Interesting Fender Concept
 

I have no relationship with the company at all, but I found this on kickstarter & it looks like it could be a great fender for some commuters who don't want one on the bike full time:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...s?ref=category

BTW, kickstarter has had a ton of bike-related products lately. Some of them are pretty cool (I was in on a bike iphone mount that didn't make funding, but was super cool.) while others seem pretty out there, but it's nice to see people looking at the bike space to create innovative products.

It IS kinda cute! So what do they do for the front end? I didn't see any option, nor did I see any on the bikes they were test riding.

Looks kind of high above the rear tire. But it does look a little quicker to install than a set of race blades.

In what situation do you need fenders that only work from the knee up that you can remove without tools?

There are already clip on mudguards like that, so concept is not new..

you know the US patent office is full if stuff for bikes
.. that the business model never got off the ground/paper.

That's the beauty of kickstarter. The people who come up with the concept put it out there & people who truly like it have the opportunity to help fund the venture. It helps to eliminate one of the main reasons that businesses don't get off the ground.