gew0419

I have seen a lot of pictures on this forum and other places and I notice a great deal of bikes without fenders. I was just wondering what you all think are the advantages and disadvantages of fenders. I personally wouldn't ride without them. But that may be because I am in Oregon and so, a lot of the time, I am riding on wet roads.
Discuss among yourselves...

BlazingPedals

I have a hybrid which used to be for commuting. It has fenders. Other than commuting, I rarely ride in the wet, so none of my other bikes have them - fenders would just be useless weight and maintenance.

JanMM

I use my 'bent for commuting, so it has fenders all the time. Also, they're great for going for a ride after a rain, when the road is wet. Wouldn't want to do that without 'em.
Might take 'em off, temporarily, if Weather.com tells me it absolutely won't rain for a while.

d2create

My commuter has them on permanently because I ride on wet roads.

My weekend roadie doesn't because there is no need. Only ride it on dry roads.

Blue Jays

I agree completely with d2create's approach to fenders.

Doug5150

I have fenders on all my bikes, because I live in the midwest US and I don't want to get covered with water or mud if I go riding after it rains (such as through puddles or muddy patches).

I will be moving to the desert later this year. They may come off then.
~

SoonerBent

I don't have anything against fenders. I just don't ride in the rain unless I get caught out in a suprise shower.

vik 

I have fenders on my bent and most of my bikes.

aikigreg

they're ugly and slow me down, that's what.

World Tour

Color-matched and very attractive classic fenders here for sprinklers all over the place, wet sidewalks/streets. They're not for rain, how silly is that? So you're getting soaked by rain and you worry about it spinning up from the wheels?

The weight of the fenders is negligible and I've read they have no effect on aerodynamics.

blknwhtfoto

I think a pair of planet bike fenders looks pretty snazzy. Just the plain black plastic ones, with stainless skewers. That said, I'm from Oregon and if you ride your bike more than 5 months out of the year, you've gotta have fenders, or have a s**t stripe...(notice: I censored that out for the kiddies, they won't even know they missed it)

d2create

On the right bike..... they are DEAD SEXY.

d2create

ok, you really need to think about that statement.

Lets say for the sake of argument that you ONLY rode your bike when it was raining. Are you saying if that was the case you wouldn't have fenders? I sure would. Do you know why? Because I would much rather have just the [somewhat] clean rain hitting me and my bike rather than all the nasty, filthy, muddy, gritty sludge being spewed up from the front wheel right into my face and from the back wheel right up my back and head. Yuck!

Wet spots from sprinklers and puddles I can usually go around or wipe the few drops of water off my face after going through it, but fenders are worth their weight in gold when it's raining.

banerjek

I live in Oregon, but only my commuter (which I will soon be getting rid of) has fenders. The velomobile doesn't need them because it just throws water on the roof, and the other bikes aren't intended to be ridden in rain.

My nonscientific tests have led me to believe that fenders slow you down by about a minute or so for every 10 miles. They're useless weight when climbing. Plus, getting water thrown on you is no big deal. When I'm riding in the rain, I'm getting wet anyway. What's a little extra splash?

jeff-o

I ride in all weather, so I have fenders. If I only rode my bike when the roads are dry, I wouldn't have fenders installed.

vik 

Well the obvious answer to your question is that rain falling on you is clean water [for the most part!] the water getting thrown up from the road by your wheels is oily and full of grit - hence the brown stripe up people's backs.

Certainly it's your choice if you want to use fenders or not, but they will definitely leave you and your bike much cleaner than riding without. Also if you go for a ride after the rain has stopped you can stay quite dry even though the roads are still very wet.

My personal experience has been zero noticeable change in performance on my bikes with fenders. I use lightweight plastic fenders so the weight difference is less than half a water bottle.

I have blown past many people on stripped down race bikes while riding fendered bikes not only hasn't it slowed me down, but it seems more sporting...lol...

blknwhtfoto

Another reason I use fenders is the road crap/rotting leaves that are often on the road. When I was riding my motorcycle, I had a screw fly up off the back wheel and stick into my helmet. After that I try my very best to have covered tires. All the time. I'm still not sure how it worked out on my little honda, cause there isn't much bare tire. Who knows.

Mooo

Early morning rides
Dead worms thrown onto your bike
Fenders keep them away

Rich boys on bling bikes
slower than their wallets are
Fenders rub it in

teamcompi

Most of my bikes are covered in panniers and racks, I just dont bother with fenders. I got a bent in the fall and discovered that with out fenders I get a darn good wash of the family matters. I quickly made a nice little fender for the front wheel. My undies now stay dry.

gew0419

That's almost TMI.

sch

Small wheel bents run at higher rotational speeds compared with large
wheel bents and throw a really impressive rooster tail. Without front
fender I have spray from the front wheel ALL OVER my face, much
worse than rain. Without a rear fender, my mesh seat is zero protection
and my entire back side down to the perineum gets soaked. The rear
fender is permamount. The front comes off occasionally, but mostly
stays on. My wheels are 406.

LandLuger

No fenders on my 'bents that's what the old beater DF is for--riding in the rain and slop.

bobkat

Since I started riding about 3 years ago we've had a drought up here in ND and rarely seem to see rain anymore! I don't have fenders, but wish we had rain so I needed them! LOL