&G for my shoes, and they work like a charm.

I made a mudflap from a scrap of rubber/vinyl type baseboard. It's flexible enough that it'll bend when I go over curbs but it still catches most of the slomp. It's not the ideal material but it was free. Milk jugs can also be pressed into service. Poke a hole with an awl and drill a hole in your fender... made sure you use stainless bolts with a nyloc nut, or rivets work if you have the supplies.

I made mud flaps from an old laundry detergent bottle. On a bike I ride it thru rain, snow, slush. they've been thru at least 3 winters, I can't really remember how old they are. & depending on what detergent one uses they might actually match the bike.

You can also use a rubber stair tread which are inexpensive. What I like about the stair tread is the flexibility which I think is less likely to give you problems.

Here is a link to a mudflap using a stair tread. http://phred.org/~alex/bikes/fendermudflap.html

This is my version. I probably spent $10 for the materials.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/...3f853a1980.jpg
Note: In this picture I had bought the clear vinyl ones they had. Over time it will discolor with the grit and grime from the road and turn a chocolate/black color. No big deal to me. Since then, I replaced it with a black one. These work great although sometimes your cable ties will wear out or the mudflap itself may take a beating from the road and need replaced. One stair tread should yield you roughly 3 maybe 4 mudflaps. But I feel that these are much more effective than the little tiny things you see on a set of Planet Bike fenders or something similar.

Cut one out of the side of a gallon milk jug - attach with fastener or adhesive - replace when damaged/filthy.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3104/...98a1d4e5_b.jpg

Front mud flap is made from stair tread material - goes down to the ground for max protection.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2225/...008332a2_b.jpg

Rear mud flap is reflective ankle band.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3372/...57815bc2_b.jpg

My GF likes this setup better than the DIY milk jug flap I put on her bike at first.

http://www.bowcycle.com/bikes/blogs/...heck&x=20&y=12

I made a "stair tread" set & installed them last night. It was misty this morning, the roads still wet with scattered puddles and the new flaps worked great.

This worked well for me.

Over the years I've used all sorts of plastic jugs and discarded rubber/vinyl items. Just recently I made a fender extender using a relatively stiff matte black report cover somebody was disposing of at work.

I've used anything from stair tread to old waterbottles. We had a guy show up on a ride without flaps and he was spraying everyone, so we made a flap from a Starbucks cup and a zip-tie.
My current favourite pair is a store bought pair of flaps that the design has long since worn off of, and I've pop-riveted them onto my Velo Orange fenders.

An old bike tire would probably also work.

BTW - Here's a couple of pictures of mine:
 

Front:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/IMG01365.jpg


Rear:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_y...0/IMG01366.jpg

Nice job Surrealdeal. Those look sharp. If you have to replace them in 2 or 3 years I'd suggest using cable ties instead of the nut and bolts. No offense but the cable ties will hold up almost as strong as the nut and bolt. And they're less hassle to attach. And for you weight weenies out there, cable ties would be lighter.

I might just have to try some of this out. Great ideas.

I've seen entire fenders made out of old tires, it's kind of groovy.

Thanks for the ideas, all. I was thinking I'd like something with more flexibility than a plastic bottle, but not too floppy. I'm liking the stair tread idea. I'll probably just bolt it on, but does anyone have experience with more temporary attachment schemes? I'm thinking snaps, but I'm not sure how to attach that to the metal fender. Rubber bands or zip ties seem a little too temporary.

Zip-ties will hold up for a while as long as they are thick enough to do the job. If you bolt them use nylocs to keep them from coming loose.

The zip ties I used for mine are pushing two years now. The zip ties work great. They're just your normal cable ties that you see in the Hardware store. They'll last longer than you might think. And if one does wear out its no big deal replacing it.

I had trouble finding stair treads, so picked up a pair of car floor mats from a pound shop.
I drilled two holes in the bottom of the mudguard (one on each side) and put a zip-tie through each hole.

They are still there 3 years and 15k miles later.

Here's the standard reference for that.
http://www.phred.org/~alex/bikes/fendermudflap.html

Every hardware store I've ever been into had stair tread for sale by the foot.