andrewclaus

I didn't vote either. It depends. My fenders only go on the bike for tours in wet weather, and I used to use them for commuting in rainy seasons only. I have a love/hate relationship with fenders--love them when it's raining, hate them when it's dry. And I agree fenders are as valuable for keeping one clean as they are for keeping one dry. My clothing, drive train and packs are so much cleaner with fenders. I don't care so much about water, or I wouldn't be cycling in the rain.

I know some cyclists in Phoenix who put fenders on in the summer! They say there's so much over-watering from irrigation systems there. That's sad.

xyzzy834

I always have fenders on my touring bike. Of course you'll still get wet in the rain, but you won't get nearly as dirty from road grime. As soon as it stops raining, I stop getting wet no matter how wet the road is or how many small puddles. The thermoplastic fenders are an insignificant weight addition and of no possible aerodynamic consequence on a bike with four panniers.

Carbonfiberboy 

I didn't vote because it depends. IME there are two concerns, neither of which is assembly/disassembly.

1) Weather. No sense in running them if rain is a slim possibility. They are a PITA when fixing flats and other things.
2) Hotels. The easiest way to move a bike in an elevator is to stand it on end, meaning front fender only. And if you're touring, you have all this stuff on the back anyway and very probably will not have another rider on your wheel. So only the front makes a big difference anyway.

busted knuckles

fenders for me. ever ride over mushy road kill?

djyak

On my touring bike, I leave them on. A good turns to a great ride when they are in place with wet weather, and yes, even road kill. I have some removable ones for my mountain bike, but half the fun of riding purposely in the mud is to get muddy with it.

staehpj1

Since you mentioned the mountain bike... I have been impressed by how little mud gets on me when mountain biking. Other than a streak up my back I found that I come home cleaner from mountain biking than from trail running. That got me to thinking that with the rack on the bike I wouldn't even have that streak. As a result of those two revelations, I wound up leaving the fenders off of my bikes that I used on the last few tours.

krobinson103

On a rainy day I prefer not to eat spray from the front wheel. It makes ridig with glasses a PITA. That being said on a nice day I'll ride one of my fenderless bikes by preference.

djyak

Yup, the streak. Just to prove I was out having fun

rifraf

Its a big question for me at the mo.
My current bike, my Moulton APB, has worn fenders for the entire 17 years I've owned it.
The dropouts are vertical so its no extra bother to remove the rear wheel.
I'm looking at a Surly Ogre and am dreading whats involved in puncture repair.
As the dropouts are horizontal, it looks like remove the fender first and then try to remove the rear wheel.
I think its whats holding me back from buying my frame to be honest.
Shame as its the only "budget" off road touring frame thats disk brake and Rohloff friendly that I've found in 29er format so far.

djb

rifraf, see my earlier post about these flexible fenders, I have had two tie wrapped onto this bike for years and years and years, theyve never come off, and being flexible, are great for transport.
Dont break, go back to their sshape, and keep crap off me and with the second one attached to the vertical part of the frame, stop crap going all over the rd.

they are ugly but work.

MMACH 5

I voted to leave them on.
If it ends up raining on me, I'd rather only have to fight with it from above than also spraying me from the tires.

jbphilly

For on-road touring or mild dirt roads, definitely, even though putting them on is annoying.

For mountain biking/bikepacking, I use the same bike and don't want fenders. They get in the way and get knocked out of whack all the time.

seeker333

In addition to wet weather protection, fenders also keep crap off your drivetrain when it is dry. Everything the front tire slings up is aimed straight into your crankset/chain, and transferred to cassette and derailleurs. Fenders weigh little and are a nuisance to install, but they can pay for themselves many times over in extended drivetrain component life.

If you're going to bother with fenders, then you need to also clean and lube your chain frequently for best shifting and component longevity. I've used homemade chain cleaner/lube for years, it works great and is much cheaper than commercial alternatives. Just mix motor automotive engine oil and paint thinner at a 1:5-7 ratio (it's not an exact science). Best to store/mix in an old commercial lube bottle that allows drop-wise application to chain, so you don't make a mess. Apologies for thread derail.

acantor

I scoffed at the idea of fenders for many years. Then I installed cheap fenders, and discovered they were almost useless. About seven years ago, I installed decent fenders on a new bike, and have never looked back. They make riding in bad weather much easier... no wet stripes on my back!

I wouldn't be overly concerned with the weight on a touring bike. 200 or 300 grams does not make a significant difference in performance. If you insist on saving the weight, eat 80 or 100 calories less every day, and exercise 10 or 15 extra minutes a day!

DropBarFan

Alaska I've heard is rainy in summer & Atlantic coast can be rainy in May also so I'd go with some plastic fenders. With LHT removal/installation shouldn't be too hard with dedicated stay eyelets & not having to mess with brake bolts, eh?

Lasse

Indeed easy to install/remove fenders on the LHT. For some fender models you might have to cut the stays to size the first time you install them (which is also easy anyway). A front SKS fender is fixed by 3 easily removable bolts, the tire can just stay in. The rear is fixed by 4 bolts, but the tire has to be removed to reach the chainstay bridge bolt (at least on my installation).

cplager

You want to take them off for the weight? Just don't eat that cupcake in front of you and leave the fenders on.

Or, just make sure you never ride when it is raining or recently rained.

neil

If there's a non-zero chance of rain, keep them on. There's nothing like riding several hours in the rain to make you appreciate some good fenders.

I've found that the front fender needs to be detached for shipping, but at least my bike has no problem being packed with the rear fender intact.

boomhauer

Dirt is the main reason for fenders. If you ever go down a gravel road or cinder bike path you will be lubing the chain very often. Since I finally put on fenders I only oil the drive system 25% as often. Don't know why I waited so long.

mdilthey

I don't use fenders for the weight, and because I hate fixing/adjusting them on tour. Then again, I just spent an hour and a half today cleaning road sand out of everything, due to it being winter in the Northeast.

Road Salt is wreaking havoc on my bike, but you know what they say about Zen and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance... I feel at peace.

stevage

Never used em. Don't like the clanking sound other peoples' always seem to make. Can't really see the point of them, to be honest - about the only benefit would be not getting a muddy streak up my back. I usually have enough stuff on the front of the bike that spray doesn't reach my face.

unterhausen

I take them off so I can pack them, does that count? I think I would keep them. I like to ride in the rain, but I like it more when I have fenders on.

djb

just saying, the weight thing is one thing, thats up to you, but in all the years Ive used fenders, they never need fixing or adjusting--maybe once in a blue moon a tug on the metal stays to center a fender if it gets pushed in by something (hardly ever happens and its a 5 second operation).

I too feel at peace after bike maintenance, but a good set of fenders really does keep sandy crap off the fd and less on the chain too, so I can feel at peace faster.

Im pretty much in the middle with this debate, but riding in rain and or on dirt, they certainly keep the drivetrain cleaner.

SuperLJ

Leave them on. Every well-dressed touring bike should have them.

It's true that if it's pouring rain you'll get just as wet even if you have fenders. What about when it's just light rain, drizzle, or right after it rains and the pavement's wet and there's puddles everywhere? You'll stay much dryer with a good set of full coverage fenders. They also keep your feet and drivetrain waaaaay dryer and cleaner. Rainwater is clean - roadspray is not!

I used to cart my bike around in the back seat of my car, and fixed it up so that I could remove the front fender in about 30 seconds with just an allen wrench (and no, it never rattled loose).

Six jours

Properly installed fenders are silent and last essentially forever, barring misadventure. They also weigh pretty much nothing, especially in the context of a touring bike - and wind tunnel testing shows them to slightly reduce aerodynamic drag. Of course, claiming that you should put fenders on your bike to reduce drag is about as silly as saying you should take them off to save weight...