Fenders and Conversions

I finally tried over the weekend to install fenders on my old 27 inch wheel Trek Road bike. Nope. The clearances on the back wheel are such that they simply cannot be installed. The tires rub right on the fenders and the fenders are snug up to the frame. The Front is just about as bad.

So.... I have been thinking about biting the bullet and converting to a 700 CC wheelset. Would the slightly smaller wheelset solve the problem? I also dislike the fact that the fender and rack use the same eyelet for attaching I got a big enough bolt to make it work, but the rack and the fender don't appear to want to live together in harmony.

These are the bike planet road bike fenders so they seem pretty adjustable and are also pretty thin. Do I just have to keep getting water and mud thrown up? Today really drove home the point for fenders..

Or do I rebuild the old Lotus and Raleigh Alyekska in my garage? I think both have more clearance than the Trek...

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Permalink Reply by David P. on April 8, 2013 at 5:07am

Yes, 700c wheels will give you more clearance as long as you don't fit larger tires. Reach-arounds might work for you, also.

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Permalink Reply by Alex on April 8, 2013 at 5:17am

Seems to me like the minimal size difference won't give you a ton more space - the roughly 4mm you would gain by switching to 700C is still less space than you'd normally want for tire/fender clearance. You could try something like this: http://www.bikecommuters.com/2008/06/22/fender-hackliterally/ or the Raleigh Alyeska should have plenty of clearance, as a purpose-built touring bike. That could be solution - Trek for sunny days, Raleigh for rainy ones.