To Fender or not to Fender. That is the Question
 

I debated where to put this thread but since I am interested in aesthetic as well as practical matters, the C&V forum seems the more appropriate.

I built up a 1986 Stumpjumper frame last spring. It turned out pretty well and suits my needs. I'm thinking of adding fenders. I don't ride in the rain unless I am caught out in a pop-up shower. But, when riding, especially on dirt paths, tire treads tend to throw up quite a bit of debris on me and the bike. That's the practical side. Also, I just like the looks of a lot of bicycles with well mounted fenders.

My recent experience with mounting fenders are; plastic ESGE fenders on a Panasonic Tourer and, plastic Planet Bike fenders on a 54 cm Surly LHT with 26" wheels. I had to jury rig some spacers to accomodate big gaps with the Surly and had to use a Velo-Orange "Spring-Thing" to facilitate rear wheel removal on the Panasonic that has horizontal rear drops. Nothing really difficult, however.

The Stumpjumper may turn out to be a head scratcher. The gaps between the tires and the fender connections on the frame/fork are HUGE. Also the frame geometry is very relaxed. I've never installed metal fenders.

The tires on the bike are 26" X 44mm (actually ~40mm wide). I haven't found any 26" Aluminum fenders so am pretty much resigned to making do with the 650b size. The gap between the fork and the tire is 25mm, between the chainstay bridge and tire is 45mm, between the seatstay bridge and tire is 40mm. Each of the bridges has a single drilled, threaded hole. The rear drops are horizontal.

I'm hoping that a few of you may have some suggestions about how to do a solid installation and wind up with acceptable fender lines. Thanks in advance.

26" do certainly exist, and look classy so long as you don't mind stainless:

VO Stainless Steel 60mm Fenders 26" ATB - Fenders - Accessories

You won't like this but you might be better off looking for chromed cruiser fenders.

This might help.

Spring Thing

I have Planet Bike clip on ATB fenders on my 1985 Sekai Bigfoot. I like them because they're easy on/easy off. They're not as lovely as some permanent fenders though. I live in NW Oregon, where it rains a lot and they work.

Well, guess I don't have photos this second, but I'll post later. They're not that bad.

I have an '84 Stumpy with fenders (PB Cascadia) and have the same issue, the fork crown sits far above the tire and the brake/chainstay bridges likewise have more-than-generous clearance. On my own bike I've intentionally left the gaps large because it's my winter bike and I want to make sure that I don't trap snow or slush up against the tire, but if I was going to tighten up the fender lines I would do it by using long bolts and extra washers on the back (see photo from Surly #1 below), and I would rig up an extension that would work along the same lines as the "Fender Flute" sold by Problem Solvers (picture #2 )

1.
http://surlybikes.com//uploads/blog/ELEVEN.JPG

2.
http://problemsolversbike.com/files/..._mount_029.jpg

my LBS owner is recommending SKS fenders: LONGBOARD - mudguards - us - SKS Germany

Rivendell sells them too (for what it's worth, which is a lot to me!) , so i'm going to get some ordered up for an '87ish RockHopper I use for everything that is not a speedy road ride.

i got caught in the rain twice this week, so I'm adding fenders. and like the initial post set, dirt and junk in general gets thrown up on the bike.
i liked the idea of the quick release fenders, but they seemed pretty flappy to me - so i'm going with the more secure / more cleaning hassle.

i don't know if it will look good - but it's a 25 year old bike - so I don't think I'll care that much.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-o...ay14%2B112.JPG

My 88 Stumpy has fenders, it was the best decision ever. I ride in the rain all the time and actually enjoy it. its my ride hard, put away wet bike.

http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7hanytri.jpg

Every bike...except bikes for the velodrome and Hi-wheelers should be fendered.

I up your harder & wetter with two sets of panniers;)

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=409929

Personally I'd be a bit nervous about using knobby tires with rigid metal fenders, but that's just me.

That being said, I use 650b Berthoud stainless fenders on my 26" wheeled commuter bike and they fit the contour of the wheels just fine with 26x1.5 Paselas.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps611cbb99.jpg

The chainstay bridge is very narrow and farther from the tire than is ideal, so here I used an aluminum spacer with two leather washers:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps73eefe6e.jpg

At the seatstay junction I used a rubber bumper. Probably could have done it the same way as the chainstay junction or vice-versa, but I didn't have another aluminum spacer of the same dimensions or another rubber bumper like this one:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps1bc286be.jpg

At the fork crown the gap was enormous because I foolishly chose a Surly 1x1 fork, when I should have used an LHT fork. So I made this spacer from a short piece of 1/2" PVC pipe. The draw bolt is extended with a double-ended nut secured with Locktite, and the fender is attached from the other side with a regular bolt. Very difficult to line up the pieces but it does provide a little extra clearance for the tire. In this photo you can also see that I mounted the little bolts for the fender stays backward and capped them with tiny stainless steel acorn nuts. This also adds a wee bit of tire clearance but I mainly just liked the way it looked. However, mounting all the bolts this way means the inside of the fender is very smooth compared to having bolts and nuts protruding. There's not much in there for debris to hang up on.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps1284457a.jpg

Thank you very much for the input. I've been told that the difference between 650B and 26" fenders is pretty small. Think I'll take a chance and go that route. Using Aluminum instead of steel may allow me to do a minimum amount of shaping. @lasauge - Thanks for the closeups. Looks like you made a pretty solid assembly. @Lamplight - Great looking fender line. Placing a fender stay near the front of the fender gives you a stable fender, I'll bet. Seems like you really thought your installation through. The tires I'm using are not knobbies but Panaracer T-Serv slicks. @Vonruden - Your picture composition is always well thought out.

I'll post pictures of my Stumpy after fender installation.
[IMG]http://i1317.photobucket.com/albums/...pse7b6ba96.jpg[/IMG]

Nice looking bike! For some reason I got the impression you were running knobbies; not sure why I thought that. Berthoud fenders have served me well on various commuter bikes over the years, but they are definitely more trouble to reshape than aluminum. I prefer Honjos on my "fun" bike, but the main reason I keep using steel ones on my commuters is because they're very sturdy and not terribly expensive. I also think their fender stays (where they attach to the fender) is a more logical way to do it, but I think Honjo's (and VO's) looks much better.

Very nice looking bike! I was debating putting Albaostache bars on my RockHopper - I'm convinced to do it now.
I'm thinking those, a shiny dirt drop stem, bar end shifters.
AND FENDERS, of course!

Good topic.

The fender installation turned out better than it might have. Someone recommended the Velo-Orange 650b Aluminum fenders. I chose the Zeppelin 52mm fenders (the ridges add strength) which turned out to be a bit on the narrow side. The 52mm is the fender outer diameter. I'm using 26" X 44mm (actually ~ 41mm) Panaracer T-Servs (2nd set, give these a look if you want fairly light, smooth slicks). I was able to manipulate the outer edges of the fenders outwards to give me maybe a millimeter more on each edge but still a little tight. The main thing that disappointed me with the installation was not being able to use the eyebolt fastener in the steering tube. I ordered some special spacers from China to bridge the gap between the bottom of the steering tube and the front fender but it didn't work out. Had to use the inelegant L-brace behind the steering tube.

I also added a Nitto M12 front rack to add rigidity to the front of the fender and for appearance. The seven pictures I have added may be a bit much but might be useful for some of you that have bikes with HUGE frame to fender gaps.

All in all, in my opinion, the '86 Stumpjumper project has turned out good.
[IMG]http://i1317.photobucket.com/albums/...ps23c28482.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i1317.photobucket.com/albums/...psdb8e9a53.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i1317.photobucket.com/albums/...psfcde8fe0.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i1317.photobucket.com/albums/...ps83163fca.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i1317.photobucket.com/albums/...psa1a99106.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i1317.photobucket.com/albums/...psf84c786e.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i1317.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7fb003c3.jpg[/IMG]

I installed a set of Planet Bike fenders (can't remember which variety) on my wife's Rock Hopper. It had 26x1.4" slicks, so I didn't need really fat fenders. The fender lines were downright atrocious, as this was one of the first fender jobs I had ever done.

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2651/...bbfa0586_b.jpg

What you can do for really large gaps is cut down wine bottle cork to the needed size. I did this more recently on a Bike Friday tandem fender install. That bike has really weird dimensions, and the chain stay bridge/kickstand plate was miles away from where it should have been for a decent fender line. A cork solved the problem, and afforded a relatively okay fenderline (you can see the cork if you look closely):

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4104/...df70aa9a_b.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4130/...ef31155c_b.jpg

^ Isn't it amazing how much better you do it after you've done it couple times?

I'm always impressed by how meticulously turned out your bikes are. It's good to see you're capable of doing a quick-n-dirty bodge job too. ;)
@kehomer: The bike turned out great. Very sorry to hear about your physical troubles; it really sucks.

I got my MKS Longboard from my LBS.
I had no intention of going with all black bits hanging on the frame, but for some reason I cannot get away from it. And now the fenders too.
@kehomer - your bike looks excellent. something i can set as a goal, i think.

Specialized RockHopper

I like having fenders on any bike that might see rain, and if this guy didn't worry too much about his fenderlines, I'm not gonna either. ;)

http://galluscycles.files.wordpress....lles-small.jpg

That turned out very nicely! And I don't think that L-bracket under the fork crown detracts from it, really. You did it really cleanly, and that makes all the difference.

My stumpy comp has drops and fenders too, but mine has a u-brake, :)

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=414637

Fend her? I hardly knew her...


I'll be here all night.

That little spring gizmo is brilliant, allows you to push the fender out of the way when changing a tire on a bike with horizontal dropouts!
Brent

awesome job! and I like how low the front fender goes!

Very creative solutions! Great looking bikes too. I fendered my RockHopper for commuting and ran into a couple of issues. I already had the Bike Planet fenders and as it turned out, they were the largest available. That last constraint defined which tires to run. I really wanted super fat tires and ended up with 2.3" that barely fit:
[IMG]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3736/...ca76b0e9_h.jpgP1000030 by superissimo_83, on Flickr[/IMG]

I too ran into the gap problem on the fork. Having spent most of my career in high tech, I had some PC card cage blanks in a bucket.
[IMG]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3759/...33349c08_h.jpgP1000035 by superissimo_83, on Flickr[/IMG]
Though I like the L bracket idea better.
The rear seat stay bridge was a problem because there isn't a hole to mount the fender to. I don't like to modify frames so came up with a zip tie solution:
[IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5549/...8c97769c_h.jpgP1000033 by superissimo_83, on Flickr[/IMG]

The chain stay worked out well.

Since, the first picture I have added a rear rack with complicated or simplified the tie strap arrangement, no pictures of that solution, yet.

But here is what it looks like on a typical commuter day:
[IMG]https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2828/...823a0f88_h.jpgCommuter RockHopper by superissimo_83, on Flickr[/IMG]

The only issue left is the rubbing of the brake calipers on the top of the fender. I just live with it. It took awhile to get the front fender adjusted so they didn't rub on the tire when taking one hand off the handle bars! I use to load the bike in the car as part of the commute which always tweaked the adjustment. The front fender flap is now torn too but BP offers replacement parts.

I like the AL and steel fenders but the plastic in black works well with this bike. It is the only bike with fenders at this point I expect two other to get them at some point when they are near the end of their project life.

I'm afraid I can't take credit for that one. That's the "Spring Thing"​ from Velo-Orange.com.