Fenders

[Frankie_J]

Howdy all,

I'm preparing for my first tour which will be in the first half of next year and am starting to put together my rig.

I've gone for a giant toughroad as a base and am now going through the selection of racks and fenders etc.

Can anyone suggest full fenders that will suit a 29er wheel with disc brakes? I'm looking at running 2inch tyres with front and rear rack.

thanks in advance

[tmac100]

YMMV, but I have done 3 "fender-free" tours in Australia in the last decade and they have been between 4 and 6 weeks long. I don't have fenders on and of my bicycle - but have on my Greenspeed GTO because it came that way when I bought it. Never saw much of a need for fenders. Mind you, I have toured in July and August and have not had much rain.

Maybe you should re-think your "need" for fenders. They really are not necessary. However, I do not have all of the information you personally have. Thus, my opinion is biased according to my own needs and experiences. I do have a set of fenders but they are sitting in my brother's garage in Canada.

FWIW, two bicyclists passed me on the Eyre Hwy and neither had fenders. One was doing 125 km a day on average (and was coming from the UK via the Silk Route, Vietnam and Singapore) and the other was hell-bent on completing a "hot" circle of Australia and his average was 137km/day. I repeat - NO fenders on either touring bicycles. One used a Rolhoff if that matters. My average was 80 km/day. I also finally switched to 4 panniers and no trailer as it "made me" carry and cart too much unneeded stuff.

[Baalzamon]

SKS Bluemels should do the job. 65mm profile is what you want.

[Aushiker]

I have a set of SKS Chromoplastic P50 mudguards (they are mudguards in Australia; fenders is an American term) fitted to my Surly Long Haul Trucker and would replace them with another set of SKS mudguards should the need arise.

I find them of benefit in rain and on wet roads as you would expect but I also like spending long miles on gravel roads and they come into their own then as well ... sure beats being hit by flying stones all the time.

The only downside is when you hit mud; it can mean you clog up quickly ...

[il padrone]

I have happily used the 55mm width fenders with a 2.0" and 2.15" tyres and it worked well. The narrower width sits better with my normal town and touring 1.75" tyres.

Whip them off for real bad mud !!

[BenGr]

I won't be using fenders for my next tour, but that's mainly because I have no extra clearance.

I used them last tour and front fenders are especially handy to keep crap of your feet and legs.

[avolve]

I have toured with and without.

Waiting for shoes to dry is more time consuming, though much less uncomfortable, than riding with them as they do.

Keepign crap of your legs (from the front tyre) is a massive bonus...

[DavidS]

I commute and use mudguards. They are invaluable IMO. Don't weigh much, keep a lot of crap off you, why not?

DS

[Leaf T]

+1 for mudguards/fenders. Helps to keep you clean but more importantly they help to keep the drivetrain clean which equals better performance and longer life with less maintenance.

[Frankie_J]

Thanks guys, seems like the consensus is for, which is what I was leaning towards.

I'll keep a look out for a deal on SKS mudguards.

[DavidS]

I have SKS mudguards, they are an excellent choice.

DS

[Mububban]

I bought these for the commuting MTB.

Rear - http://www.this link is broken/au/e ... prod104736
Front - http://www.this link is broken/au/e ... -prod25805

My wife asked if there was any possible way I could add more accessories to my bike. I told her there ar e still a few spots here and there available

[PiratePete]

+1 from me for using mudguards. After getting a bit of crap in my eye (passed safety glasses) riding in the wet one day I fitted them and to be honest wouldn't do any serious ride without them.

On my Giant Reign I use the Zefal 'No Mud' guards which work well, can be adjusted to leave adequate clearance and will tolerate quite a bit of abuse. I was using this bike for road work and was running 50mm tyres:

http://www.zefal.com/en/mudguards-mtb/74-no-mud.html

On my road bike I run Specialized PnP fenders as they hug my tyres nicely and require a second look to see them.

[rifraf]

Spotted yet another option that I didn't see mentioned

http://www.blackburndesign.com/en_eu/fe ... zveEGMumT9

Up to 2.35 tire coverage.

Personally I like my polished stainless steel Gilles Berthoud but then I like shiny things.......