Adding Fenders
 

When you nice folks order fenders online to put on your bikes, do you usually paint them to match the frame color? I've researched a little and it seems most fenders you can buy are black or maybe gray. I emailed Specialized to ask for the paint code for my Nordic Red Alibi, but was told they don't have the code to give out, or they do not give out paint codes.
So, what do you folks do about the color of your new fenders?

I think black fenders would look good on that bike.


https://togabikes.com/images/library...t-273429-1.jpg

I got lucky in that the SKS longboards I ordered turned out to be an almost perfect match for my gunmetal metallic Gunnar. It's kind of an odd color for a product meant to be used on a variety of bikes. Black would be a better choice, looks OK with anything. I don't really like using fenders. After riding with them for a few weeks I take them off until I've forgotten why they annoyed me. I try them again about once a year.:foo:

I have a similar situation. I have black fenders on my gunmetal and grey bike, and it bores me to tears. I've been thinking about painting the fenders the same robin's egg blue as the accents, just need to find the right color spray paint. Or take it to the body shop across the street and get their opinion.

Oh, and to the OP, check out Velo Orange for some very shiny stainless steel fenders in a variety of textures.

I guess you have not ridden in 35 days of rain on a 3 month tour or commuted during Oregon's winters:) Regardless of the brand of fenders you get, make sure they have the safety quick disconnect mounts on the front fender.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4733/...cbc0b150_c.jpg

Sometimes fenders don't even help.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4211/...9bb4217d_c.jpg

I get fenders through my LBS and don't paint them. I don't see a real need. If I wanted fancier fenders I might order through Woody's Fenders or someone like that who makes wood fenders but generally stock color is fine enough to keep rain, mud and other crud off myself and my bike.

I would save my money for new wheels and tubes and tires so the Alibi gets a little tiny bit more comfortable. Solid tires are horrible for comfort and paired with the aluminum frame of the Alibi you will need a cushion of air.

I once had a Raleigh Technium I'd gotten second-hand. Beautiful turquoise blue. Bought a pair of fenders, faux-silver plastic and didn't like that color.

I couldn't find a match in the rattle-can aisle, and knew that an almost color match can be almost vomit-inducing. I went for complementary, which was orange.

Somebody told me the color combination was exactly the exterior color scheme of the old Howard Johnson's restaurants. No mistaking whose bike that was, and I liked it.

Just today I received the set of beavertail fenders for my red Day 6 Cyclone; they're flat black and will stay that way (except for maybe some reflective tape), though I'd have preferred a shiny finish.

My pet peeve with the major fender manufacturers - the complete lack of bright fenders for road bikes with narrow tires. Why not offer a yellow (bordering on wheatstray; a color that would look good on many black and red bikes) that would be very visible on low sun, overcast days so typical in the Pacific northwest, New England, the Great Lakes midwest and the bay area in winter. These are all places I have ridden and driven year 'round. The rear fender is, by far, the most visible part of any road bike as viewed from behind in an approaching car. So why are the fenders offered as inconspicuous as the black rubber we ride? (I'm looking at you, manufacturers of the very popular solver and grey fenders. I used to own a Silver car living in Seattle. I know very well how invisible that color is, enev on big surfaces.)

A (very negative) marketing pitch - the cyclists hit from behind using black or grey fenders are probably customers you have lost for good. The ones that aren't hit using your yellow fenders might be buying another pair when those get tired. I know this is a tough sell. No one can give you convincing numbers of all the "hits" that didn't happen.

Planet Bike, SKS, this is a place where you can step up and make a difference. (You might start in the Pacific northwest. Ortleib did just this with a custom run of yellow panniers for a shop in Seattle. I asked at a Portland shop in 1999 if anyone made yellow panniers. A shop said they had heard of the Ortleibs. I asked them to look into it. They obtained some. I go the first pair. Now yellow panniers in Porland are like Volkswagens in the '60s in Cambridge, MA.) If I hear yellow road fenders are available, I am buying 3 pairs, right now.

Ben

Doug you are absolutely correct. I can generally avoid riding in the rain. If I commuted I think I could quickly get over my minor fender grievances.

Thanks for your info guys, and especially for the links to Velo and Soma!

Good question
 

I like black and so don't find it a problem.
If you went to a paint shop or a store that
specialises in automotive painting they may help you zero in on your color.

I have a store near me that says they can match/mix your paint /color and put it into a spray can for you. Can't imagine what that would cost though.

I would definitely buy a set of fenders in reflective yellow, orange, or red.

Nope, they stay black.

I go for a contrasting color. My most recent purchase was a set of light-aluminum-color fenders for a dark grey bike.

Friend of mine runs a set of Planet Bike fenders in commuter-yellow. Highly visible. Can't miss seeing him.

I would like to think that my hi-viz yellow rain jacket and 'Cherry Bomb' tail light provide more to my visibility than my rear wheel, but maybe I'm not nervous enough.
Black and silver are probably enough for most of the World, but I know that's not the BF way.
My commuter is a 26x2, which is easy enough to find, but the bike is all black and gray, so I want Orange fenders. If I'm going to go to the trouble of fitting full fenders.....I'm going to be doing some painting

I just need to engineer a mount for a Cannondale Headshok fork so I can still get to the air valve. Why doesn't anyone make one for that? 😭

You can get reflective tape that is almost invisible until a light source hits it. It is normally black or dark grey in color. Might be a big improvement in visibility and would probably blend well with black fenders - until a car's headlights illuminate it.

This is it: https://www.amazon.com/Motorcycle-Re.../dp/B00CEKUO1O

There are other colors too, but I've only seen it in black.

Well, damn. Didn't know they made these.
https://smile.amazon.com/Planet-Bike...dp/B000RYAL0S/

Not reflective, but these will look great on my black commuter.

Nice they're making those yellow ones; I'm surprised. Planet Bike must have ordered a special run for that or they wouldn't exist. Plastics manufacturers stick to neutral colors so they'll have something to sell to the highest number of buyers. So it's black, silver/gray, or white. Same for the painted metal ones.

Some new bikes come with matching fenders; mostly cruisers.

I considered wrapping mine a bronze-grey metallic, then realised wrap opens up a thousand possibilities, and just left them chrome (polished stainless) until i see something i really prefer.

https://i.imgur.com/JuNHQUb.jpg

I think this is "big fish in a little pond" kind of thinking. The cross-section of a bike is pretty small from the rear (or from the front). You're worried about the color of a 1.5" x 15" strip of plastic down near the road surface.


I've got a Showers Pass Transit jacket in bright yellow, the color you're asking for. It's got a reflective strip across the back that's got about the same surface area as the visible fender, and that reflective stripe is less than a tenth of the visible area of the jacket!


You can, if it bothers you, add reflective tape of your choice of colors to the fender. If you want to be seen, better get a screaming bright jacket to wear in the rain.

Portland Fender Company has a facebook page, but I could not find a company website (maybe not a good sign).
I have seen their colourful fenders at 2 bike shows.

If you, Buy them at a bike shop ... they will help you put them on.

I l’ve used yellow Panet Bike’s for many years now, more than 10, I believe:

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2850/9...b53b6b9c_b.jpg