DIY Skirt Guard
I'm on the hunt for a good DIY skirt guard project. I have regular ol' fenders on my bike. I've scoured the internet, but everything is pretty lame or too technical. Any suggestions?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on
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Vinyl wainscoting for wet locations like shower stalls. Use scraps from Home Depot (or Menards). Or even buy new as it isn't that expensive.
Cut it out to suit the shape you need using tin snips. Start by getting the right shape to match your fender by tracing it. Then cut out openings for any clearance issues like the brake. Drill small holes on each side of the seat and chainstays at the fender side and the hub side and use zip-ties to hold it on.
Some wainscoting come pre-colored and some can be painted. Get creative and paint a mural on it or put flower stickers on it.
Or maybe this belongs in the lame category.
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Permalink Reply by Lugo on
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I like this idea! I don't know what wainscoting is, but sounds like a good option. And I didn't even think about a shower curtain- thanks.
No lame is this:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Quick-%26-Easy-Bicycle-Skirt-Guards/
James Baum said:Vinyl wainscoting for wet locations like shower stalls. Use scraps from Home Depot (or Menards). Or even buy new as it isn't that expensive.
Cut it out to suit the shape you need using tin snips. Start by getting the right shape to match your fender by tracing it. Then cut out openings for any clearance issues like the brake. Drill small holes on each side of the seat and chainstays at the fender side and the hub side and use zip-ties to hold it on.
Some wainscoting come pre-colored and some can be painted. Get creative and paint a mural on it or put flower stickers on it.
Or maybe this belongs in the lame category.
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I'm an intermediate knitter and crochet beginner. I did see this too and would love to replicate- what kind of clips do you think those are?
mike w. said:Do you knit or crochet?
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Hmm, I never considered basket weaving. It looks like it's been concooned- waiting to turn into a bike butterfly.
mike w. said:How about this?
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Permalink Reply by mike w. on
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They actually look like spring-type paper clips -AKA "binder clips", the ones with the wire handles that fold down:
You might also drill small holes along the edge of your fender about an inch or so apart to run laces or small hooks.
Lugo said:
I'm an intermediate knitter and crochet beginner. I did see this too and would love to replicate- what kind of clips do you think those are?
mike w. said:Do you knit or crochet?
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I thought the Tulle skirtguards were a bit unsafe myself. Tulle is easily ripped/damaged and could easily get into the tire causing a lock-up IMHO.
The crocheted skirtguards looked cool but I immediately thought of mold if they couldn't dry out quick enough. Natural fabrics are probably straight out due to rot but the plastic/synthetics might hold up better. I showed a photo of the crocheted skirt-guard to my wife, the consummate knitter and non-crocheter, and she immediatly said, "I do NOT crochet, but that is cool. They should use plarn!" Which is apparently some sort of yarn spun out of strips of old shopping bags or something to that effect . I think something crocheted out of plarn would dry much faster than regular poly yarn and be less effected by mold if it got wet and wasn't dried out "properly." But I'd be afraid of getting some of the bags that are designed to disintegrate over time with the starchy ingredients mixed in so that it will supposedly* biodegrade.
As for the clips, I don't think they are the spring paper clips. They look like little springy metal clips of another sort. Whatever clip was used I'd want to be DARN sure they were solid and didn't ever have a chance of falling off and getting tied up with the tire/brakes/chain. Danger-danger!
*these plastics bags don't actually biodegrade -they just break up into small nearly microscopic bits but those bits are still plastic and take thousands of years to REALLY biodegrade. We just can't see them anymore but they are still there floating around in the rivers/streams/oceans. /rant at fake "green" products.
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+1 on your "green" rant. If we can't see it, it must've gone away... (to the Pacific gyre... sigh.)
Hadn't considered the mold issue with organic yarns. i too question the value of the binder clips as far as them failing in potentially spectacular ways. i'd go with the drilling option and laces/closed hooks/clasps myself. Maybe a crochet design with nylon twine/string? i know- nylon isn't at all green, but it can be durable and reasonably mold resistant. My better half thought the design was cool, but i got the distinct impression that she already had too many yarn projects going.
Maybe a more solid design like Kaydex sheet cut into the appropriate sized wedges and laced in and secured at the bottom with elastic to keep the tension? Might be a big sail on windy days, but ought to keep the skirts out.
The usual skirt guard i've seen is a series of laces/strings radiating from near the rear hub or dropout and attached at the fender in a fan-like configuration.
James Baum said:I thought the Tulle skirtguards were a bit unsafe myself. Tulle is easily ripped/damaged and could easily get into the tire causing a lock-up IMHO.
The crocheted skirtguards looked cool but I immediately thought of mold if they couldn't dry out quick enough. Natural fabrics are probably straight out due to rot but the plastic/synthetics might hold up better. I showed a photo of the crocheted skirt-guard to my wife, the consummate knitter and non-crocheter, and she immediatly said, "I do NOT crochet, but that is cool. They should use plarn!" Which is apparently some sort of yarn spun out of strips of old shopping bags or something to that effect . I think something crocheted out of plarn would dry much faster than regular poly yarn and be less effected by mold if it got wet and wasn't dried out "properly." But I'd be afraid of getting some of the bags that are designed to disintegrate over time with the starchy ingredients mixed in so that it will supposedly* biodegrade.
As for the clips, I don't think they are the spring paper clips. They look like little springy metal clips of another sort. Whatever clip was used I'd want to be DARN sure they were solid and didn't ever have a chance of falling off and getting tied up with the tire/brakes/chain. Danger-danger!
*these plastics bags don't actually biodegrade -they just break up into small nearly microscopic bits but those bits are still plastic and take thousands of years to REALLY biodegrade. We just can't see them anymore but they are still there floating around in the rivers/streams/oceans. /rant at fake "green" products.
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I may be showing my age, but back in the 70's when I was growing up we used to make lanyards and other projects out of "gimp" which was some sort of multi-colored vinyl-plastic rawhide subsitute. I don't even know if that sort of thing is even available these days but I bet that would make an awesome skirt-guard netting if woven into a crochet-type pattern and then attached through holes drilled into the fender. Whatever you do just make it removable in such a way so that the bike can be worked on if need be -fender and all would be OK. Make it lace on and off easily I guess.
It is not an issue for me as a dude as I look horrible in a dress :( -and I wear a kilt traditional-style. I won't be riding on any bike with the kilt on in the traditional style as the end result on the leather wouldn't be even remotely the same thing as proofide.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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my boyfriend made a skirt guard out of a synthetic mesh fabric.
he used twine to secure it to his seat stays.
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