Chris_in_Miami

You're correct, it is a pretty annoying oversight. The L-bracket on last three sets I bought needed to be drilled out.

surreal

greetings, ppl who become frustrated with fenders.

A reminder: just b/c VO-branded goods are sold by alkies in md, does not mean that the goods themselves are coming from a land any less english-language-challenged than md. You will have to struggle, and well you should, for the fenders cost the rider dearly, if not so much in dollars, then surely in time/effort.

The key to any (yes, ANY) fender install is patience. Real metal fenders need a lot of initial install time n patience; plastic ones are easily slapped on, but need more tweaking for the perfect fenderline.

Fenders-- moments to learn, a lifetime to master

-rob

stien

Haha I sold my unused fenders this week-literally. Never went on a bike.

I'm always happy to be on the road and glad to get wet for it.

ilikebikes

They suck, plain and simple, just be happy you didn't pay top dollar for the Honjos. My advise is this, get rid of them quickly! (if you havn't already) I paid $20.00 for a pair of Walds and they fit perfect without mods. Actually thats not 100% true, I used the braces and mounting hardware from the ****ty VO fenders as they look way better than the Wald braces, but thats the only reason. People will feed you the following horse ****: "VO assumes you have some mechanical aptitude since you've elected to install them yourself" BS! even people with mechanical aptitude have a hard time mounting them the first, second, and/or third times. or: "All bike frames are not the same so you will have to mod them and play with them even after a few rides to get them right." So why do the VO fenders give most people a hard time mounting while the Walds practically mounted themselves? I personally have Walds on more than a few of my bikes and the mounting has always been easy as pie. The Only fenders to ever give me trouble like I had was.....come on take a guess.....yup! VO's crappy ass fenders! Yes! I am a very unsatisfied customer and sold those VO fenders faster than you can say "****ty fender!".

brockd15 

Haha...I love the passion!

ColonelJLloyd 

Wow, ilikebikes.

All I know is that with mine I get lightweight, rigid fenders that perform as good or better than any other fender, don't make a peep and look pretty great.

USAZorro

This is where I ran into a bit of heartache. Crimping these in the correct spot was a nightmare. After it was over, I figured having a solid form for pressing the bracket against the inside of the fender would be a tremendous improvement.

ColonelJLloyd 

I have changed my method since that post. I no longer use that clamp. I only use the L bracket that is included in the hardware kit as well as sold separately. I've also taken to tailoring the rubber washer that sits atop the fender under the fork crown. One can also purposefully dent the fender in such a way as to better accommodate the fork crown. It just depends on how precise you want to do it.

BluesDaddy

I just put a set of their fluted aluminum 48mm fenders on my 83 Shogun 1500. It took twice as long as I would have guessed (my first time ever doing fenders). Here's what I learned:
1) You should be willing to improvise. I had to crimp the edges to fit the front fender into the crown, drill out the hole in the crown L-bracket, and go to the hardware store for a longer stainless bolt and spring for the chainstay mount. The spring allows the fender to move out of the way when removing the rear wheel.
2) DO NOT work on polished metal fenders over a concrete floor. I dropped one and scratched it, said "Yipes, I'll be sure not to do that again!" and then proceeded to do it about three more times.

Having said that, $28 plus shipping is a great deal on aluminum fenders and I would recommend it to anyone who needs fenders.

I'll have some photos in the near future when I'm done with the bike. Watch for it.

ColonelJLloyd 

The fender kits I've installed recently have the proper small bolt and nut to fit the L bracket. If you contact VO, I'm confident they will send you the proper bolt and nut. Otherwise you can find a solution at any decent hardware store. I keep plastic bins of random nuts and bolts. I've never regretted buying more small hardware than I came for when I visit my local hardware store.

Don't worry about it. It's gonna happen. The fenders aren't anodized and lots of scratches polish out very easily. My La Paons were pretty scratched up and after polishing they look even better.

mkeller234

Nice timing on this thread, I need to install those discounted VO fenders that I got. The pictures really help, VO ought to include a few photos if that is a simple task for them.

mickey85

Took me 20 minutes to put them on and after 100 miles or so in the snow, slush and mud, I haven't had a rattle. The only thing I could have done better is to get a longer wine cork for the seat stay (as it was a vertical mounting hole) to space it correctly.

Never had a problem...but then again, I've got four other bikes to which I've mounted plastic fenders. Practice makes perfect?

cudak888 

Your wording seems to suggest the Honjos are just as difficult to mount.

So be it - when you buy a set of fenders that are designed to be custom fitted to whichever bike you choose, you'll have to expect some - if not a lot of - extra work to adapt them.

-Kurt

Amesja

The fender goes around the OUTSIDE of the tire. If you put it in the inside it will interfere with the spokes.

Use the nuts and bolts and some stuff from your local hardware store to make it fit to your bike. Every bike is a little bit different.

irwin7638

I've installed 3 pairs with a lot less hassle than installing SKS chromoplastics. I thought the instructions were fairly easy to follow.

Marc

southpawboston

The thing about Honjo and VO aluminum fenders, is that they are essentially copies of old French style fenders, which I doubt came as "installation-friendly", complete with all necessary parts for a universal fit. I'm going to guess that the bike builders had to fabricate their own mounting brackets and choose all the appropriate hardware bits to fit the fenders to the bikes. Besides, fender trickiness isn't limited to Honjos or VO; I've had trouble installing Planet Bike plastic fenders on some bikes, as well. Fenders are just one of those things that are semi-universal in the sense that they are designed to fit a particular size rim, but every bike has different dimensions, clearances, mounting holes, etc...

If you are installing aluminum fenders for the first time, or even if you're experienced with them but would like some "pro" tips, check out JP Weigle's article in this winter's Bicycle Quarterly. I learned some great tips which I'm going to apply to my next fender installation. I wish I knew some of these tricks for my previous fender jobs!

Ex Pres 

I've installed mine, and of course they don't look exactly like those posted. My leather washers didn't fit in the places shown in some of the pics. Hole is too small. Since they need some adjusting anyway I'll probably reassemble them and enlarge the hole.

My main issue is the curvature around the rear wheel. It's just not right yet. And I've had to go to 700c from my original 27" as the hardware inside the fender rubbed the 1 1/4" tires I had planned to use.

The cork for the chainstay bridge is a great idea, but I will need a longer bolt to do that. But changing that will probably necessitate changing the brake bridge mount - and probably drilling another hole in the fender. This I don't like.

ctmullins 

48mm VO fluted aluminum fenders, on sale, installed with minimal difficulty; VO supplies more hardware than is actually needed; even so, I had to rob my own stash to attach behind the BB; only modifications needed were trimming down by the BB, dimpling under the daruma, and squeezing slightly at the rear brake bridge; very happy with the quality; I don't see what you're all whining about, really.

canyoneagle

After installing fenders from Planet Bike (3 sets), SKS, Civia, Axiom, VO and Honjo, I can say that the VO's and Honjo's were not particularly difficult when compared to the others.
I think each type of fender comes with its own special challenges. In the case of the metal fenders, I have found that the dual stay bolts (versus single stay bolts) that connect the stays to the fender can be a bit fiddly with the curve of the stay.
Other than that small issue, the occasional need to re-drill a hole location or cut / bend hardware is just par for the course and should not be insurmountable.

Patience is a definite plus.

As for the instructions, I found mine to be informative, but I had installed several other types of fenders prior to that and had figured most of it our without any instructions.
I think pics help ALOT as far as knowing where to use which hardware, especially the hardware that is unique to these metal fenders.

khatfull

Any chance you can post a pic or two of just those two things? Your install sounds much like mine is going to be. I will install mine in my carpeted office/workshop

Same here, I'll be tackling mine next week most likely



Any excuse to go to the hardware store is a good one...

ilikebikes

what can I say dude, I don't like the fenders.

ilikebikes

I've mounted many many fenders myself and I can truly say that the VOs were the worst, maybe it was just bad luck day for me or something. In the end I did get them mounted and they made no noise but I couldn't stand the fact that they were significantly altered and in the end that fact picked at my brain so I trade them away.

ilikebikes

Well my friend when they post that fact clearly on the VO site I'll be sure to understand why they are such a pian in the ass to mount. ;0)

ilikebikes

Ya see, now this is what I'm talkin' about. Why is it that VO fenders have to be altered and made to fit a bike 'cause "every bike is a little different" but Walds fit all five "different" bikes I use them on perfectly with no alterations? not to mention all the Planet Bike fenders I've used on like 15 different bikes in the past?

Amesja

You and I see the world much differently. Nothing about working on bikes is at all difficult. They are some of the simplest and least complex of any modern machine, and can be worked on with very few tools comparitively. It's nothing like trying to rebuild a large diesel engine, or building a high-voltage switchgear where if something is off by 1000th of an inch it will result in a catastrophic failure which may result in injury and/or death in addition to the destruction of property. It's just a bike. A little tweak here, a twist there, an extra washer here and a longer bolt there. This is not brain surgery -far from it (nor rocket science.)

As far as Wald goes, for the most part I find it, to be somewhat inferior clap that is not nearly as well made, is overly heavy and utilizing cheap heavy steel (or alloy sometimes) construction to over-size/over-build thicknesses due to the poor metals used. It's sub-bikeshop quality and up until walmart and the proliferation of "Bell" and "Schwinn" branded bike products as aftermarket replacement/accessories used to be the brand that was normally stocked by department stores as their replacements and accessories. Bottom of the line Cheap Junk. But it seems the Bell(tm) wallmart junk has drawn a new low. Wald is just one step up from that IMHO.

If you like the Wald 10lb fender then that is great. But I'm not impressed myself by the quality of materials or manufacture even if it happened to fit first time on the bikes you happened to have. All bikes are different due to the fact that they have different designs, frame sizes, wheel sizes, and mounting bosses. One size fits all only when you know how to make hardware suit your needs and bend to your will.

Have hacksaw, will travel.

Your mileage may vary.