To Fender or not to fender... that is the question.

[Joe West]

Having recently purchased a Co-Motion Americano... I am now faced with somewhat of a dilemma.

I'm trying to decide whether or not to put fenders on the bike.

On the side that says "don't put on fenders", I see the following reasons:

1. I live in Arizona... doesn't rain much.
2. I like the looks of my bike better without fenders
3. It adds extra weight (my bike is a tank anyway so who cares).

On the side of "put the fenders on":

1. I will be touring in places where it does rain.
2. I commute with the bike.
3. I hate to waste the braze-ons for the fenders.

Attached are pictures with and without fenders...

What do you think?

Joe

 

[Trekker2017]

Having recently purchased a Co-Motion Americano... I am now faced with somewhat of a dilemma.

I'm trying to decide whether or not to put fenders on the bike.

On the side that says "don't put on fenders", I see the following reasons:

1. I live in Arizona... doesn't rain much.
2. I like the looks of my bike better without fenders
3. It adds extra weight (my bike is a tank anyway so who cares).

On the side of "put the fenders on":

1. I will be touring in places where it does rain.
2. I commute with the bike.
3. I hate to waste the braze-ons for the fenders.

Attached are pictures with and without fenders...

What do you think?

Joe

Why not just put them on and take them off as the mood hits you? From doing a lot of touring without a support van, I've found the fenders make it easier to hang thing off of. However, for just doing a 20 mile loop around my house, the fenders come off... no need for them.

 

[OCRoadie]

Nice Carrera Turbo!

 

[Dr.Hairybiker]

I think it looks better with the fenders.

 

[Joe West]

I think it looks better with the fenders.

I've had them on for a whole day and they are growing on me

 

[EmmCeeBee]

The biggest puzzle in life is the umbrella enigma: When you carry an umbrella, it never rains; when you leave it at home, it pours. Fenders are simply a corollary.

I admit it's a tough call. I use fenders for every day commuting, it's a relatively short distance (less than 10 miles total unless it's sunny...), and I'm not gonna take the time to zip up and velcro head-to-toe and handlebars-to-rack. The extra weight and drag are minimal for the commute, but it's one time when I welcome the extra exercise.

But I've never used then when touring. Rainy days happen, and fenders would be nice when the road is wet. But the occasional advantage would never make up for the loss of an aerodynamic screaming downhill on a sunny day. Nor the added self-reproach of climbing a 7000-foot pass while cursing the extra weight. Not to mention a headwind.

You'll find that fenders are effective only on a 5-mile (or less) ride in a drizzle. Any longer, or any harder the rain, and you'll be soaking in short order. In fact, you can extend this to basically all rain gear, I've found. Rain gear just delays the inevitable -- if it's raining and you're riding, you're gonna get wet. (Good rain gear is essential in the cold, though; the extra dry time it DOES afford, means that much longer till hypothermia.)

I've been on tours where others in the group had fenders, and on rainy days there was no difference in staying dry after half an hour. I use the rear rack to block tire spray, put your tent or sleeping bag in plastic and it deflects the rooster tail nicely.

It boils down to this: on a 2-week tour, it seems, only one day would benefit from fenders, when it's between showers and the road is wet. The rest of the days are either sunny or just too wet. For me, it isn't worth the trouble or the extra drag to tour with fenders. That's my take....

-- Mark

 

[Dr.Hairybiker]

The biggest puzzle in life is the umbrella enigma: When you carry an umbrella, it never rains; when you leave it at home, it pours. Fenders are simply a corollary.

I admit it's a tough call. I use fenders for every day commuting, it's a relatively short distance (less than 10 miles total unless it's sunny...), and I'm not gonna take the time to zip up and velcro head-to-toe and handlebars-to-rack. The extra weight and drag are minimal for the commute, but it's one time when I welcome the extra exercise.

But I've never used then when touring. Rainy days happen, and fenders would be nice when the road is wet. But the occasional advantage would never make up for the loss of an aerodynamic screaming downhill on a sunny day. Nor the added self-reproach of climbing a 7000-foot pass while cursing the extra weight. Not to mention a headwind.

You'll find that fenders are effective only on a 5-mile (or less) ride in a drizzle. Any longer, or any harder the rain, and you'll be soaking in short order. In fact, you can extend this to basically all rain gear, I've found. Rain gear just delays the inevitable -- if it's raining and you're riding, you're gonna get wet. (Good rain gear is essential in the cold, though; the extra dry time it DOES afford, means that much longer till hypothermia.)

I've been on tours where others in the group had fenders, and on rainy days there was no difference in staying dry after half an hour. I use the rear rack to block tire spray, put your tent or sleeping bag in plastic and it deflects the rooster tail nicely.

It boils down to this: on a 2-week tour, it seems, only one day would benefit from fenders, when it's between showers and the road is wet. The rest of the days are either sunny or just too wet. For me, it isn't worth the trouble or the extra drag to tour with fenders. That's my take....

-- Mark

Fenders are not just for keeping the rider dry, they work well to keep the bike cleaner. There's a lot of ****, sand, mud, on most road shoulders. All that stuff sticks to tires in the rain, and flings off those tires as they rotate, generally all over your bike, your gear, and you. After the rain storm, someone with no fenders might dry out just as quick as someone who runs fenders, but they're likely to be filthy, and the bike and gear also.

 

[EmmCeeBee]

Dr., I agree about the grit and grime. On my commuter bike, that's the main purpose for having fenders, to keep the **** off me.

But it certainly doesn't keep it off the bike. In fact, all the dirt flung off the wheels gets trapped inside the circumference of the fenders -- which means it piles up on the hubs, dribbles down on the bottom bracket, covers the chain and fork/chainstays. In the end, this is inevitable when riding on wet roads, but fenders don't protect the drivetrain from grit. You should see my bike after this morning's commute....

And fenders certainly don't keep the **** off my feet. They're too close to the road spray, fender or not.

On a fully-loaded touring bike, the panniers and gear seem to deflect the grit-spray. Everything's in plastic, so there's no harm to the gear. I'd agree that fenders would be a bit more effective at that, but still, for long-distance touring it doesn't seem to make up for the added weight and drag. Unless I knew that 90% of the days will be rainy.

-- Mark

 

[photojtn]

Dr., I agree about the grit and grime. On my commuter bike, that's the main purpose for having fenders, to keep the **** off me.

But it certainly doesn't keep it off the bike. In fact, all the dirt flung off the wheels gets trapped inside the circumference of the fenders -- which means it piles up on the hubs, dribbles down on the bottom bracket, covers the chain and fork/chainstays. In the end, this is inevitable when riding on wet roads, but fenders don't protect the drivetrain from grit. You should see my bike after this morning's commute....

And fenders certainly don't keep the **** off my feet. They're too close to the road spray, fender or not.

On a fully-loaded touring bike, the panniers and gear seem to deflect the grit-spray. Everything's in plastic, so there's no harm to the gear. I'd agree that fenders would be a bit more effective at that, but still, for long-distance touring it doesn't seem to make up for the added weight and drag. Unless I knew that 90% of the days will be rainy.

-- Mark

I agree with Mark, fenders look nice (I like the wood ones) but offer nothing to me on a long tour, thats one less thing i have to worrie about. I've heard war stories about fender stays coming loose and ending up in the wheel causing an abrupt contact with the ground.

 

[till!]

With fenders, the way a tourer is supposed to be! The only people that complain about the added weight are weight weenies and they should all be on their road bikes anyway.

till

 

[Joe West]

Here's some more fender pictures...

http://www.porscheturboclub.com/admin/Public/CoMotion_Fenders/CoMotion_Fenders.html

 

[tomjw]

I can't believe that the average cysclist would really notice difference from the weight of a decent set of SKS mudguards - It would just be all in the mind. Yes you still get wet in heavy rain but you don't get a line of wet dirt all up your back and in your face.

 

[Joe West]

Indeed sound advice. They come on and off relatively quickly so I ended up taking them off until I need them... at which point I will spend 15 minutes putting them back on. I left all the mounting hardware on the bike so installation will be relatively simple.

Thanks for the advice Trekker...

Why not just put them on and take them off as the mood hits you? From doing a lot of touring without a support van, I've found the fenders make it easier to hang thing off of. However, for just doing a 20 mile loop around my house, the fenders come off... no need for them.

 

[Blackberry]

In England, where they know something about rain, virtually every touring bike has fenders--or mudguards as they call them. Part of the reason: to keep your bike from spraying water on your fellow cyclists. Also, fenders protect your panniers and the rest of your gear.