to me fenders go on a bike that gets locked up and beat on and goes all winter with little or no maintenance. thats just not gonna happen with metal fenders. they get dented to shit and rattle and just get generally lame. i see and hear it everyday at school.
Meh, I live in the biggest sea of bikes that get treated like crap and can say that metal fenders are the shit.
Those SKS berthouds look real nice.
[quote=I don’t live in the US]metal fenders are the shit.
[/quote]
I’ve been using a set of used VO fenders Nate gave me before he up and moved to the bay and they’ve been great for me. The front one has alwasy been a bit tweaked but it still works just fine. I just got a set of sks/esge p65s for the stumpjumper. I will report once I get them installed. initial reaction was holy shit that’s a lot of hardware that comes with these. Installation is going to be a bitch no matter what fenders I use since chainstay u brake, and no hole in seat stay bridge.
Cheap, heavy, badly maintained fenders on 1970s cruisers isn’t exactly a good comparison to well installed AL or SS fenders. I’ve experienced less rattling overall with metal fenders than plastic. Since you have more control over the installation you can just put rubber or leather washers on every contact point and avoid any future issues. Besides, the ZIPPPP ZIPPPPPPPPPPZIPPPP sound you get when rocks and stuff get sucked through the fender is a sure conversation starter.
I do agree that the Berthoud Composite fenders sound like they’d be a perfect balance. Can you still slightly work them to fit in tight spaces and such? The Berthoud hardware is by far the best of all available options.
this.
this.[/quote]
Agreed. On the PB fenders the plastic brake bridge clip takes up a lot of space that should be for tire. The metal SKS clip folds up and out of the way with a pair of pliers. Also they have the breakaway front fender stays. The only thing the PB fenders have going for them is the pre-installed stays, but anyone with half a brain can do that themselves.
I can’t stand the look of the mudflaps on Cascadias. SKS are way classier, and you can make/add your own mudflaps if you want.
put Choromoplastics on the BJ last night. What a fucking pain in the ass.
this.[/quote]
Agreed. On the PB fenders the plastic brake bridge clip takes up a lot of space that should be for tire. .[/quote]
That’s easily corrected, you can either dremel some mms off the top of the plastic or fab up your own brake bridge clip (I would use a little piece of stainless steel and rivet it on—this would also eliminate rattle in the rear). Which leads me into my main point, unless you’re lucky getting fenders to work perfectly will often involve some tinkering and modification/ pain in the ass.
fender installation is really fucking annoy
ing.
I spent a good amount of time this week installing Berthoud fenders on my Miyata. It was probably the most trying bike task I’ve ever attempted. I had to cut areas to fit at the chainstays and fork crown, cut the fork crown daruma down, buy extra hardware to attach at the chainstay bridge and rear rack, drill for attaching to the rack, bend the front to clear the tire, etc. Basically, it was a lot of putting shit together, finding out it needs more spacers somewhere, and then disassembling completely in order adjust. The fenders look great, but I’m a little nervous about riding with them because the clearance is so tight that I can hear the tire hairs tickling the inside of the fender.
You should be nervous daedalus (speaking as someone who has otb’d due to a front sks fender mishap). I like a cm or more of clearance in front. maybe consider running a smaller tire in front?
I don’t find fender installation annoying. It’s like a lot of twiddly bike tasks in that if you approach it with the right mindset, it can be fun to solve all the problems that come up and to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment at the end. Having a repair stand really really helps.
Damnit. I guess I’m not done yet. I also don’t really want to switch tires because I spent $$$ on the Parimotos and they have been awesome so far.
Fender clearance ('specially front) ain’t a joke:
My buddy’s winter commuter after fender got sucked up in dat tire, sending him over the bars.
Part of the reason I got the VO 52mm zeppelin fenders for the x-check.
zeppelin is mighty sexy.
edit: try to make it work d!
TC: I’ve put off installing my Berthoud fenders on the Pelican coz PITA
The hardware store down the street from me was my saving grace when installing fenders on my crosscheck. Had to buy washers, rubber stopper, nylon spacers, nuts bots etc. Just had to take my time and figure out was would work best. I enjoyed the process.
I have the PB Cascadia’s and love them. Would buy again.
[quote=bicwriter]fender installation is really fucking annoy
ing.[/quote]
Fender installation is an art. Get’s easier with experience.
Have some PB Hardcore Hybrids I stuck on an 08 Raleigh Rush Hour I won a few years back that I use for all weather bike. Work great. Ridden through rain, snow, salt, mud for thousands of miles without issue. Use some stainless steal rubberized C-clamps on fork and seat stays to help mount. I also dremeled the rear brake bridge mount to give more clearance, although I run 23c, so not that important.