Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on July 14, 2011 at 9:20am

Ti fenders would be sweet.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on July 14, 2011 at 11:12am

I really appreciate some of the really nice fenders put in but fenders get beat up so quickly I kind of feel sorry for people who put a lot of money and work into them and then use them on a daily rider. Those hammered aluminum ones look great when new but end up getting beat up fairly fast.

 

I really like the wood ones.  They look marvelously lovely.  I'd vote for wood if you wanted something really nice looking.  I wonder how they last?  Most of the ones I've seen look pretty good so I would guess they hold up well. 

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on July 14, 2011 at 11:26am

I see original fenders on old Schwinns that are probably 30 years old and still work fine; i don't see why you think they get beat up quickly. Modern metal fenders made by Honjo and Berthoud are totally worth the money and can be easily repaired with simple hand tools. They'll easily last 5 years of daily use.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on July 14, 2011 at 11:50am

The old Schwinn fenders (as well as on the old Elnglish 3-speeds) are heavy.  That's why they don't get too beat up although they go get dented up and the trailing edges (especially at the toe-overlap area behind the front fender) get pretty beat over the years. 

 

Aluminum fenders don't do as well.  The Honjo's get scratched and the pretty "hammer" pattern starts to look a bit ragged quickly.  Even the chomoplastic ones by SKS get scratched up rather quickly.  

 

Any fender is going to get the brunt of bicycle abuse I've found -especially the front fender where they often get kicked with even the slightest bit of toe overlap.  Fenders are functional and they can be pretty -but in my experience it's hard for them to be both for very long on a bike that gets ridden much .

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on July 14, 2011 at 1:17pm

I guess you'll just have to pick the lesser to two harms - scratched fenders or soggy shoes. nothing is perfect

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on July 14, 2011 at 1:39pm

All my bikes have full fenders except for one which is just a toy I'm playing around with at the moment.  

 

No good riding in the rain without fenders.  I'll probably be bumming the first time I get caught out in a downpour with the fenderless bike and wish I had put fenders on it as well.

 

For the most part I don't mind heavy or scratched finders on my own bikes but the bike I just built will probably end up being sold when I get bored with it so I'm no going to bother with fenders on it. 

 

 

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Permalink Reply by knowbody on July 14, 2011 at 2:30pm

wood would be the easiest to vacuum laminate also have a bit of fibreglass, carbon, and kevlar around though lacking any fresh epoxy. depending on what yer lookin' fer, i may be able to help you. aside from being so lazy, i'm kind of a busy guy... what are you looking for and how much time would there be to make it? heck, depending on your location, if you wanted to isaac it shouldn't be too difficult to guide you through the process. 

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Permalink Reply by wig [ isaac ] on July 20, 2011 at 7:23am

Thanks for all the input.. Im still up in the air on what to do. I just built my self a rock soild commuter with a surly cross check as the base and mixture of DH parts and vintage MTB parts. Fenders! now velo orange and honjo are looking like the winners . [ knowbody] thanks for the offer but I have a cabinet shop at my disposal 24/7 it just finding time to go do the work thats a pain in brooks...

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Permalink Reply by knowbody on July 20, 2011 at 7:48am

totally understand... sure wish i had the time to spend in my shop to finish half the things i've already started.

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Permalink Reply by vxla on July 20, 2011 at 10:16am

Honjos are great, I have them on this bike now:

 

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