Now that I'll be doing more group riding (with SiR), full fenders w/ "buddy flaps" are a must-have, especially because we're in the wet Northwest. I've been riding with "race blades" (smaller removable fenders), which kinda work, but also soak your feet. You can buy pre-made flaps with cute logos, some of which look kinda cool. But I wanted to ride in the rain today, not wait 3-10 days for shipping of tiny flaps!
So I went the DIY route: a bottle to cut up (using little wire-cutters), nuts/bolts to hold them on, and a screw-driver to make the hole and turn the bolts. Oh yeah and electrical tape.
Here's the rear extension:
The extension is a large water-bottle chopped up, with the bottom of the bottle taped on with black electrical tape. It's got about 2" of clearance, which should keep road-spray off of anyone behind me.
On the front I've got a 'race blade' fender with a water bottle/tape extension that's about 1" off the ground, which means the only water that's hitting my feet is that from above! (As opposed to coming up off the ground, deflecting off the frame on onto my feet).
Here's the front, with electrical-tape extension:
So I took my new rain-bike out for a 42 km spin around the South end of Lake Washington. It was a classic Seattle day: two colors: grey & green, with no sight of the sun. And light rain, with soaked roads. My feet were actually dry after the ride! And no QFC bags needed, sweet.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Full Fenders For You & Me
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2 comments:
This is a little off-topic, but I accidentally found that fenders are a wonderful opportunity to scrape off the crap that accumulates on wet tires, and that leads to excessive flats in the wet months. I place a bit of electrical tape or duct tape on the inside of the flap, so it's just touching the tire.
thanks for the tip! i'll have to try it out.
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