twobikes

I wanted enough fender to keep muddy water off of my back when riding in wet conditions. I did not want to pay $25 - $50 for a set of fenders. Water from the front wheel is not much of a problem.

I had a piece of light gage PVC about 1.5 inches in diameter. I cut lengthwise it into halves. The front attachment is made from a piece of #24 gage sheet metal about 2.5 x 3 inches contoured to fit inside the PVC and screwed to the PVC. From the sheet metal that protruded ahead of the PVC end I cut tabs to reach the bosses on the bike's rear stays and drilled holes for the stay screws. I made a support for the rear of the fender from heavy wire and attached it to the PVC fender with a folded tab of sheet metal screwed to the PVC.

Early indications are that this fender will do the job very well. All materials were scraps I already had on hand. It comes off with the removal of just four screws. I figure the stark white color adds to my visibility. Gray or black PVC would be more aesthetically pleasing.

Marrock

You know, boiling water is hot enough to make PVC pipe bendable.

twobikes

I have used boiling water to bend very small pieces of PVC for a microphone holder. From those experiences I learned using very hot water to form PVC, especially larger pieces of PVC (like a fender), sounds easy in theory, but becomes much more difficult in practice. Leaving the PVC straight for an emergency fender is a very good low-tech. solution. In addition, what I did is not unlike some of the stubby fenders offered commercially.

zoeglassjd

Looks really good! I would spray it black and slap on some reflective tape pin striping. To each his own. Your braces look particularly professional.

Re: bending... My buddy did the hot water to bend the pvc for a fender. He soaked it and then cable-tied it to an old rim for two days. When he released the ties it gave enough give to be about perfect.

I do think the pvc will give decent coverage as is.

Sometimes I think a DIY subforum would be cool in BFs. Then I guess there could be subforums for just about anything.

twobikes

Thanks for your kindly comments. Did your friend have a long trough he placed over a bed of coals? Keeping the entire length of a PVC fender in boiling water would seem to have some challenges.

A DIY sub-forum would be interesting. I have a suspicion DIY'ers might be a small minority. Some want nothing but professional equipment. Some are not inclined to make things. Others just are not comfortable with tools.

During my membership time on BF I have seen posts about home made work stands, messenger bags, lighting and charging equipment, chain whips, truing stands, and probably a few other things. I submitted posts and pictures for several home made items. These included a two bike roof rack for a Subaru Forester, a cone wrench made by slowly grinding the jaws of an 8 inch adjustable wrench down to about 2.5 mm in thickness, a chain whip, casters fitted to a set of rollers to keep the bike wheels from going off the side and onto the floor, and a torque wrench from a dial incator fisherman's scale and a steel bar.

I feel blessed to have a 220 volt stick arc welder. It allows me some solutions to problems that were almost impossible in my pre-welder days. But, all you really need is a friend with a welder.

JanMM

Yes!

HandsomeRyan

PVC shatters and could seriously hurt you in the event of an accident.

With that said- for a quick-n-dirty solution this seems like it would work okay.

zoeglassjd

Hmm, good question. Perhaps he heated in a different way. I will try to get in touch with him.

I would be interested in PVC and shattering. I have never heard this before as something that would be dangerous. Won't CF shatter at a certain impact as well? I know I have beat the hell out of PVC before (questionable application) and it tends to bend and warp.

Marrock

Not if you just heat it up in sections, nothing says you have to do the entire length at once.

And I know you can use heat to form ABS too, I used to know someone that made his own suit of armor from grey ABS plastic but I never got around to finding out how he heated it.

At least I think it was ABS... this was a very long time ago at an SCA event and there was wine involved.

The only time I've seen PVC shatter was when it'd been left out where it'd be in the sun for a very long time, like years.

MrPolak

Aren't fenders like $40 for a set?

Marrock

Yeah, but some us have more pieces of scrap PVC laying around than we do $20 bills.

zoeglassjd

Actually you can get Freddy Fenders for $25. And this is why the OP said a DIY subforum would be desolate. DIY is not always/often about saving money (and almost never about saving time).

In my experience it has to be seen as a creative hobby. If just for pure functionality I have done few DIY jobs worth the time.

Marrock

Just because I can make a rear rack out of coroplast doesn't mean I'd want to use it if I could get a proper rack for a couple bucks.