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Fenders being knocked skew?

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Old 11-09-08, 01:26 PM
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Yan 
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Fenders being knocked skew?

I'm obsessive compulsive and I adjust my fenders every time they get knocked off centre.

Is anyone else irritated by this?
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Old 11-09-08, 02:59 PM
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hmm, my fenders usually never go out of alignment when I bend the arms properly.
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Old 11-09-08, 03:52 PM
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I'm the same way... it drives me nuts when something's not centered on the bike, to the point that I built my own fender stays out of 1/8" thick aluminum flat stock, partially to keep them centered, partially to keep them from buzzing the tires.
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Old 11-09-08, 04:42 PM
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Originally Posted by AEO
hmm, my fenders usually never go out of alignment when I bend the arms properly.
How do you bend the arms?
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Old 11-09-08, 05:05 PM
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pair of pliers and a monkey wrench. works better than just hands since you want it straight at the ends.
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Old 11-09-08, 05:46 PM
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are your eyelets properly aligned and or parallel? could be part of the problem, that is assuming you have eyelets. I rarely have a problem myself barring a collision 'knock wood'.
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Old 11-09-08, 09:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Yan
I'm obsessive compulsive and I adjust my fenders every time they get knocked off centre.

Is anyone else irritated by this?
Why would anyone be irritated by your adjusting your fenders all the time?
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Old 11-09-08, 09:56 PM
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What kind of fenders?

I run SKS P-45s on my commuter, and they haven't been off center since I set them up. (Although, I do need to make some spacers and hanger extenders to get a better fender-line against the wheels.)
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Old 11-09-08, 09:58 PM
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When I was a mechanic, I used to adjust the fenders of the bikes I worked on if they were out of whack. Can't take that sorta thing.
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Old 11-09-08, 10:59 PM
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The mudguards on my Frankenbike were bought for the Europa in the 80's. Somewhere very early on, the front guard developed a twist just in front of the fork which I've never been able to get rid of. The bike looks as though it's had one too many at the pub before heading for home.

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Old 11-10-08, 06:53 AM
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Also (as a reply to the OP i do get annoyed when they're not centre!), is it me or are the non-permanent mug guards a nightmare to get set up properly so they don't rub or should i just get some full mudguards like my tourer does?

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Old 11-10-08, 06:55 AM
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One more thing, i've found you can bend those plasticy mudguard back to shape roughly with careful use of a hairdryer. You can make the plastic soft enough to adjust. Just don't do it too much and try to get it good first time otherwise you start weakening the material.
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Old 11-10-08, 07:16 AM
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I'm not a bit irritated by your constant adjustment of your fenders, in fact I wouldn't have noticed at all if you hadn't brought it to my attention.
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Old 11-10-08, 07:50 AM
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I don't bother with them unless they're rubbing. They're usually covered with so much mud that getting worried that they're 1/4" to the left or something is kind of silly. The only time they go out is if I lay the bike on something with a wheel off and it really pushes the fender to one side.

I have SKS fenders; I can grab one of the stays and give it a sharp twist just with my hands to recenter things. They have the stiffest stays of any I've used (I've had Freddy Fenders and some other brand also).
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Old 11-10-08, 11:04 AM
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Yeah, I have the SKS fenders and do a bike-and-train combo ride. The way the train is setup, the only way to attach it so I can sit down rather than standing with the bike is to use a toe-clip strap to lash the rear wheel firmly to the handrail. In doing so I push the fender all the way over so that the stay is against the tire. I do this twice a day, 5 days a week. Every few weeks I notice the fender is a mm or two off center in the direction it always gets pushed. A slight nudge centers it right back up. Good stuff, SKS.
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Old 11-10-08, 11:14 AM
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Originally Posted by Yan
I'm obsessive compulsive and I adjust my fenders every time they get knocked off centre.

Is anyone else irritated by this?
I am irritated by your obsessive compulsiveness ...
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Old 11-10-08, 12:38 PM
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I'm the same way with my SKS fenders. If I lean my bike against a wall it will sometimes knock my back fender slightly off center, and if I notice it I will always twist and tweak it until it is just so.

I'm hyper-compulsive about everything on my bike, not just the fenders, but I now am at peace with the fact that something will always be a little bit off with my bike, no matter what. Reaching this point of acceptance is important, or you may someday find yourself at 2AM trying to get the bar tape on your bike perfectly symmetrical, asking yourself how everything went so wrong.
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Old 11-10-08, 06:08 PM
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I use Planet Bike Cascadia fenders. They were perfect when I first threw them on my new bike, but on one of my first rides, the articulated knee panel on my Showers Pass rain pants got caught on one of the fender stays, and since it was a fixed gear bike, my knee kept moving forward and pushed the fender skew. This bent the fork mounting plate to one side slightly and now the fender is a pain to adjust.

Oh well.
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