Fenders for touring

[sackcycle]

I have a Surly LHT needing fenders. I have no racks on it at this time, though I did have Axiom's on it earlier in which they got twisted and now rub, also had to cut the stays so they would fit right,any thoughts on a good brand? Thanks George

[rvklassen]

I have a Surly LHT needing fenders. I have no racks on it at this time, though I did have Axiom's on it earlier in which they got twisted and now rub, also had to cut the stays so they would fit right,any thoughts on a good brand? Thanks George

My limited experience installing four sets of fenders on as many bikes puts SKS ahead of Planet Bike for ease of installation.  But they are fairly similar.  PB have these little mud flaps on them, where SKS need mud flaps added to be comprehensive.  But I'm not sure the PB mud flaps are big enough to do much good.

[Pat Lamb]

I've used the SKS fenders for years on touring bikes.  REI has some very similar: http://www.rei.com/product/684330 (hope this doesn't run afoul of the no commercials rule!).

It really does need a mudflap on the front fender.  I've got one on one bike (cut from a shampoo bottle), but none on the other bike.

Attachment points are pretty reliable, except they (or I) haven't figured out a way to attach the front of the rear fender.  The older fender lasted about 5 years before it broke just above the rivets holding on the funky metal piece.  I drilled a hole in the plastic fender and bolted it back on, and it's held for about that long again.

[FredHiltz]

I've used the SKS fenders for years on touring bikes.  REI has some very similar: http://www.rei.com/product/684330 (hope this doesn't run afoul of the no commercials rule!).

No foul. It is perfectly OK to mention products and vendors that pertain to the topic at hand; indeed it is very useful. We do not permit advertising for its own sake though, except for personal items in Classifieds.

Fred

[popeyespal]

I just went through the same process you are right now.

I have a brand new Surly LHT that I am planning to tour with and am currently equipping. After a lot of reading and talking to my LBS guys I decided to spend a little extra and get the SKS fenders. A couple of reasons were ease of installation and the fact that they are german built, (a layer of metal coated with plastic, very sturdy support rods and classic styling). I have a heavy duty (80 lbs) rear rack that they fit well under.

Not sure about the mudflap issue but if it turns out I need them it sounds like a very simple fix while on tour.

If you want to see what the SKS fenders look like on a Surly just take a quick look at my blog. The link is in the sig below.

Hope this helps.

[DaveB]

This "tip" should apply to all makes of fenders.  One potential hazard with any front fender is the possibility of a rock, stick, etc. getting picked up by the front wheel and jammed between the fender and tire.  This can stop the front wheel almost immediately with obvious results.

As a safety feature, I've replaced the M5x.8 metal bolts that fasten the fender struts to the front dropout eyelets with nylon bolts.  In the event of a jam, these bolts will break and let the fender move out of the way.  They are plenty strong enough for normal service.

I buy #10-24x 1" nylon bolts and nuts at my local hardware store.  I install the nylon bolts, thread on the nuts inside of the front dropouts, cut off the excess length and seal and flare the bolt ends with a butane lighter to keep the nuts from unthreading. 

A #10-24 bolt is almost exactly the same diameter as an M5x.8 but the thread pitch isn't quite right.  Nevertheless, they thread through the dropouts with no damage and the nylon nuts still thread on fine.  A #10-32 bolt would be a lot closer but I've never found them in nylon.  There are nylon metric bolts made but my local stores don't carry them and I didn't want to buy 100 from a specialty supplier.
 

[popeyespal]

Just a few thoughts after reading DaveB's post.

I understand your concern and would never try to dissuade you from doing anything you want to your bike in the name of safety.

That said, there is just over 1/2 inch of clearance between the tire  and the inside of the fender,(and I have the exact same setup the OP is referring to). That would have to be one tricky rock to make it all the way UP the tire rotation and be big enough to jam the wheel. A twig stuck in the tread seems slightly more possible but with the force of rotation I would think that anything small enough to be caught in the treads would snap instead of jam. If you're riding off-road, of course, all bets are off.

As for the solution to the "problem" let's say the nylon bolts work as planned and a rock does happen to be in a spot to cause them to break away. Where does the fender move to? I would be more concerned about a floating fender getting jammed between the fork and wheel and causing untold spoke damage or worse.

Just my two cents here and if I am missing something please feel free to let me know as I would not want to take off on a long trip with an unsafe set-up either.

[staehpj1]

That would have to be one tricky rock to make it all the way UP the tire rotation and be big enough to jam the wheel. A twig stuck in the tread seems slightly more possible but with the force of rotation I would think that anything small enough to be caught in the treads would snap instead of jam.

I will say that I have seen it happen a couple times.  In both cases it wasn't a huge deal though (no crash).

[Pat Lamb]

I have a Surly LHT needing fenders. ... also had to cut the stays so they would fit right

Just noticed this part of your OP.  I did have to trim the stays of my SKS fenders -- a Dremel is a wonderful thing!  I seriously doubt there's a custom fender on the market for your LHT, or any other mass-produced bike.  (Custom bikes may come with custom fenders, and they can be very pricey.)  Any mass-market add on is going to be a generic piece for your bicycle kit that you (or your mechanic) will have to fit.  It's not a big deal with the SKS -- you get the mounting nuts where your want them, then cut the stays.  It'd be a good idea to file the ends round, since those little plastic pieces fall off.  If you cut the stays too long, the square edges will give you nice 1/8" puncture wounds when you least expect it.

(Note I said bicycle kit.  I've decided that's what you buy when you buy a bike.  You turn it into a bike when you put on the right pedals, saddle [B-17], fenders, rack, computer -- did I miss anything?)

[Pat Lamb]

A twig stuck in the tread seems slightly more possible but with the force of rotation I would think that anything small enough to be caught in the treads would snap instead of jam.

I will say that I have seen it happen a couple times.  In both cases it wasn't a huge deal though (no crash).

Interesting way to re-invent the wheel, but it's not necessary.  I've had a couple of branches get caught in the wheel.  No crash, but a rapid deceleration that will certainly get your attention.  If you get the right kind of fenders, you can mount them with the proper steel bolts and the stays pop out when this happens.  Usually happens after a wind storm when stuff gets strewn across the road.

[sackcycle]

I have a Surly LHT needing fenders. ... also had to cut the stays so they would fit right

Thanks for all the input everyone, one more ? are your stays on the rack or first on the frame? hope this sounds right

Just noticed this part of your OP.  I did have to trim the stays of my SKS fenders -- a Dremel is a wonderful thing!  I seriously doubt there's a custom fender on the market for your LHT, or any other mass-produced bikeare .  (Custom bikes may come with custom fenders, and they can be very pricey.)  Any mass-market add on is going to be a generic piece for your bicycle kit that you (or your mechanic) will have to fit.  It's not a big deal with the SKS -- you get the mounting nuts where your want them, then cut the stays.  It'd be a good idea to file the ends round, since those little plastic pieces fall off.  If you cut the stays too long, the square edges will give you nice 1/8" puncture wounds when you least expect it.

(Note I said bicycle kit.  I've decided that's what you buy when you buy a bike.  You turn it into a bike when you put on the right pedals, saddle [B-17], fenders, rack, computer -- did I miss anything?)

[CyclesafeSr]

This "tip" should apply to all makes of fenders.  One potential hazard with any front fender is the possibility of a rock, stick, etc. getting picked up by the front wheel and jammed between the fender and tire.  This can stop the front wheel almost immediately with obvious results.

As a safety feature, I've replaced the M5x.8 metal bolts that fasten the fender struts to the front dropout eyelets with nylon bolts.  In the event of a jam, these bolts will break and let the fender move out of the way.  They are plenty strong enough for normal service.

SKS fenders come with a plastic device that allows the front fender to disengage at the ends of the fork if something gets jammed between the fender and the tire.

On Hwy 1 south of Point Reyes I ran over a branch that popped up and lodged between the back of my front fender and my tire.  Fortunately the fender broke away after bending enough to form a crease in the plastic.

I take this issue seriously.

[popeyespal]

My apologies for doubting the validity of this problem. I have never experienced it personally but apparently it is far more common than I thought.

After looking at my SKS fenders with this in mind I can attest that they do in fact have a break-away system in place already. And here I had always thought that the push in - pull out mount was just for ease of installation...lol

[knolltop]

Anybody have experience with these Planet Bike fenders?

http://www.rei.com/product/736679

[staehpj1]

Anybody have experience with these Planet Bike fenders?

http://www.rei.com/product/736679

A couple of my roadie buddies have and like them, but I can't say more since I have not tried them.