jyl

I just spent two hours installing a set of SKS fenders. What a fiddly, over complicated, and yet inadequate design. Never again.

demoncyclist

I agree- I got a set for Xmas 2013 to put on my Lynskey. The hardware won't stay tight, and I lost enough of it in short order that i went back to the Crud Roadracers that I had leftover from my previous road bike.

hounslow

Funny that, I have 3 bikes (currently) with SKS and have sold and fitted hundreds in the various shops I've worked in. Nothing better for the mass market.

jyl

Here are my beefs.
- Each of the four stay to fender clamping/adjustment points involves three small, loose pieces (x4 stays = 12 loose bits) that are trying to fall apart or get launched by a flexed stay and get lost - until you finally get them tightened down. They don't give you any extra bits. Lose one, and you'll spend all night crawling around your shop floor.
- Because of this, you are well advised to assemble all the stays to the fender at the work bench, then fit the entire assembly to the bike.
- But the stays are much too long for most bikes, and the plastic retainers that go on the end of the stays have closed ends. So you need to cut the stays, unless you want the fender to sit an inch off the tire.
- This means you have to assemble the whole thing, install it on the bike, measure how much excess space there is between the fender and the tire at each set of stays, disassemble the whole thing, cut the stays, then reassemble and install the whole thing. Hope you measured right!
- I guess if you have done a couple before, you know to mount the stays on the eyelet, just hold the fender in place, mark the stays, cut, then proceed. But the instructions sure don't tell you this. And they are in German anyway.

Compare to Planet Bike fenders. The stay to fender clamp adjustment mechanism is preassembled on the fender. Nothing can come loose. Simply stick in the stay and half tighten the nut. You can install the stays to the eyelets first, then put the fender on, or install the stays to the fender and mount it as one piece, whichever you wish. After you get the fender on the bike, you simply push it to the desired clearance from the tire, fully tighten the nut to hold it, then cut the excess stay.

I will say that the SKS fenders are solid once mounted. And you can learn how to mount them, I'm sure the second or hundredth set is lots faster than the first. But if you ever have to take them off, they dissolve into a bunch of easily lost little bits again. And you can't move then to another bike with a much taller tire or a lower eyelet position. Because the stay has been cut, and the plastic retainer only allows a little bit of adjustment. With the Planet Bike fenders, you can leave the stays uncut and then move the fender freely to another bike, or use a different eyelet on the same bike.

The SKS fenders were a good bit cheaper than the Planet Bike fenders, at the LBS. The LBS warned me not to buy them, saying the installation was hard. I thought (insert thought bubble here) "give me a break, I've installed VOs, PDWs, Cruds, RaceBlades, PBs - almost every fender other than the SKS, this lady is just patronizing me". She was right. Next time, I'll pay extra for the PBs. Even if I don't mind the extra hassle of the SKS install, being able to move the PBs from bike to bike is worth it.

Oh, and SKS don't include any mudflaps. Really?

joejack951

If you are ok with a lot of excess stay length, you could have just clipped the tops of those plastic caps off letting the stay slide all the way through it. The one pair of Planet bike fenders I have came with some tiny rubber caps for the stay which didn't last long. The SKS plastic bits have proven far more durable though I did crack the top of one somehow.

FastJake

+1 After trying a couple different kinds I always come back to Planet Bike fenders. They're about the cheapest on the market and seem to work the best. Mine have held up to tons of abuse over the years on my commuter.

My favorite are the cheapest, most basic model. These: Full Fenders hybrid/touring (2015)

DiabloScott

I had some Velo Orange fenders that were real pretty, but 10* the hassle to install as SKS.

I had some PB fenders that went on easy, but looked cheap and didn't cover as well.

These SKS Longboards are nice.

Um, no.

Spld cyclist

+1. I also have 3 bikes with these fenders and had no trouble installing them. These are the P__ models. They have been very durable as well. Once I had a Planet Bike fender (Freddy Fenders) get caught in the front tire, and it folded up, stopped the front wheel, and dumped me. I don't know if they still use that same flexible material, but I have no desire to try Planet Bike again. The SKS fenders are stiffer, and there is really no chance that the same thing could happen.

Andrew R Stewart 

Comfort is achieved with practice, one learns how to manipulate the various parts easily and only once. Just like any new device with complexity, it takes time to get the mechanical coordination down. Andy.

jyl

Mine came with no mudguards. Maybe they omit them on the cheapest model?

Eric S.

I don't know if SKSs still mount the same, but the ones I bought in 2007 had a ridiculous piece of cheap metal that you were supposed to clamp with pliers around the rear fender, then attach that to the brake bridge. I don't remember how long I messed with it, but eventually gave up. I drilled a couple holes and zip-tied the fender to the brake bridge.

Velocivixen

Too bad it was so frustrating. I have SKS P45 on both mixtes and the P50 on the Straggler. Hardest part of that one was bending the front non drive side stay around the disc brake caliper. I bought two of the shorter mudflaps to replace those super long ones on my Miyata. The front was so long it was scooping up leaves!

Ive got it down to a science now, so next time .....

fietsbob

Never had an Issue .. Done 3 installs *, 2 Bikes came with them standard equipment ..

* one done 30 years ago is still fine.. I do them for customers at LBS , But I've been supplanted by 30 year olds lately.

sorry I cant do it for you over the internet, PDX has plenty of places that will.


Of course I have No Idea about your abusive practices .

NJgreyhead

I've felt your pain.
I've done the SKS install a couple times, including recently, and a PB install recently. PB was much more installer-friendly.

Mudflaps are included on the SKS longboards (as you suggested further down) unlike the prior version I have, but I found them too long for my tourer's 700c front wheel! Ridiculous.

The old set of SKS has held up well over several thousand miles, tho; I have to give them that. And the break-away function worked as it should.

Moe Zhoost

I remember messing with that bridge piece when I installed a set of of ESGE (now SKS) fenders in the 80s. They still do it that way? I really don't recall it being a big deal. I've installed 4-5 sets of fenders of different manufacturers over the past few years and can't say that any of them were a piece of cake. To do the job right, you really need to plan it expecting that you will run into a few hitches.

Marcus_Ti

I did an SKS longboard P35 mod on my Seven:

https://imgur.com/a/cL4H1

Problem with the front fender is eventually the front mudflap flapped enough to fatigue the plastic it was attached to below the stay brackets so I had to ziptie it on.

pdlamb

SKS fenders can be a bit fiddly to install, but now that they're on I don't think I'll take them off either bike. Maybe I wsa just lucky and didn't lose any of the fender stay attachment parts.

DiabloScott

Did you trim the top of the front fender so it doesn't stick out past the brake? Why?

fietsbob

fify

Pick 1 bike in your fleet and put Mudguards on the one they fit the easiest , and leave them On.

Marcus_Ti

I had to splice due to brake caliper/tire clearance, which you can see much of in that photo album...well in each case of my jerry-rigging the front fore-fender, it has metal fatigued and failed. And after my last attempt I've shelved it until I come up with something better than zip-tie-ing to the front caliper.

The stock River-City-Reacharound bracket for the front caliper does not work with Campagnolo brake calipers when used with a normal depth carbon fork. If it did things would be much simpler. And every single replacement I've devised metal fatigues due to road vibration. Until I come up with a eureka moment, I just zip-tie it the front fore-fender to the caliper when there's a chance of rain, otherwise I leave it off. That front fender does make a surprising difference in your quads getting wet or not from road moisture.

fietsbob

You Try a Sheldon's Nut?


I splice mine for tire clearance ... winter bike Lowest point was the fork crown so I mounted the stub in front ..

it Is a hub drum, not a rim brake rig

habilis

Nice looking fixie!

Marcus_Ti

That at me? Already have a sheldon nut on the backside of the fork...problem is the front side of the fork, which has failed in each of the 3 attempts I've made. Metal fatigue each time, road bouncing works the bend in the metal and eventually it fails.

zip-ties are about the only thing that I can think of at the time.

JaccoW

Ever looked at Curana fenders?

DiabloScott

Thanks - "Bruce" has his own Picasa page:
https://picasaweb.google.com/1081129...STrekDistrictS