2manybikes

It depends. What kind of bike are you putting them on? What type of riding do you plan do with it.

If you are using this bike to commute or to get around on you probably won't notice any difference.

If it rains much or the roads are very dirty you probably will like them. If you live in a dry place and the road is clean, it will not make much difference, until you need to get somewhere clean and it's raining.

mrballistic

those are what i use. i like that i can take them off and put them back on again inside of 2 minutes. do a search on the forum and you'll see my review of them from september.

kf5nd

Hardtail MTB with slicks and rigid fork, commuting. Topping out no more than 20 MPH, average with traffic is 13 - 14 MPH.

Serpico

My grandma has fenders and a brooks saddle on her bike.

:::ducks:::

j/k, C'Dale 50 50 is a nice fendered bike. Riv Atlantis looks nice with fenders.

Shifty

This time of year in Oregon fenders are very chic. They come off in Spring and back on in November. Teams use them, your out of the paceline without them, no argument will change that.

2manybikes

I don't think you will notice much difference in the performance. If you do it will be slight, and after you go through a few puddles you will probably like the fenders. If the conditions are dirty and wet a good long mud flap will protect your drive train and your feet a lot. Most of the dirt on the chain comes from the front wheel. One easy way to make a good mud flap is to use two thickness of mtb tube glued together with tire patch cement. If you only use one thickness it curls up like a tube too much. I have certain bikes that I use just for the very messy conditions. On those I make the mud flap go to about 1" from the ground. But anything is an improvement. My long mud flaps look funny, you might not like that.
Even if the weather is dry, a lot less dirt gets on the chain and you can go longer without cleaning the chain.

Jakey

Fenders are great. Fenders WITH mudflaps are even better... you can paceline in the rain, and not get covered in crap. Here in Oregon you are riding on wet pavement at least 50% of the year...so they are well worth it.

2manybikes

Good point. In many damp climates, you will not be welcome on a group ride without fenders. And rear flaps to protect the guys in back of you. Anyone who has drafted in the rain will tell you about fenders.

11.4

Who are these Californians who think fenders are dorky? Sheesh. Move them to Toronto for a month of winter and watch them whine. If you have wet roads, they are a godsend. And yes, both wheels, and full fenders if at all possible. Here's a great site showing how wet-landers set up their bikes, even with close clearances and racing equipment:

https://www.rivercitybicycles.com/mod...105&page_id=58

If you don't do the front wheel, your feet get soaked. If you don't do the rear wheel, your back and butt get soaked. And you can ride as many miles as you would in the summer if you aren't being pelted with road muck and water the whole way. Don't forget the mudflaps either -- they're crucial.

The RaceBlades from SKS are convenient, but they aren't long enough to give decent coverage without overly long mudflaps, and while they do perhaps 80% of the work of full fenders, they still let a lot of junk get on your bike in the course of a longer ride or commuting. You can almost always rig a very classy custom setup for fenders on your bike, regardless of clearances. And there are all kinds of trick fenders -- Honjos, Berthoud carbons, River City wood fenders, etc. -- if you want to be classy about it (although I have to say that SKS classic road fenders work just about the best). Fenders are about customizing them for your bike -- no two ways about it. Once you've done it once (and it may take a few hours the first time), from then on it takes 15 minutes at the beginning of winter and 10 minutes at the beginning of spring.

Corsaire

I use Freddy;s, love them!

Corsaire

2manybikes

Everything you say about fenders is totally correct. I would even put the race blades at less useful than your number. But wouldn't it be nice to live in CA. and not need to be familiar with fenders? I would like that very much ! We almost all have a different point of view depending on where we live. That's OK. There is a different amount of value to fenders in different places.

Here is just one point of view... My point of view..50% of the time. only intended to make you laugh. Especially if you live in CA.