| Re: Anyone know the efficacy of full fenders hacked onto a road bike?
On 2005-01-18, maxo <maxo@NOSPAMhome.se> wrote:
>> And fenders don't really do all that much to
>> protect rims, drivetrains and brakes.
>
> They do a good job for my drivetrain, but only if they're fitted really
> tightly down by the bb and there's not much gap between tire and fender.
> Most "out of box" configurations will leave a cm of tire/fender clearance
> down there, allowing spray to escape. Since I tightened the gap on my
> bike--the fenders have indeed done a fabulous job protecting the
> drivetrain. It still gets dirty but seems to stay reasonable 3x longer.
Maybe that's the key. I just know I have had success with fenders helping
out in this regard in the past. My current bike, basically ends up a big
sand box down there. I would literally have to wash it every day, whereas
with fenders this isn't as necessary. That's a huge difference, in my
book. Not something I can quantify, but definitely something where, when
you see it, you can tell the difference.
> Brakes and rims--nothing you can do there except run good pads or a
> fancier weatherproof braking system.
I've had fenders help with that as well, actually. I think this is because
rather than all the water/mud splashing up into the brakes, and
haphazardly all over the bike, it hits the fender and mostly water falls
onto the wheel, the mud sticks to the fender. This definitely helps to
give the rim a break from being constantly ground down by silt, I've
found. But then again, I hadn't had that kind of luck with fenders on my
Trek 1000. Thus my query.
Preston
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