atetrachordof3

Does any one know how much weight a black burn rack and a set of planet bikes fenders add to a bike? i realize racks and fenders vary greatly, but except from the top notch stuff I am having a hard time finding info about the weight of these things.

Thanks!

10 Wheels

Fenders are light weight plastic.
Racks are aluminum, and vary in size.
I wouldn't be concerned about either one.

You want fenders that cover your tires.
What size are your tires?

You want racks that fit to your bike.
What bike do you have?
What panniers do you have or plan to get.

AdamDZ

If you're going to use panniers loaded with stuff the weight of the rack and fenders will be negligible, a pound maybe.

Adam

rumrunn6

you won't even notice them in your riding. you'll only enjoy the benefit of having them! of course if you load your rack with 20 lbs of stuff, then THAT you will notice.

my rear rack trunk has a minimum of 5 lbs of stuff I carry on every ride. but honestly, at 225 lbs myself, the extra 5 is nothing

EKW in DC

Not enough weight to worry about if you're not in a race. My incredibly unscientific guess re: my Topeak Explorer rack and PB Cascasdia fenders - 2 lbs. tops and even that's a stratch. Their utility are worth every single ounce!!!

mickey85

I've got plastic fenders and have gone between no rack, a basket rack, and a standard rear rack. Right now, the bike is 33 lbs with plastic fenders and a rear rack. Stripped, it's probably 30 lbs or so...

colleen c

I believe Blackburn rack are about 600-700 gram, give or take 50 or so gram.

Honestly, they are light enough that I put it on my 23lb bike, but heavy enough to outweigh the inconvenience of not having one. (no pun intended).

CliftonGK1

The heaviest racks I've seen are the Surly Nice Racks, which tip the scales at almost 3 pounds each including all the hardware.

|3iker

A typical Axiom Journey Alu rack is 700g. Fenders are plastic. Less than 1lb combined.
As other said, it is negligible compared to the overall weight of yourself, gear & bike. A U-lock will is already heavier than a rack and fenders.
You're riding to work/school not climbing Alpe d'Huez @ TDF.

AEO

I'd say they add around 1kg at most.

but the catch is that the fenders and panniers are not very aerodynamic, which is more important in the grand scheme of things.

TheLifeOfBryan

I didn't feel the addition of fenders nearly as much as I'd feared, but there is still some penalty there. As for panniers, they can be a real drag. I use a trunk with fold-down panniers, so if they're not in use there's essentially zero aerodynamic penalty, as the trunk is entirely behind the considerable wind-catcher that is my upper body.

kylecrispin

After adding fenders to my bike I really felt a decrease in speed. I am almost always riding in pretty windy conditions though so maybe it has to do with the aerodynamics and not the weight so much?

AEO

only problem with trunks is if you load it up too much, the bike becomes top heavy and the handling is affected.

barturtle

A rack and fenders weigh about the same or less than two full water bottles. My steel hybrid weighs 28 pounds with nothing added on other than a computer. With fenders, cages, tools, tubes, rack, bags, water bottles, rain gear and lock it's about 42, a 14 lb increase, about 1/3 of which is the water inside the bottles. I don't even bother to ditch the lock or the rain gear for club rides.

neil

Aren't they? Panniers, sure. But while I did flunk out of engineering school, I seem to remember something about spinning discs being a bad thing, aerodynamically. Hence fairings. A fender doesn't block much of the disc, so it's not going to have a measurable effect like a fairing, but the principle is similar. I would have expected a fender to have little if any effect aerodynamically, but if it were at all measurable, it would be to the rider's advantage.

At any rate. Riding my bike with an unloaded rack and fenders is not noticeably different from riding a bare bike. Adding load to the rack, though, is definitely noticeable.

atetrachordof3

Thanks y'all!

I asked because I recently got a new 1980's old bike and it's maybe 5-7 lighter than my commuter bike, a 1980 Lotus. I thought maybe it was because my Lotus had fenders and a rack on it, but now I know probably not.

Another question-- I know it's in the wrong forum, but it seems silly to open a new thread-- I commute on my Surly cross check when wheather is nice and I am not going to a high theft area. I am riding a century on it soon-- should I just get rid of the fenders? since I only ride the surly when it's nice out.

barturtle

I'd leave them on. You never know what road conditions you might end up riding through. Puddles and mud just show up unexpectedly.

Catgrrl70

Racks and fenders and lights and bell and computer weight is inconsequential. I can carry everything I need and still make it up all the hills just fine.

ghettocruiser

Planet Bike Cascadia ATB Fenders - Shipping Weight: 718g

Filzer Rear Pannier Rack PR-2 - Shipping Weight: 882g

mec.ca

BA Commuter

+1

Weight weenies, need not apply!

cyberphat

To negate the weight penalty, I just take a dump before riding

electrik

Ironically the brand is called Now... like, right, now!!!

zephyr

Keep the fenders on any bike used for commuting, year round, regardless of weather. Fenders do a lot more than keep rain water off of you and the bike. If you have full length fenders and a front mud flap (like PB Cascadia) it will keep much of the street dirt, sand and grime from being thrown from the front wheel into the chain. I live in an arid climate zone (Southern Cal) and bike commute every work day, year round. I don't like to clean bike chains very often, and the use of fenders lets me pedal 300 to 400 miles between chain cleanings, which is equal to several weeks of commute riding. Without fenders, it seems like the chain starts getting nasty after half that amount of riding. Fenders also will allow the headset to last almost forever. One of my bikes is a 2002 model with original Shimano Ultegra cartridge headset, never been touched after 25,000 miles or more.

MichaelW

I usually ride with fenders but one summer we had about 7 weeks without rain, so i took them off. I noticed the improvement in aerodynamic drag. When selecting fenders there is a tradeoff between good coverage and aerodynamic drag. I would suggest using the narrowest ones that work.
I use SKS P35 with 28mm tyres.

JanMM

It's not usually hard to set up a front fender so that it is easy to remove, for dry riding.
Easy to remove the wingnut and machine screw, too.