jet sanchEz

Welp, I am having trouble deciding on whether to put smooth chrome or hammered chrome fenders on my new-to-me Raleigh Super Course. I am leaning towards the hammered Velo Orange jobbies, perhaps some visuals will make my decision easier.

Thanks guys and gals, here is the bike that the fenders will be going on:

Velognome 

Bluemels

JAG410

Here's the VO hammered fenders on my Romic

jet sanchEz

I was thinking of those too, would they look out of place on my bike? I thought they were only available in wider widths....

KonAaron Snake 

Both can lookgrwat, but i prefer hammered:

Hammered -







I sold this a bit ago:





Smooth -

Captain Blight

+42

I'm already over hammered fenders. Hard cheese to swallow for some, but there you have it.

Velognome 

Bluemels Club Specials are narrow maybe 40mm, so a mx tire size of 30mm....that's pretty narrow. White ones would look killer and appropriatley British for your Super Course.

jet sanchEz

Hrm, where can they be bought online?

djkashuba 

SKS Longboards in Cream would look great.

https://www.amazon.com/SKS-Longboard-.../dp/B004I8XS18

-D

nlerner

Velognome 

Search eBay ( nothing currently), C&V sales, and bikeswaps. They show up regularly. SKS Longboards are OK, but not the same as the Bluemels

Captain Blight

Longboards are OK.

Not the same as the Bluemels.

Bluemels made the sexXxaiest fenders yet known to man, the Airweights. Second only to these are the white Club Specials.

This is not opinion, this is stone fact. This is irrefutable. If you disagree, you are wrong and need to reconsider your opinion. Thus sayeth the Lord.

top506

VO on SS:





Top

photogravity

+1 on the Airweight fenders. I am quite fortunate in that I have managed to get two sets of them, one of which is on my 1950 Norman Rapide (a lucky ebay BIN) and the other on my 1949 Hercules Kestrel (thanks to forumite clubman).

As far as hammered fenders, my Bilenky tandem has them and they are a perfect match for that bicycle.


Hercules Kestrel - First Ride - C&O Canal Towpath - 10 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr



1949 Hercules Kestrel Build - Bluemels Airweight Mudguards by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Bilenky 650B Constructeur Tandem - First Ride - 3 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

djkashuba 

I like the hammered on more ornate bikes.


Raleigh International 1971 by djk762, on Flickr

-D

ColonelJLloyd 

Personally, I think hammered fenders look most appropriate on French bikes and builds that are in that traditional French vein. On other builds they are disjointing and out of place.

I've never had any of the Airweights, but I feel a lot of people are ga-ga over the plastic Bluemels simply because they're Anglophiles. They're not great fenders; a good fender line is difficult to attain, they are prone to warping and the foremost part of the front fender always looks janky.

I'm a fan of the Honjo and Velo Orange aluminum fenders. They're lightweight and durable.

balindamood

I like the VO hammered fenders better than Honjo, but I like Honjo's polished better than VO. Tanaka fenders are also very nice (I have a brass pair awaiting fit-up). The Bluemels metal ones are very expensve, but the lightest of all of them.

The following Romic picture was teaken with Honjos, but I have since switched it to VO's. The Honjo's are a bit heavier and the edges are ratehr think such that you would need a wider fender relative to the width of tire. VO seems to take wider tires better.

Bianchigirll 

Do you guys actually ride the posted bikes in the rain? I am pretty sure Aron's Miyata gets some wet weather use but what about the others? Personally I like my Woodys but these are fair weather bikes, atleast the Hetchins is for sure.






https://www.woodysfenders.com/store/i...=index&cPath=7

Captain Blight

I do; I had a set of Airweights on my Trek 616, the one I carried behind the sleeper of my truck. I took them off when I discovered that they were starting to crack at the front fork indents due to (I can only assume) the continual vibration. But I rode that thing in all kinds of weather, and the fenders always worked quite well. I remember one night in Connecticut in a hot humid drizzle uphill back to the truck stop-- when I finally got back, my backside was the only part of me that wasn't soaked. They are a broad, shallow fender but give adequate coverage to tires as wide as 42mm and the center bead seems to work well to control water movement. Tragedy that they're not being reproduced, either by V-O, Tanaka, Honjo or Berthoud.

KonAaron Snake 

The Koga Mitata does get rain use - as does the triplet. The Cinelli probably won't.

Bianchigirll 

You will soon learn that if your truck idles enough everything in it gets vibration/fretting damage.

photogravity

I have ridden the Bilenky in the rain several times when we got caught in a storm. I have ridden my Norman Rapide and Davidson tandem in the rain, too. I'm sure there are other times I've ridden in the rain on other bikes too, but can't remember specifics.

Not to be forgotten is that it isn't necessarily riding in the rain that matters - you could have situations where you are riding on wet roads. For instance yesterday when I went on a club ride, the roads were wet and my freshly cleaned and assembled Alpine got surprisingly dirty because of the road spray. I also ended up with a filthy jacket and Carradice Zipped Roll bag. I know that on my fendered bikes, riding in the rain results in much less after ride cleanup than those without fenders.

balindamood

Yes.

fender1

Honjo La Paeon. Had the bike out in the rain this morning. 47 miles.

Captain Blight

ain't that the truth. I don't idle it much, though, it really eats into my overall mileage.