mr geeker

just got done riding through the rain. i'm gonna get some fenders.

kayakdiver

Last summer during my tour I spent almost 2 full weeks riding through crap(rain) weather. All the way through ND and not really until I got half way through NY did the weather improve. I was more than happy with my fenders. All that Hurricane action late in the summer made for interesting weather.

Don't run them on my roadie... but then again I have a choice when the weather is crappy. I can always jump on one of my other bikes with fenders.

When I'm on tour I don't really have a choice. I have what I brought. I'm going to continue to bring the fenders. As for looks.. With so much crap hanging off them(the bike) I'm not really concerned about what fenders look like.

In the end..... It's what works for you. This is touring folks..

Boondock

I know this thread is about whether of not fenders should be used on tour, but 3 weeks ago I got caught in rain far from my house (for the third time this year)

I really wanted Honjos, but they don't make them wider than 48mm (I believe). I bought a pair of VO 60mm smooth fenders from Velo-Orange and here's a pic. I normally pull a Bob trailer which gets alot of spray off the rear tire. I'm making a mud guard for the rear fender.

tarwheel 

I've got full fenders on my commuter/touring bike and I love them. Today was the perfect example of their usefulness. The weather forecast called for heavy showers during the day, but I rode to work since it wasn't raining yet when I got up. It poured most of the day but the rain quit shortly before I left work for home and the roads were still very wet. My fenders kept me totally dry and my bike clean. However, I will be the first to admit that fenders won't do much to keep you dry in the rain, but they will keep you and your bike a lot cleaner.

Fenders also can look pretty nice on the right bike.

CrankyFranky

Hey, if the weather probabilities say no rain likely, then fuggetaboutit. If on the other hand you'll be out a few weeks and it'll be more iffy, then full fenders are great to keep waterborne grit off your chain and bottom bracket. I've used both methods, and prefer fenders - but without 'em, one can always just find shelter and wait out the rain.

GuttingJob

you wouldn't want them if you are scared of going really fast.

StephenH

Most bikes don't come with them, so if you don't care one way or the other, you won't have them. That's probably the #1 reason in reality. If every road bike was sold with fenders, probably half the people that don't use them, would.

seeker333

Even in dry weather, fenders help keep your chain crud-free longer. The front tire slings sand and miscellaneous road crap directly onto your chainrings and chain. Fenders and mudflaps prevent this from happening.

Thanks for the pic - I'm fixing to buy some of these. Also the longer 52mm VO fenders (even though 700/27" is specified, I think I can fit them to 26"). I want the longer fenders so I can extend ~2" beyond/below the chainstays/BB in rear, and can shorten front mudflap.

Question: did your 60mm fender kit include a fork crown daruma (VO does not specify)?
https://yhst-84224226242177.stores.ya...abofcreye.html

BTW check this out - saw it yesterday, and thought "i gotta order those fenders"

https://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/02...AV_500X500.jpg

Boondock

seeker333, no the front fender uses a L bracket mounted to the brake bolt. But I like the idea of the fork crown daruma. Oh well.... hindsight

maxine

My Planet Bike Freddy Fenders won't fit on my bike. Yes, it's a "real" touring bike (Trek 520), but it's a 17-incher, and the fenders just will not go with the Jandd racks and the 32c tires. I'm not worried about getting wet road crap on my body (my racks both have solid platforms, so even unloaded, not much spray is going to hit me) but it would be nice to not have the drive train -- and my feet -- get any wetter/nastier than they need to be.

TheBrick

in what way don't they fit?

positron

To the people above with the VO fenders, you will want to attach the fender stays (to the fenders) using more than a single point. I have those fenders, and they are great except for that design element. The single point mounting is unstable, and will result in fatigue failure over time... especially if you ride bumpy roads.

If you dont believe me, look at honjo, berthoud and every single classic constucteur bike out there. two mounting points. This was done for a reason, and for the life of me I cannot figure out why Chris did not copy the design.

also metal fenders made for 27/700 will not work well on a 26 inch bike. dont waste your money, you will crease the metal and have a crappy fender line.

EmmCeeBee

Living in the Pacific Northwet, you get to know fenders.

For a one- or two-week tour, depending on the location you can probably get an accurate weather forecast that far out. If you don't expect rain and you don't like fenders, ride without 'em.

It's a common misconception that fenders keep your drivechain clean in wet conditions. Simply not true. In fact, the crud is just circulated within the circumference of the wheel, and it has nowhere else to go but on all parts of the drivetrain (and from there, mostly on the ground). Fenders keep the crud off the rider, the guy behind him, and on non-movable parts such as seat, seatstay, downtube. Probably the only moving part that benefits from fenders is the headseat. Any splash diverted from the drivetrain by the front fender is more than made up for the circulating effect of the rear fender.

This doesn't negate the argument for using fenders. But their benefit is to keep road spray off the rider(s), not the bike. (I'm all for 'em, unless I know it won't rain...)

-- Mark

Shimagnolo

I actually started using fenders when I live in Schaumburg, IL;
Not for the rain, but because every d*mn*d MUP was covered in sh*t from Canadian Geese, (aka rats-with-wings).
Their usefulness in rain was a happy side-effect.

jimisnowhere

Same with New England, except we got salt and sand all winter too. No fenders = grit wedgie. If you add a big mudflap to the front and allow the front section of the rear fender to extend to the bottom of your largest chain ring you'll keep your drivetrain sparkling clean. And your feet keep much drier. The mudflap needs to be 6-7 inches wide and extend 2 inches from the ground.

Speedo

+1 from another New Englander.

It's hard to tell, but I would bet that the responses correlate with the amount of rain people get in their part of the country.

Speedo

imi

actually, thinking about it, snow and slush gets jammed between the fenders and tyres... but I've no idea if it would be better without in winter... anyone?

cyccommute 

My winter bike has fenders that are a long way from the wheels.

If the snow is too deep, I'll take the mountain bike without fenders.

maxine

Clearance at the top of the tire -- in the rear, I haven't tried this yet with my new front rack. The space between the underside of the rack and the top of the 32c tire is minimal. The fender ends up rubbing the top of the tire.

I guess I could just try different fenders. Or a different rack, but I like the rack. And I don't really care *that* much about fenders, especially in the rear.

stedalus

A picture might help here because it sounds like something is wrong with the rack installation. The size of the bike shouldn't affect rack-tire clearance.

maxine

I may try to snap a few pics in the next few days. But I've installed rear racks on several bikes, and for this one, as with the others, there's pretty much only one way to do it. It's a Jandd Extreme rack on a Trek 520.

I'll look again, maybe there's another eyelet that's higher, which would raise the rack some. (I'm pretty sure there's not.) But the rack couldn't go much higher, anyway, without hitting the underside of the saddle.

On a tiny bike with 700c wheels, *everything* is just too tight.

LeeG

who needs fenders when it isn't raining and the road is dry?

stedalus

Generally speaking, the rack is only fixed in position at the bottom stays, which are basically at the axle for any bike. So, assuming the upper stays are adjusted to make the rack is level, the rack to tire clearance will be the same regardless of frame size. Usually this is 2-3", so if your rack is sitting just above the tire, maybe you have a 26" rack or a funky installation. Either of those might be necessary to keep it from bumping into the saddle, but maybe not.

The Jandd Extreme is a front rack; do you mean the Expedition?

Like you said, rack platforms do a pretty good job of keeping road spray off your body. A rear fender will keep your panniers clean and prevent road spray from hitting your touring partners. If these aren't priorities then it might not be worth the hassle. A front fender will do a lot more for your feet and drivetrain.

maxine

Oops, yeah, it's an Expedition. I just ordered and got the front (Extreme) but haven't put it on the bike yet. The rear rack is level. I'll look at it again, maybe I'm missing something obvious.

Actually, the big thing that I like about a rear fender is that it's an excellent place to put a nice long piece of reflective stuff. I have the stays (on both bikes) wrapped in reflective tape, too, but that gets obscured when bags are hanging on the rack.

stedalus

If all else fails and you're handy, you could cut the fender widthwise at the point where it hits the back of the rear rack, and fashion something to secure the cut end to the rack. You'd still want to use the stays, so you might have to cut off both ends and use the "middle" half. That will give you some spray protection, and a place to mount reflective tape.

Same concept used to get around short reach brakes:

https://gspiess.files.wordpress.com/2...ender-0021.jpg