If you ride year round and don't live in the dessert, its important to have at least one bike with fenders, IMO. I have yellow Planet Bike fenders on my Rob Roy and use it as a rain/utility bike. To me the fenders are there for purely a utilitarian purpose and I don't really care what they look like. However, most people compliment the fenders more than any other aspect of my bike. It does make the bike stand out among the masses of unfendered sport bikes out there. You may also notice a few ignorant roadies express complete astonishment that you can drop them on a bike with fenders and hybrid tires.
Last edited by mihlbach; 05-13-08 at 12:35 PM.