"Full time" road bike fenders, no eyelets - Suggestions wanted

Since my Xtracycle was stolen a year ago, I've been using my trusty 2001 LeMond road bike as my daily commuter.  I've used the LeMond over the years for everything from century rides, triathlons, etc. but I want to turn it into a dedicated commuter bike and need some help rigging the bike.  

I want to add full time fenders (i.e., keep them on the bike, not quick release) but my frame has no eyelets to mount them.  I've looked at the usual online suspects (Nashbar, Amazon, Performance Bike) for options but everything seems to have mixed reviews (e.g., SKS race blades, Planet Bike speedez).  Does anyone have recommendations for some fenders that I should look into?  Any other suggestions for rigging the bike are appreciated (like a seatpost-mounted rack). Thanks in advance!

FYI - I did a quick search of the forum and couldn't locate any helpful posts.  Sorry if this has been asked and answered before.

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Permalink Reply by BruceBikes on February 8, 2013 at 11:56am

I recommend picking whatever top-rated full fender you like (e.g. Planet Bike, Honjo, Blackburn, Civia, etc.) and mounting it with a trusty p-clamp (in lieu of frame eyelets.)  Don't mess around with the skimpy road racing fenders (like the race blades.)

Permalink Reply by JMinHP on February 8, 2013 at 12:01pm

AWESOME!!!  This is exactly what I was dreaming about - somehow mounting "real" fenders on my non-eyelet frame. Thanks BB.

BruceBikes said:

I recommend picking whatever top-rated full fender you like (e.g. Planet Bike, Honjo, Blackburn, Civia, etc.) and mounting it with a trusty p-clamp (in lieu of frame eyelets.)  Don't mess around with the skimpy road racing fenders (like the race blades.)

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on February 8, 2013 at 12:08pm

P-clamps.

You can buy them at Menards for $1.99 instead of $6-8 for a set at the LBS, and with more range of sizes too.   Same exact thing. 

Permalink Reply by JMinHP on February 8, 2013 at 12:13pm

My frozen feet (after last night's commute with no front fender) thank both of you.  P-clamps it is.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on February 8, 2013 at 12:17pm

They're in the electrical section, and not actually called p-clamps. I think they're cable hangers or something.

Permalink Reply by JMinHP on February 8, 2013 at 12:18pm

Thanks for the heads-up, Kevin.  Hopefully the store employees won't look at me cross-eyed now when I ask for help.

Kelvin Mulcky said:

They're in the electrical section, and not actually called p-clamps. I think they're cable hangers or something.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on February 8, 2013 at 12:27pm

They are made by Gardner-Bender and are with the electrical crimp connectors, wire connectors, zip-ties, and other products made by GB. 

Permalink Reply by David P. on February 8, 2013 at 1:06pm

You can also get brackets that attach to the dropouts that provide mounting eyelets for fenders or a rack or wahtever. Tubus has some, and  I think Blackburn does, too.

If you get P-clamps, make sure to size them to the section of stay you're going to clamp them to.

Permalink Reply by Will on February 10, 2013 at 5:09am

Also, you can use a small piece of old inner tube around your stays to help protect against damaging the paint with the p-clamps.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on February 10, 2013 at 5:26am

The GB P-clamps come with rubber molded and fitted  to the metal clamp which does a pretty good job protecting the frame.   But while P-clamps do come in a variety of sizes I find that they unfortunately always seem to be either too large or too small for the particular application needed.

The jumps between the standard sizes are a bit too much. 

By carefully cutting a strip of recycled inner tube, it can be wrapped over the stay to bulk it up so that the next-sized P-clamp will fit precisely.  If the tube material is prepped like for a patch, it can be carefully coated with some patch cement, allowed to dry to a tacky surface, and then carefully wrapped and stuck to itself to make a permanent ring over the stay (or fork leg) over which the P-clamp can then be placed.  

This will take some trial and error to get "just right" but with a little bit of persistence you can make yourself a custom clamp that will perfectly fit the tubing you wish to clamp to and not damage it in any way while still being surprisingly solid and not move around.  The P-clamp rubber molding can also be fused to the rubber-wrapping as well to ensure it doesn't slide out from under the clamp.

Be aware that even if a P-clamp is put on perfectly and expertly,  and the rubber fully protects the frame, there still may be some effect on the paint over the years.  Paint fades with the sun's rays, and areas that are protected from the sun may be a noticeably different hue from the surrounding color years later if the clamps are ever taken off.  

Will 7.87 miles said:

Also, you can use a small piece of old inner tube around your stays to help protect against damaging the paint with the p-clamps.

Permalink Reply by David P. on February 10, 2013 at 6:18am

If your tires are no more than 25mm or so wide, these are also an option: http://www.crudproducts.com/products/roadracer

Permalink Reply by JMinHP on February 10, 2013 at 6:37am

I took a look at the Crud fenders.  I was concerned about their stiffness and the longevity of the rubber bands that attach to the stays.  So, I ended up purchasing the SKS raceblade long fender, which splits at the brake caliper and attaches to the wheel QR.

If the SKS long raceblade fender doesn't work, my next plan is to buy a normal long fender, use p-clamps to attach them, and split the fender around the calipers manually using a reacharound fender bracket (I found one sold by a Portland bike shop online). 

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