jrickards

Well, the obvious thought is FULL FENDERS! but I don't like the look of full fenders on my current bike and I don't know of any that are easily removed and packed into a pannier only to be reinstalled easily later when necessary. However, when the roads are wet, I don't like the mud stripe up my back nor do I like the mud- and grit-filled spray-back from the front tire.

What I'd like for the rear is either a removable fender (but it must be able to attach, in some way, to my rear rack, not the seat post which is obscured by my trunk bag) or a retractable fender that can be slid out from under the rack.

For the front, I can get a removable shield that attaches to my downtube but that doesn't address the spray off the top of the tire. There also are many small removable fenders that attach below the fork crown or curve at the top of the front suspension but again, although they do provide some protection, they don't entirely eliminate the water off the front tire. I did see a product a couple of weeks ago which was essentially a stainless steel (maybe plastic coated) loop that attached to the front of a front full fender that touched the front tire, thereby "brushing" off water that continued to stick to the tire. I think that this was designed to address the front tire spray-back that I hate but not having a front fender, I can't attach this.

The Race Face Mud Crutch (images below) addresses some of the spray but, in watching the spray off my tire this morning that was lit up by a light mounted on the curved section of the front shocks below the fork crown, I could see that there was water coming out from under the curve that wouldn't have been caught by the Mud Crutch.



However, I thought that if I had a large ziptie, attached to itself into a loop, and allowed to dangle from the top of the curved bridge at the top of the forks and drag on the front tire, it might solve the front tire spray back.

Any ideas? Comments?

CACycling

How about the SKS Raceblades? They make some that have quick-release mounts for easy on/off.

jyl

The large zip tie will just bounce around as it gets knocked by the tire knobs, it won't do anything for spray.

The RaceBlade and Crud type fenders take a few minutes to install and get aligned, and don't fold up when off the bike.

I think there is nothing that will do what you want, short of actual fenders.

It would be interesting if someone made fenders of clear plastic.

jrickards

My tires are smooth so there would be less bouncing but I see your point. I will give it a try anyway (that was my plan) and report back.

Surrealdeal

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. Personally I find the detachable options to be uglier than a nice set of fulls. You're running a rack and panniers anyway so it's not as if you are trying to preserve the 'sporty' look of your bike. Why not just use the proper tool for the job?

Notgrownup

Yeah what ^ said...

ThermionicScott 

The important thing is not to be a witch. That way, you won't melt when you get wet.

wphamilton

I'd be afraid the ziptie would bounce too much to effectively squeegee the water. But it would just take a few minutes to set it up so why not?

I like the telescoping rear fender idea.

rhm

Correct!

Yes: Learn to love the look of full fenders. The best functioning fenders are the ones that look right for the job. And the best looking fenders are the ones that do the job best.

jrickards

Oh dear, I'm pooched now!

noglider 

"Another words," nothing works nearly as well as the right tool for this job.

bhop

I use raceblades. Sure, they don't fold, but I always check the forecast before I ride and if I need to, I can just clip them on and take them off when I get home. It rarely rains in so-cal, so it's not a big deal to me.

CaptCarrot

Some googling threw up these suggestions

• Topeak Air Fender - https://www.topeak.com/products/Fenders/AirFender_a2
  
  You Tube
• The Musguard - https://www.musguard.com
  
  Vimeo
• The Ass Saver - https://ass-savers.com/
  
  You Tube
• Windsor Quickfix - https://www.full-windsor.com/
  
  You Tube
• Chari & Co Kashimax Rain Tail - https://www.chariandconyc.net/blog/kashimax-rain-tail/
  
  You Tube
• Barberi Telescopic fender - https://www.bobshop.de/en/Brands/Barb...Mud-Guard.html
  
• Axiom Quick Release Fenders - including the Rack Runner - https://www.axiomgear.com/products/ge...lease-fenders/
  

MichaelW

Nothing works as well as full-length fenders. It is that or learn to love your wet, dirty skunk stripe.

RubeRad

Get ahold of a flexible plastic kitchen cutting "board" (more like a mat), probably the thinner the better. They're near disposable, perhaps even your wife would appreciate you taking one or two old ones off your hands. Cut two strips of a width that will let them slide between your rack and your trunk bag. When it rains, pull them out forwards and backwards. Let the forwards one bend down your seat tube. Voila, rear fender that should take care of most of your skidmark problem!

Also, thx for pointing out that Race Face Mud Crutch! I like that idea, I might get one. [Edit: Nuts, looks like it only works with a brake booster, which I don't have. Maybe I could get one though, would also help with the brake shudder from my cantis, instead of getting a fork-mount cable hanger)

jrickards

Wow, your Google works much better than mine!

Excellent list of choices. I especially like the Rain Tail and the Windsor fenders (but I hate the Windsor web site).

jrickards

Excellent idea: we don't have one of these at home but I know where I can probably get one.

Andy_K 

The Rain Tail looks cool, but I suspect you'd end of with two stripes and a semi-bare patch down the middle between them.

wphamilton

This is a great idea, but have you tried it out? I was fooling with something like this a couple of weeks ago, and I'd still get splatter on my back unless I had it curved to the back of the tire. In other words about 18 inches long or more depending on where you mount it. A straight out blade like the Musguard below (not curving to the tire) wouldn't have to be as long because of the angle but I think you'd need it wider.

alan s 

Were talking commuter bikes here. What's wrong with fenders on a commuter bike?

rumrunn6

downside of fenders in when there is sticky snow that builds up and you have to scrape them out

RubeRad

I have not tried out this specific idea yet, but I got the idea recently when we had a freak rainy day in San Diego in JULY! At that time I used cardboard, and I also rode slower to minimize spray, and quickly decided I should try with cutting mats instead. You could probably rig some clever way to increase length, like staple a popsicle stick (or wider tongue depressor) to the end so that it's sticking out a couple inches, and tape another strip of mat to the end of the first one. You can fold it up so the popsicle stick is sticking out, or you can fold it straight out and the stick will be a support strut.

I was also trying to think what to do for the front, maybe have one or two strips of flexible cutting mat wrapped on the top of the downtube, and slid between the DT and the cables. That would work better if cables were routed along the top of the dt! Or possibly put the mat on the bottom of the DT, fix it in place with magnets. You could slip it behind the cables, I think it would hold in place OK but it would be bent the 'wrong' way. Probably better than nothing though. Or you could keep it all below the cables, let the cables bend it the 'right' way, but then you'd probably have to have really strong magnets, or poke some holes and keep it on the DT with zipties or something.

I'm actually surprised though, that the fender industry has not come out with more temporary fender solutions that make use of a rack; seems everything is seatpost based. I mean, how about a fender that mounts under the rack and telescopes out? Two rack-lengths to the rear and one to the front should be plenty of coverage!

RubeRad

(a) OP acknowledged traditional full fenders are the obvious full solution, but he wants to explore other areas. If you don't want to, you don't have to!

(b) I don't know about others' rationales, but I live in San Diego, I only have to deal with maybe 5-10 rainy commute days per year, so I don't need fenders, and I'm a cheapskate so I want to avoid buying them. If somebody gave me a set of full fenders for free, maybe I'd wear them in Jan/Feb, but I'd leave them off the rest of the time.

alan s 

Even with full fenders, you'll still get wet and dirty. The less coverage you have, the wetter and dirtier you'll get. Removeable fenders are not going to provide maximum coverage. Discuss away, but there is really no way around this.

wphamilton

I'm going to try it out with the cutting board this weekend, and make something like the Windsor Quickfix from CaptCarrot's post. I'm not real happy with the full fender I made out of a plastic conduit strip.

For the front I don't hold out much hope for a shield on the downtube. The problem I've had with it is that your feet swing out further in front than the downtube so you can't get a shield in front of them - as I turn the wheel slightly left and right while riding my feet still get sprayed no matter what I put there. It just protects the drive train.

I agree. The rack almost by itself works as a fender, so just extending something forward and back should be really convenient. Maybe it's because racks can be in so many different positions that it's too difficult to make something that would work in general.