SKS Fender Install
10-13-19, 12:50 AM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
SKS Fender Install
Just completed installing the SKS Fenders on my 2017 Specialized Sirrus. It took longer to figure out how to install them than it actually took to install them. The streets and trails getting pretty sloppy out here in the PNW this time of year. Hopefully the fenders will help keep the laundry pile down a bit. Anyway, I kinda like the look of the matte black. 
10-13-19, 03:23 AM
#2
Mother Nature's Son
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Sussex County, Delaware
Posts: 3,113
Bikes: 2014 Orbea Avant MD30, 2004 Airborne Zeppelin TI, 2003 Lemond Poprad, 2001 Lemond Tourmalet, 2014? Soma Smoothie
Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 853 Post(s)
Liked 1,433 Times
in
815 Posts
Which SKS fenders are they?
10-13-19, 10:50 AM
#5
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Yep. Bluemels B45. I bought this bike used for $150. I replaced the cassette, chain and tires. It was full of rust and crud. I’m replacing oxidized parts as I go. Have a new rear derailleur on the way. Previous owner didn’t ride it much. He left it on a bike rack on the back of his car as he drove around Montana during the winter and salted roads. I love the bike. It’s smooth and fast.
Last edited by Hackman61; 10-13-19 at 01:37 PM.
10-13-19, 11:50 AM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 12,902
Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder
Mentioned: 129 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4802 Post(s)
Liked 3,923 Times
in
2,552 Posts
SKS makes good fenders. Good design. Stiff enough. They hold up well. Decent front flaps, not the toy flaps of one of its competitors (though I would still replace it with my usual even deeper front flap).
There is one thing SKS won't do (and I am sure they are getting tired of me asking, both directly and through bike shops). That is, make a good quality, narrow road fender in a color that is really bright for those of us who ride during the short winter days of the PNW, days where the surrounding colors are mostly gray and brown and overall light is low. Fenders that are black, reflecting or silver are close to invisible to cars behind. (I used to drive a silver-grey car. I killed a few batteries leaving my lights on in daytime because I was fully aware that car at nearly 6 feet wide and 4 feet high was invisible in Seattle's winter daylight.)
So, SKS, if you are reading this thread, again, please, consider making your sweet road fenders in bright yellow! (Preferably edging toward the red/"wheatstraw" side, not green so it will go well with my red bicycles. I had my bikes painted that color knowing one of your competitors made a run on narrow yellow fenders but have yet to see a pair for sale. I've had my eyes out the past decade.) The hidden benefit to you, SKS - you WILL save lives. "Hidden" because you will never know, nor will the rider who didn't get hit.
I spray painted my black SKS fenders for my best bike, but I am not a skilled painter, didn't do a good job and my work is not a selling point for SKS. And after the bumps and scraps of the past 4 years, they look even worse. But they are yellow. I might live longer. (I am not willing to pay someone more than the fenders cost for a "pro" job that will fare nearly as badly with the usual scrapes fenders go through. For a start, this is a serious road bike. My winter shoes don't clear the fender. Yellow plastic? The scrapes are still yellow. World's best paint job? Those crapes are black.
So, SKS, please ... Yes, I have heard that your metal technology of the fine silver fenders you make doesn't translate to yellow. But there is a way to make a quality solid yellow fender. Please - find it and make them! (You might look at Ortleib for $$ incentive. They used to not make yellow panniers. A bike shop in Seattle requested that Ortleib make a run of yellow panniers from their yellow rafting fabric. At the same time but without knowing that was happening n Seattle, I started asking at Portland bike shops about yellow panniers for commuting. I got word of the Ortleibs in Seattle and asked the shop that tipped me to see if they could get a pair. They did and they bought a few more. That was 1999. Now you see yellow panniers all around Portland.
Ben (SKS. you have heard from me through River City Bicycles as well as though your website.)
There is one thing SKS won't do (and I am sure they are getting tired of me asking, both directly and through bike shops). That is, make a good quality, narrow road fender in a color that is really bright for those of us who ride during the short winter days of the PNW, days where the surrounding colors are mostly gray and brown and overall light is low. Fenders that are black, reflecting or silver are close to invisible to cars behind. (I used to drive a silver-grey car. I killed a few batteries leaving my lights on in daytime because I was fully aware that car at nearly 6 feet wide and 4 feet high was invisible in Seattle's winter daylight.)
So, SKS, if you are reading this thread, again, please, consider making your sweet road fenders in bright yellow! (Preferably edging toward the red/"wheatstraw" side, not green so it will go well with my red bicycles. I had my bikes painted that color knowing one of your competitors made a run on narrow yellow fenders but have yet to see a pair for sale. I've had my eyes out the past decade.) The hidden benefit to you, SKS - you WILL save lives. "Hidden" because you will never know, nor will the rider who didn't get hit.
I spray painted my black SKS fenders for my best bike, but I am not a skilled painter, didn't do a good job and my work is not a selling point for SKS. And after the bumps and scraps of the past 4 years, they look even worse. But they are yellow. I might live longer. (I am not willing to pay someone more than the fenders cost for a "pro" job that will fare nearly as badly with the usual scrapes fenders go through. For a start, this is a serious road bike. My winter shoes don't clear the fender. Yellow plastic? The scrapes are still yellow. World's best paint job? Those crapes are black.
So, SKS, please ... Yes, I have heard that your metal technology of the fine silver fenders you make doesn't translate to yellow. But there is a way to make a quality solid yellow fender. Please - find it and make them! (You might look at Ortleib for $$ incentive. They used to not make yellow panniers. A bike shop in Seattle requested that Ortleib make a run of yellow panniers from their yellow rafting fabric. At the same time but without knowing that was happening n Seattle, I started asking at Portland bike shops about yellow panniers for commuting. I got word of the Ortleibs in Seattle and asked the shop that tipped me to see if they could get a pair. They did and they bought a few more. That was 1999. Now you see yellow panniers all around Portland.
Ben (SKS. you have heard from me through River City Bicycles as well as though your website.)
