supton

Those are some flaps! I'm not sure I could get over the aesthetics though. Point taken though about more is, well, more better.

As for keeping the chain clean(er), I'm not worried/bothered about cleaning. But less work is always nicer. I'm not giving up riding on dirt roads to avoid some cleaning, but if it increases time between cleanings... it might be nice. This time of year the amount of sand on the road is decreasing.

Forgot to mention, I do run into pedal-fender strike. I don't recall having the issue before, so I do have to watch out for that now.

79pmooney

Sound ridiculous I know but I made gators of stretchy fabric and velcro. Fit tight around my calf under my tights and over my boots or shoes. Not waterproof, but they do a great job of channeling water down the outside.

I bought the Fasterkaat winter boots a couple of years ago. This and the gators makes for comfy feet through anything down to colder than Portland gets as long as I can keep my pedals less than 4" submerged.

I'll happily send anyone a pattern. PM me.

Ben

mcours2006

Not ridiculous at all, actually. Every time I get home from a rain-soaked commute I think about doing the same, but the discomfort is only temporary, and after a hot shower all is forgotten.

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.

Wanderer

Sal, I am also in the Chicago area, and absolutely love Planet Bike full fenders (Cascadia Hybrids, 700c, 35mm wide) with long mud flaps. Not only do they keep the water off, but more importantly, they keep the dirt and grit off of you and the bike. Especially if you do any gravel trails. Heck, there is dirt and grit everywhere, and they really help.

Keeps you and the bike much cleaner! Weigh next to nothing, and are easy to install if you take your time.

Heartedly endorsed! You will like them once you have them.

Reasonably inexpensive. Where do you live? I think I paid right around $30 for the set.

MHO

KD5NRH

Generally, I am wearing water repellent wind pants or rainsuit pants when it's raining, but if I'm just dealing with puddles, my socks are shorter than the covers anyway. If you're wearing regular tights, try short socks, tall covers and putting the cuffs of the tights outside the covers.

FWIW, I really don't wear the uninsulated covers that often. I'm rarely on the bike more than an hour at a time, so the lightly insulated ones are fine. If it's raining hard but too warm for a fully waterproof rainsuit, I ditch the socks and ride in just swim trunks, shoes and helmet.

caloso

DIY booties:

BobbyG

You have the perfect excuse to buy a second bike and mount permanent fenders on it. Maybe not something new, but some older bike you would have liked but couldn't afford new.

And regarding fender length: I mostly commute and have fenders on two of my three bikes. The front fender of my first set came down to within 6 or 7 inches of the ground. But I didn't understand what all the fuss was about using a flap to reach the ground until I did it myself. I used a strip from an old yoga mat and my feet stayed much drier in the wet. And the drivetrain stayed even cleaner. On my newestbike I fit SKS Longboards and mounted the fork-crown tab behind the head tube to lower the fender as much as possible. It curves under the back of the front wheel and has a stiff plastic flap that comes to within an inch of the ground.

The stiff lip curling under the front wheel looks better to my eye, but the soft yoga-mat flap works better off road.

DrIsotope

I picked up a set of SKS P35 Longboards from Amazon for $35 this winter. I have a full-on CX frame, so it doesn't have mounts or eyelets of any kind. Using a $2 bag of conduit clamps, I can mount the front and rear fenders in about 10 minutes, and they do indeed make a HUGE difference if riding in any kind of rain. I do not leave them on the bike (this is SoCal, after all.) I do strongly recommend full-coverage fenders, not just the half-coverage quick-on quick-off types that only go to the brake bridge. Slick tires will throw water pretty far, so the more tire covered by fender the better. As mentioned above, Longboards come to within 2" of the ground.

TomWinKC

SKS Longboards on a Sirrus
I road the Katy trail last September and was very happy with the Longboards. I road a 52 mile day in the rain and they worked very well.

Sal Bandini

Thanks for the link, I will check them out.

I am in Mount Prospect.

Sal Bandini

That's a good idea on the clamps. I don't have eyelets in fork so I would need to at least use them for front fender.
Are those p-clips or some other clip and do you use some sort of rubber padding?

DrIsotope

Apparently, they're called "loom clamps" or "cushion clamps." The band is stainless, and then they have a rubber/vinyl over it. Come in sizes all the way from 1/4" to like 3".

jefnvk

You can get them at most hardware stores, and quite a few bike shops have them too. These are the ones I used for mounting my back rack on a couple bikes, they hold very good when tightened down: Gardner Bender 5/8 in. Rubber Insulated Metal Clamps (2-Pack)-67792 - The Home Depot

Wanderer

They are also called "P Clamps"

Sal Bandini

Thanks everyone.

I created this thread with hope that many could convince me that clip on fenders were good enough. Now I realize I should just get a good set of permanent fenders. I am going to order some longboards and stop at HD to get some clamps. Next is to decide if I want to change out my cassette, but that's a topic for a new thread.

rumrunn6

been riding gravel roads w fenders & they're fine wet or dry, so I have no plans to take them off for the summer. road bike has no fenders & I have no plans to ride it during wet weather. ah the benefit of N+1 +1 ...

Sal Bandini

N+1 is not an option I am considering. One is more than enough and I have other hobbies to take up my time and money. I'm in the saddle 1 hour/day at most.

KD5NRH

Yeah right; I can't afford the used price of a 1941 Schwinn DX.

rumrunn6

some are plastic, some are metal, the good ones are metal with a hard rubber insert. if HD doesn't have them I think I remember a BFer post a link to a metal fender company that sold really nice compression, aka p-clamps

kingston 

Harbor Freight

TomWinKC

This is an optional way to fasten fenders to forks without eyelets or bikes with carbon fiber forks. It has worked very well on my bike. Not as economical as P-clamps but worked well. I got mine from benscycle.com.