A Model in the SKS line up, not a finish/color.

-Bandera

I thought Longboard was the model, P45 the size. Well, poop. Didn't do enough research.

SKS really needs to clean up their product names. Maybe expand their vocabulary a bit. Or reduce the plethora of models.

There is a model called the "Longboard". And there's a model called "Chromoplastics". And yet a third model called "Chromoplastics Longboard". All different. And, the European version of the Chromoplastics is different from the US version. (The Euro one comes with a small mudflap on the front and a reflector on the rear.) All that's before we get to color and width variations.

As I understand it (or perhaps misunderstand it) SKS bought either a company called "Chromoplastics" or a product named "Chromoplastics". Eiither way, that's how they acquired the lamination process that produces the current Chromoplastics line. It's a sandwich construction of a metal core inside a plastic outer.

It's a Model of SKS fender of which "Longboard" is a very full coverage Style, available in black or silver:

Robot Check

Good gear w/ nice crud protection F&R, you did well.

-Bandera

It was Esge technology if memory serves, an attractive silver laminated flexible and durable mudguard that replaced the traditional (delicate/finicky) British Bluemel mudguards in the shop late '70's. Ironic that now SKS markets under the Blumel brand as well as their own in Europe......

I finally pulled the set of British Blumels from my town bike after >40 years of service, hung them on the wall, and went w/ Planet Bike plastic.
They keep me dry, do not rattle and have modern break-away front stays.
I leave them on even during a drought. Useful accessories on town bikes should be in place as needed.
I don't remove the bell when I don't see pedestrians, or the frame pump when the tires are not punctured........

-Bandera

Esge. That was it. Thanks for the refresher.

This type of fender might be what you're looking for.

Fenders! All my bikes have full fenders with deep front flaps. They go on and off three of my bikes. Fenders are SKS and Planet Bike, both road and hybrid. Planet bike makes fenders in visible colors, something I appreciate in grey winter Portland though road width are hard to find. SKS makes fenders that don't vibrate at speed with the flap. Every Planet Bike fender I have ever used did. I consider Planet Bike fenders "projects" because of all the work it takes to make them right. Front flaps (well I've put so many flaps on fenders that is a given. All but Blummels get flaps new. Blummels I replace the original two years later.) But it doesn't stop there on the Planet Bike fenders. The front fenders are not stiff enough. My last pair I beefed up the front with thin aluminum sheet under the brake bracket. Helped but not enough. I might put a second set of stay on. The plastic clip at the rear brake 1) doesn;t have the slot cut deep enough to push the fender all the way up so I have taken to doing that. Then that clip shrinks with time at a different rate from the fender inside and eventually it rattles. Sooner or later, I will get a competitor's metal clip and replace it. The clip at the chainstay gusset also has rattled on several fenders and I have ended up making my own. I like the soft plastic that can be neatly carved for interferences and the bright yellow of the Hybrids, but overall, way too many details that are not right! I expect far better. Can't we, the US, do better than the English were doing 40 yerars ago? Is that asking a lot? (Rant, rant!)

My biggest challenge was the rear fender on my good fix gear. It had to accommodate a wheel that could be slid 2" fore and aft and often was on the same ride (when I used a 23 tooth uphill and a 12 down). I cut the fender at the brake in the usual fashion and cut the flanges of the rear segment in two places, straightened them and fiberglassed the inside to hold this new shape. I made some mistakes on the first pair, so ultimately I will do a neater job with the cuts and fiberglass on a second try but the concept works really well. On and off is easy with two wrenches, a 10 mm box and 3 mm hex (plus the hub wrench; a tool never far from a fix gear).

Funny thing was that this bike uses both styles of brake bolt attachment, Sheldon nuts with dual pivots and second nuts on the older sidepulls. (Bike has two "cockpits", bars, stem, brake levers AND calipers and associated cables and housing. Pista bars, V-brake levers and dual pivots or road bars, aero levers and sidepull. The Pista setup is superb for climbing and descending, the road bars a lot more aero and much better on the hoods. Quill stems. The swap is fast. Actually faster than the fenders on and off.

Edit: Front flaps. They stop almost as much water as the rest of the two fenders. They should hang low. Lots of choices. There are soft rubber and leather ones that hang by their weight, the popular cut-up waterbottle flaps universal here in Portland, and my flaps of two layers of thin graphics film with edges taped with packing tape. Stiff enough to hold their shape but deform easily and without damage to set the fork on the pavement (for a flat) of drop the wheel off a curb and oops!

Ben

i think that these are interesting but they say they work best on bikes without rear brakes?
i would like to see if it would work on a bike with a rear brake.

I don't really like riding a bike without fenders. Once you get used to the idea that you can ride on wet streets, go through puddles, etc, you come to rely on being able to do so.

I really can't imagine commuting on a bike without fenders and lights.

I just got these Zefal fenders from Nashbar for $20 and like them. Granted, this isn't a commuter bike since it doesn't have lights, but at least it has fenders now.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-O...2015.28.04.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-e...2015.28.24.jpg

I'll get a mud flap on there this weekend.

[MENTION=73614]rhm[/MENTION], $20 for fenders? Where? I see these, which are $25.

Well, I got these, but yeah, same price. They were on sale. Now they aren't. Still pretty good fenders at a pretty good price.

If you are all road all the time then full length fenders year round make sense. But if you are lucky enough, like me, to have dirt single track available to navigate your area than full length fenders can be somewhat of a hazard.

Matt

It's a very good price.

Is it so hard to imagine that people who are not you might have different needs and preferences? Simple example: say you're a bike racer and only have room and/or money for a race bike, or perhaps two? Like, a road bike and a cyclocross bike. You cannot race with fenders on a bike. It's against the rules, and for good reason. They're a safety hazard. And full-coverage fenders are pretty annoying to install and uninstall for races, assuming your race bike even can mount them, which it probably can't. In this situation, if you're going to also commute to work on this bike, partial-coverage clip-on fenders are really the only option that make sense. This isn't an unusual situation, I know LOTS of young and not-so-young bike riders who race and commute on the same bikes. And that's only one possible scenario.

And clip-on fenders are definitely NOT a waste, I can tell you. They are way, way, WAY better than no fenders at all. Yeah, full-coverage fenders are better. That's why my dedicated commuter bike has them. But there have been various times when I did not have a dedicated commuter bike, for various reasons.

Darth -- I recent bought some SKS Longboards in black, and they have the same sort of color issue going on. They aren't really black but more of a really dark brown, like the color of black coffee. Fortunately they still look nice on my bike, which is green with tan highlights.

I installed a set of "black" SKS Chromo Plastics many years ago. If you look at them closely with a bright light they clearly are the silver models (with black stripes down the center) and a dark smoked plastic coating over them. But yeah, from any distance they just look black.

Not really sure why this is controversial. I just don't want to keep something on my bike I'll only need to use once a month at the most, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I also don't use a bell (why?) or keep a frame pump attached to my bike.

I like to keep as few things permanently attached to my bike as I can. The reason why is my Ridley Fenix serves multiple roles as a commuter, racer and pleasure bike. Only one of those three categories would I even consider the fenders for, and like I said where I live just isn't that rainy to begin with. Same reason I've been using a backpack instead of racks and panniers, because when I go on a pleasure cruise I don't have to **** with taking stuff off, it's just ready to go.

Also the bike has no eyelets or attachment points for full fenders to begin with.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=428600

You are posting in the Commuting sub-forum where equipment for useful drudgery and dedicated town bikes are the norm. :rolleyes:
Good for you that you are commuting on a race bike, different strokes and all. See Crudguard pic.

"Why" a bell? It's a cheerful non-threatening device to alert other road users that they are being overtaken.
Traditional, effective and goofy. Just the opposite of red-faced shouting "On your left!"

Having a full flats kit/pump available at all times is more effective in career advancement than explaining why one is late for work, again.
It's the old Boy Scout adage" "Be prepared" with the addition of "Or walk.".

-Bandera

I do carry a pump, I just don't attach it to my frame. I've never been in a situation where ringing a bell would have helped me during my commute.

I enjoy going for raw speed more than I do comfort. Getting their quick is more fun to me, and I enjoy the workout.

I did see the "to each their own." I also saw, "I fail to understand," so I thought I would assist you in understanding ;).

Don't feel too bad for someone who can only afford the one race bike. It's a fun way to live. It's also not necessarily just about money; I live in Boston, space is a very real constraint. Anyway, that's only scenario, like I said.

When I started riding bikes to work, I really thought that I needed a dedicated commuting bike and that commuting on a racey road bike just wouldn't do. It's been a decade since then, and I've changed my mind; the only things I prefer about a dedicated commuting bike are not having to change shoes for short rides, and full fenders in the rain. Even those aren't big problems, especially on a longer commute when I'm more likely to want to change in and out of riding clothes for the ride anyway.

I've read a lot of Petersen, and I think he's right that his so-called "unracing" bike is an excellent choice, but I part ways with him on the idea that it's the better choice for everyone. I have different preferences than Grant Petersen does, and lot of other people feel the same way, and I'm okay with that :).

CHeck out RHM's bike! it's a race bike, at least it says racer on it, and that bike looks GOOD with fenders!