ragboy

About ready to embark on a 5-day tour -- I'll probably experience rain at some point -- should I equip my bike with fenders or are they a pain on a tour with flats, etc.

I already have fenders, just a matter of deciding if I want to use them or not. Any advice?

paul2

I don't bothered using fenders. Whenever I've toured with people who use them, they always ended up rubbing on their tires, and they spend half the tour fiddling with them.

jcm

I never have problems with fenders, nor have I ever seen anyone else have problems. Fenders are something that you adjust within the first couple miles of use - then, you can forget about them. They are not in the way of flat repair at all.

Caveat: If you choose close fitting fenders because you don't like the 'look' of a more practical fit, you are your own worst enemy. Give them room. Close fitting fenders are no more effective than those set farther away from the tires.

https://i16.tinypic.com/637d9h1.jpg
https://i16.tinypic.com/503jx3o.jpg

tuz

Yup. Fenders can be bit tricky to install the first time, but given them a little room and they won't pose any problems in wheel removal and etc... You won't regret it went it rains! Less crap on feet and drivetrain.

Nice rides jcm! I love that mudflap I have one but not as long. Huuum and I must experiment with a higher stem, looks comfy. Too bad it's such a pain to change bars without the pop cap stem

jnoble123

Definitely go with the fenders. If you are out there and a drenching rain visits it's kind of nice NOT to have water splashing up high on your back and your saddlebags not to mention the underside of your Brook's saddle. Of course with a mud flap it also helps those behind you if you are in a group and offers some protection to your drive train from dirt etc as well.

~Jamie N

axolotl

You don't say where you are going. West coast of Scotland? (averages 250+ days of rain per year) Gobi desert? For a 5 day tour, you can check the long range weather forecast on the web before you leave and have a fairly good idea of what the weather is likely to be. Sometimes I bring fenders (aka mudguards), and sometimes I don't. It largely depends on where I'm going and when. BTW, many years ago, I had a very serious accident caused by a broken fender attachment bracket. I purchased the fenders in Asia when I was experiencing unusually rainy weather.

stokell

I just couldn't imagine touring without fenders. Sooner or later it will rain or you will need protection from stuff that flies up to you on the road (dog doo for instance). A touring bike without fenders is a road bike.

aphatrider

a mudflap on the front fender goes a long way towards keeping drivetrain clean-easily made or purchased.

ragboy

It's a supported tour in the Midwest US. There will likely be an occassional rain threat as always this time of year. Most of the 200 or so riders will be riding fenderless road bikes, I'm sure. I'm betting there will only be a few with fendered rides, and I'm just deciding if that would be a good way to go. I guess I'm leaning toward doing fenders for the trip. The forecast for these parts nearly has a "chance" of a shower nearly every day (at least 20 percent).

Thanks for the input everyone.

Bacciagalupe

I've toured with and without. I think I prefer "with," less because of rain (if it's raining, you're all wet anyway) and more because of dirt and road detreius. Seems like it'll come in handy in the Midwest.

acantor

I have also toured with and without. I became convinced of the value of fenders the first time I rode in a light drizzle. My back didn't get soaked!

adrianlatrace

You wouldn't happen to be from Des Plaines would you? Under your avatar it says da plains.. Just curious.

ragboy

No, I'm in Nebraska.

NoReg

The idea that if it's raining you are all wet anyway is an oversimplification. I have driven many happy miles with fenders over a wet road when I was glad not to have the sluicing action of the wheels and I could get out of the waterproof clothes. There can also be standing water in areas when it isn't raining. Probably the best waterproof clothing unless the rain is dead horizontal is the poncho and leggins stuff they make for cyclist, but it isn't very splash resistant, so fenders are necesarry.

The exception to fenders is that with some minimal modification some people's front and rear racks will catch all the water, and fenders are not required in addition. That is a good system also. Though for less expedition worthy racks and bags, the fenders are probably saving the bags, rather than the bags replaceing the fenders.

ragboy

how does one actually attach a mudflap without drilling a hole in the fender? Does a zip tie around the fender/mudflap hold it in place?

arctos

I have always used fenders while touring on and off road. This choice was reinforced vividly on one tour.
I was approaching Quito Ecuador from Columbia in a heavy rain when I started hearing sharp noises from something hitting the fenders as I rode. The noise was from discarded hypodermic needles scattered along the road shoulder for mile after mile and picked up by my tires.
I really appreciated my fenders even more than for just keeping me and my drive chain clean and dry.

barba

I have never thought of fenders as something that keeps me dry (though they do keep the feet a tad less sodden and minimize the line up the back phenomenon). They help shield my bike from the salt, oil and road grime that splashes up from the ground. The stuff from above is alright with me assuming it isn't cold out, but the stuff from below is nasty.

jnoble123

I ended up drilling the hole through the fenders. The surprising thing is that despite my very amateurish job the original mud flaps continue to do the job on my Fixie. I always figured that I would need to do something more extensive to have them last a long time.

Do It Yourself Mudflaps:

https://www.bicycletouring101.com/BikeDIYMudFlaps.htm

~Jamie N

dknapp

Get any flats? If not, I need to know the name of your tires. Also, remind me to stay away from Quito.

cyccommute 

If I were touring Scotland, I'd use fenders. If I were touring Olympic Peninsula, I'd use fenders. If I were touring the East Coast, I'd consider fenders. If I'm touring anywhere west of the Mississippi but east of the Olympic Peninsula, I don't use them.

Think of the kind of rain you are going to get on the Plains. It's going to be intense thunderstorms which last an hour - tops. You probably shouldn't be out in them anyway unless you want to be a crispy critter I look at fenders as just being one more thing to rattle loose, get in the way, have to be adjusted, etc. Not worth the effort unless you are using them more then a few minutes each day.

My dry lander vote: leave 'em home.

jcm

The link above is a good one. The small amount of labor and expense is well worth the results you get from effective fenders and flaps.

Front flap close-up
https://i8.tinypic.com/4q5r5f5.jpg

ragboy

Oh cycommute -- I had my mind made up to take them til you came along You're right about the thunderstorm possibility over the all day rain soaker. I suppose what it'll boil down to is me doing a weather check over the 5-day period and making the decision based on that. Thanks!

CyKKlist

If you do go with fenders, make sure you double-check that they are fitted snugly. Mine were set up just right by my LBS but my son's were not, and that made a big difference on that road. Same pair of fenders (Planet Bike) but we had all sorts of trouble from his. I wound up discarding them during a mini tour.

Fenders are another "touring bike" must for me, plus I love fielding questions from my roadie friends about them. Fender are so not cool, you know. Like kickstands :-)

Ken

Burningman

Couldn't agree more.

I have my fenders on full time.

If you need them,they're there

Put them on,adjust them,leave them on

acantor

Sometimes fenders need to be adjusted. At least, that's what I discovered on one trip. I started hearing a faint squeak about four days into a trip. I looked and I looked but could not identify the source. I rolled into a bike shop. The mechanic took the bike for a spin, but was perplexed. The sound seemed to be coming from one of the pedals, so he tightened the pedals. The squeak remained. So he disassembled and relubed the bottle bracket. The squeak remained. Finally, he noticed that the rear fender was ever so slightly grazing the rear wheel at the least accessible, least visible point!