Kevin S

I'm looking to buy a Realm Province for my 14 y.o. daughter. Practical girl that she is, she wants fenders so she can ride in all weather. Will a front fender work with a suspension fork? It looks to me like it would, but the bike guy at Dick's Sporting Goods says it won't.

Thanks in Advance,
Kevin S.

cyclezen

I used this SKS front Fender on my Trek and then my KHS Full Sus this winter. And this SKS rear fender.
They worked great! Did a lot of ridin in the mud and wet, for rides well over 2 to 3 hrs; still got wet, but didn;t have that awful draining down into the butt area. If you don;t have fenders then your back and butt do that job. These worked well, long rides, no problemo.

maddmaxx 

MTB style fenders mount with an expanding plug up inside the steering tube at the base of the fork crown. This puts the fender above the uppermost position that the front tire can get to. Picture a dirt bike (motorcycle). Because they are so high, they provide less protection for your lower legs/feet. There is another sort of MTB fender called a barging board that mounts usually with ty wraps to the bottom of the down tube on the frame. This keeps the splash off your lower extremities. Take a look at a couple of the MTB sites on the internet like Price Point or Jensen USA to get an idea of what I mean.

BluesDawg

Maybe you should get her a bike without suspension.

John E

Concur. If she rides mainly on the road, a suspension makes the bike heavier and less responsive on corners. I frequently use my old school no-suspension mountain bike for commuting and general transportation, tasks for which it is eminently well-suited.

Now I need to get a pair of mudguards for it ...

stapfam

Depends on the amount of travel as to what is required. Most MTB's just use a Fender that fixes to the downtube- as in the pic of the Bianchi. Not very effective but does keep a certain amount away from the rider. BUT for the ultimate- the one as fitted to the Tandem works superbly.

Kevin S

Thank you all for the ideas. We would prefer non-suspension, but our budget is about $200 and that leaves us firmly in the suspension bike market.
Even moderately priced road bikes and hybrids jump up in price to $350, $400 and more. Looking used would give us more options, but I have very limited knowledge for buying a used bike. I'm interested in recommendations.

Kevin S.

cyclezen

Kevin, if you want some recommendations, then it would be worthwhile to know a little about who the bike is for. Things like age (14- see that), size, riding experience, most likely type of riding to be done ...
We could recommend things we personally hold dear or we can be objective based on provided info and maybe come up with some good options which might fit the need.
$200 - you, of course have the safety gear already figured out, or would this also include having to buy stuff like a helmet, lights, lock, seat pac and emergency gear, etc? These are as important as the bike.
Budgets can always be met, but often the lower the budget the more extended the time needed to get some decent stuff which fits the bill.
If you have to make quick decisions on a very limited budget, then you'll likely have to make a lot of compromises. Some of which will require further funding soon enough down the road.
'Suspension' isn't a bad thing, and may actually provide some unexpected benefits. Getting a nice condition used bike for well under $200 is not that difficult. And since Craigslist is quite ubiquitous, it should be quite doable in your area as well.
Anyway, now that you've opened it up to more than just 'fenders', its up to you to define how useful we can be as opposed to how much bandwidth chatter we send out.

Kevin S

Cyclezen,
Thank you. Sometimes the problem is defining the problem too narrowly

I'll post a broader request later today -- no work access.

Kevin S.

flatlander_48

Do Suspension and Fenders Mix?

YES! But you need to use a pretty rugged Blender...

sauerwald

Agree with John - if the bike is to be used primarily on the roads, the suspension fork does no good, and some bad - so you don't want suspension. If the bike is to be used on trails, where the suspension will bring value, then you don't want fenders.

I see the question something like asking if you can mount a trailer hitch on a ferrari - the answer is that technically you probably could, but the question is wrong.

Kevin S

Hmmm, an idea for "Will it blend?"
https://www.willitblend.com/

Kevin S.

Kevin S

We bought a bike w/o suspension. Older daughter works at a sporting goods store that has a family discount evening each year. That brought the price of a Diamondback Clarity within our reach. The birthday girl kicked in almost half the cost to get this particular bike. Won't be much for trails, but she *loves* it on the road -- and I'm going to have to get in better shape to stay ahead of her.

Thank you for the helpful comments.

Kevin S.