I see that BF has fenders for different models on their website, but a bit pricy at $60.00 (laughing at myself as I think of how much I just spent ordering a NWT). Any other models recommended? The bike will be packed in the travel case, if that's a consideration. Do fenders have to be removed for packing?

Same question for a Swift (models/packing), which my Gal Friday will be using on our a week long bike tour.

The Bike Friday fenders are neat because each attaches with only a single bolt. (No stays going to the dropouts). I haven't put mine onto my new NWT yet, but they look great!

On my old folder (a Dahon), I used Planet Bike Hardcore Recumbent fenders. After taking a dremel to the stays to get everything to fit correctly, they worked great. I'm thinking that the stays are made long to fit 451 wheels, but that's just a guess. They run about $20 for the rear and $15 for the front.

In either case, you'll have to remove the front fender for packing. It may be possible to leave the rear one on, as the rear wheel isn't removed from the frame either. It'd be really tight, though.

Hi
I put on mine NW normal fenders that I got for a 20" bike ,but I have to put them away for the case and the ares a little be more of work than the originals,here in germany they cost 60€ a lot of money
regards

I have the Planet Bike Freddy Fenders on my NWT. I'm pretty happy with them. They cost about $35 plus shipping. The Freddy Fenders have stays, which the ones on the BF site don't seem to have.

I haven't actually traveled with my NWT (yet), but to get the bike to fit into the suitcase, I expect to have to take the fenders off. I can't see how I could make the bike fit without doing that.

What model are you waiting for, and more importantly, what color will it be?

Speedo

New World Tourist DD 27, with a few upgrades (CK headset, rear der., folding seatmast, chain) Color was a toughie. I love green, my last few bikes have been some shade of green. I went out on a limb and chose enno orange for visibility, and I have seen pics of some orange bikes that look really nice (Rivendell Rambouillet, for one).

Orange should look cool. Color was the hardest choice I had to make on my bike.

Speedo

I really don't like the pair of older BF fenders I have. They're heavy, they waggle around when you're riding fast or in a wind, and they won't fit my PRP. I'm going to try the Freddy Fenders next winter.

The Freddy Fender front fender is perfect.But Be prepared to use a drill a rivet gun and extra hardware from Planet bike for the rear fender.

I just used a couple of wire ties to attach the forward part of the rear fender to a little hole on the frame. If I was more motivated I'm sure a small screw would have done the job.

Speedo

Yes, I did the same with the front part of the rear fender. Did you have the old style rear fender with built in stainless stays or the one their using now with a quick release system which is so shabby.

what fenders would you recommend for a New World Tourist? Thanks.

I mounted SKS Bluemels Basic 20" 60mm on my Bike Friday All-Day, they are excellent. I think that they should fit on the New World Tourist too. If they are too wide for the New World Tourist, they exists also in 53mm.
The tires on the bike of the picture are 54x406.

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Bike Friday use SKS Velo 55's. They're cheap and plasticy but have one killer feature: they pop off. So when you are packing for travel they are ridiculously easy to take off. Bike Friday use them without the stays at the back, which I think looks ridiculous as it hovers a great distance above the wheel. I found you can use the stays and just set them a little loose at the nut of the black plastic insert. You can then pop the fender and the metal part of the stay off when packing but leave the plastic insert on the bike. This not only works well and looks good, but it allows the rack to be installed and keeps the rear fender from rattling against it. It also means that I can happily keep the fenders off whenever I don't want to use them.

I received those with my All-Day but after trying them, I prefer the Bluemels.

For the choice of the fenders width, I cannot find the max tire width for the New World Tourist on the Bike Friday website, so I don't know what's the best choice between the Bluemels 60mm and 53mm for the New World tourist.

Thanks, folks. I like the idea of fenders that pop off. Most of my riding is on local rail trials, and I prefer to ride without fenders. But we are doing a tour on the Erie Canal this summer and think it is best to be prepared for less-than-perfect weather. Thanks again for the helpful responses. Bam!

You can see the little brackets in this picture. Just leave them on and pop the fenders on and off as you like.

Note online they go for quite a range of pricing. But right now direct from SKS they are just $18.99 and there's a 10% off and free shipping code in the banner!

Have a great trip!
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Fenders ordered! Thank you!

If the stock fenders are reasonably priced, I would consider purchasing a second set and trimming them to fit the size of the brackets for rides where full fenders aren't needed. On my racing gravel bike, I have a mountain bike front mudguard, which is essentially a foldable plastic sheet. It's not intended to shield me from mud and dust, but rather to protect the headset bearings. I’ve noticed that this significantly extends their lifespan.

That's the appeal of the Bike Friday fenders - easy to install and remove for packing in the suitcase with little risk of damage compared to conventional, thin fender stays while in the suitcase.

The fenders sold by Bike Friday are also SKS the Velo 55 Kids.

They are very cheap: 12.99€, so its possible to buy tow sets.

SKS has optional U stays to attach them to the fork and rear frame of the bike.

Interesting idea. They are dirt cheap. £12.99 from SJS Cycles. £19.99 on Amazon.

Thanks for the heads up on the protection of the headset bearings. My 2011 Llama has a 1-1/4 threaded headset (Chris King Gripnut). These basically don't exist any more. If my bike ever dies, it will be because of the headset dies and there are no replacements to be found. I might put the fenders on full-time just to protect the headset. Had never thought of them as valuable for that!

When riding in the Cotswolds, I typically go through one lower bearing each year on my Dahon Smooth Hound. On gravel, I used to replace one bearing every year, especially after the Battle of the Beach, but now I only need to replace it every other year.

Very vintage looking crank, reminds me of Rene Herse stuff. What chainrings? (I'm wondering if difference larger than 16 teeth; I know some on here have done 20T on older touring doubles.) I can see there is bolt-circle room to go even smaller on the inner ring.

Dang, what cassette range? It looks like possibly a 1X cassette coupled with a wide 2X crank. My kinda setup! That would explain needing that long-cage RD. I use a mid-GS on my 2X folder.

Handlepost lower: Is that a folding joint on that post? If so, that would be first I have seen on a BF. I like having both options, to fold or remove.

The stem is indeed a folding stem. Came with the bike when it was made in 2011. They used to offer them. A little flexier, needs more maintenance as otherwise they end up quite creaky. And with alt-bars they don't mean you fold nice and narrow (the removable stem is better in that regard). But it is nice to have the stem attached to the bike when folding. I'm actually in the process of getting the standard fixed stem built. Mostly because I'm worried about their longevity after 15 years (Kalloy Uno still make them but still) but also because I want to see how the bike handles with the standard fixed stem and because I like the idea of a tighter package when putting it into a Rinko bag, the car, etc.

They are indeed Rene Herse cranks! In the picture it was a 16T difference. 48/32T. I recently replaced the old chainrings as they were worn and struggling to bite to go from small to big after years of hard riding. Its now 48/33T, a 15T difference which is what Rene Herse now recommend. And new chainrings from them now have ramps and pins, after years of not offering them. These new ones shift like I've never experienced before on any bike! An expensive extravagance and definitely fail any cost to performance analysis thanks to the law of diminishing returns. But man do I love them!
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​​​​Overall its a 2 x 10. Cassette is a 10-speed Shimano XT CS-M771-10 (11-36T) paired with a 9-speed XT RD-M772. Don't ask... Somehow it just works. Can get the full 20 gears so long as I run 1.75" wide tires. Only when its on the small chainring and big rear cog does it get close to touching the wheel; very very close but just good enough if I need a serious bail out. I think its something like 16 gear inches when it was 32T up front (not sure with the new 33T) which as you can imagine is rarely needed, even fully loaded climbing thousands of meters up. On wider tires (2.15" maxxis holy rollers) I can't use the full range but can happily limit it to a 2 x 8 setup via the limit screws (28t max at rear) and have still found it more than sufficient on long fully-loaded tours with very big elevation gain (2 x 9 with a 32T max rear also works but requires constant adjustment to keep it off the fatter tire). One day I'll try to see if I can go fat AND 36T with a new 9 or 10 speed derailleur and cassette. But I like it currently as it is. Totally silent and smooth drive train that's yet to fail me! When paired with my new powerblock s-spec folding bead tires (310g only) the bike glides!

(above) Rene Herse: I read Bicycle Quarterly for free at my local library; full-page Rene Herse ads (same company) are quite prominent.

Gear inches: A blog online, crazyguyonabike, tours worldwide on a BF NWT, started in the low 20"s and later upgraded to 15" for the steepest areas he traversed. Also upgraded to disc brakes, trandem fork, and heavier rear triangle, I don't think he had any failures, but while he was upgrading to discs, he figured might as well go heavier duty. But his loads and most especially his weight (slender) were not at all unusual for loaded touring NWTs.