DIY Fender ideas?



anneonabike

New Member
Apr 28, 2010
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I have a Shimano 100GS (Omega) - which there is no online documentation for that I can find. It's in decent shape, but after riding 10 miles in misty showers today, I realized I should probably put a fender on the rear wheel at least. (Muddy butt, no thank you!)

My problem is that I am starting to commute to save money, not spend it on the bike. I've looked around these forums and other cycling forums for ideas that I think would work, but haven't found any that would fit my needs and isn't ghettofabulous looking.

Ideally this magical DIY fender would also eventually be able to support a DIY rack to hold my backpack ;) ---but definitely not a requirement as I feel asking for just a decent fender solution is overreaching.

I attached some pictures of the rear of the bike for anyone who's willing to help me brainstorm:

IMG_6053.jpg


IMG_6054.jpg
 
Well, if you get a rear rack, then you can just put a 'liner' underneath it ...

And, for the exposed part of the wheel that is between the front of the rack & the seat tube, you could probably fabricate something from 2-liter soda bottles (i.e., vertical "slices") ...

Heck, I guess I would also use a portion of a 2-liter soda bottle for the 'liner' that I would strap beneath the rear rack -- I guess that how ghettofabulous it looks, or not, depends on how well you fabricate it.
 
Hm, I didn't think about that spending meticulous time on anything could improve the look of whatever I end up doing.

Thanks for your thoughts :) much appreciated!
 
Yes, on the rear rack. See if you can find a used on on Craig's List, otherwise, go to your Local Bike Shop and have them help you select one.

As for making a fender, round up some plastic bottles, tape, zip-ties, lighter, and something that can be used to melt holes for the zip-ties. Then, just start cutting and trimming the bottles until you're got something that will work.

Do the same thing with another bottle. When you have 2 pieces, connect them together with zip-ties. Keep going until the fender has the size and shape you're going for.

I made some piece to augment a store-bought fender, maybe this will give you some ideas:
Karate Monkey Winter Bike Baphomet Blog

Also, I have a DIY article on front fenders here:
baphomet cycles