The pros and cons of fenders from my experience.
My most recent experience being two 2500 km trips throughout the Northeast and New England: fall of 2014 and summer of 2015. Plus cycling through two Toronto winters using my Litespeed Blueridge touring bike as my all-weather workhorse.
My fenders are SKS Longboards mounted over 28mm Continental 4 seasons. The longboards were shortboards before long as the rubber flaps and part of the plastic fender itself up to the clamping point shattered and broke off within the first few weeks, mostly from riding up and down curbs. I don't mind that they broke (feels like a design improvement.)
Pros:
- Getting caught in heavy rain is no big deal, for the first 15mins. (beyond that you'll be soaked regardless)
- Spring/summer riding in light rain for long distances is no problem. You'll stay relatively clean, grit free, and dry.
- In winter, when it's cold and roads stay wet, fenders are a must. Nothing takes the pleasure out of a damp fall or winter ride like a constant stream of grit in the eye, and up your back, and thighs, and neck. With fenders though, there is nothing more delightful than being protected from these annoyances and enjoying a brisk fall ride more or less impervious to the elements.
Cons:
- If you're flying with your bike, fenders can make your bike just a bit too large to fit into a standard cardboard bike box.
- fenders are finicky to install, especially at an airport.
- Fenders add some weight.
- Fenders can rub, and rattle, and loosen..., unless they are properly installed and not warped or otherwise mangled.
- Fenders can detract from the feeling of oneness with the road - because they obstruct the tire, and the road, from view.
- Fenders make it harder to keep tabs of the condition of the tire, because you have to make a point of examining the rubber. (I had a bald patch from an incident that I had been riding on unnoticed for days until I finally got a flat from the inner tube pushing through like a hernia.)
