# Fenders, yes or no? Are they a waste of money if I'm not going to ride in the rain?



## barbedwire (Dec 3, 2005)

I'm contemplating getting some fenders, but I hardly ever ride in the rain. When it rains, I purposely decide to not ride. So, do you think fenders be a waste of money for me?


----------



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Rain or shine IMO fenders are an amazingly useful piece of kit.

Rain riding or not you are going to run into puddles, misaligned sprinklers and mud. Nothing like a clean bike and backside.

Plus just because you don't start out in the rain doesn't mean you won't end up in rain.


----------



## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

One option is clip on fenders. I live in Colorado, where it hardly ever rains, and when it does, it rains for 20 miutes at the longest. The roads are even dry in the winter. Clip on fenders are quick and easy.


----------



## JohnnyTooBad (Apr 5, 2004)

I'm going the other way. If you won't ride in the rain, don't bother. The occasional puddle isn't an issue. If you've gone this long without.... Installation is tricky, too. The only caveat to that is if you commute and might get caught in the rain on the way home or if you ride in the morning after it rained.


----------



## Scot_Gore (Jan 25, 2002)

As others have pointed out, if you are only riding for pleasure and not for transportation. Go without. If you are commuting or other transportational uses then you won't get to choose to ride only when it's not raining, so fenders are a good investment. 

I have two bikes, one with fenders, one without. I decide to ride the fenderless bike last Friday and of course it rains on the way home and I end up with "the stripe".

Scot


----------



## nepbug (Jun 6, 2006)

I vote for fenders. It's good for the rain, but it also is good for chain lube life as well. After installing my fenders I got 600 miles out of one lube application this last winter (it was pretty dry and the snow kept the dust down), and I'm averaging about 200 miles/application through the spring and summer so far.

Of course I have a dedicated commuter bike that they are on, if I was thinking about fenders for a more "recreational" bike I would go for the clip-ons.


----------



## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

barbedwire said:


> I'm contemplating getting some fenders, but I hardly ever ride in the rain. When it rains, I purposely decide to not ride. So, do you think fenders be a waste of money for me?


Here's a thought- if you got fenders, would you ride in the rain? If so, then they're a great idea.

I rarely ride "in the rain"- I mean, it happens, but not that often. But, a lot of times I do have to ride just after it's rained when the pavement is wet and there are puddles everywhere. Then, fenders are fantastic. 

Fenders won't keep you dry for long if it's actually raining, but they will keep you quite dry on wet pavement.


----------



## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

barbedwire said:


> So, do you think fenders be a waste of money for me?


.

*YES*

.


barbedwire said:


> I hardly ever ride in the rain. When it rains, I purposely decide to not ride.


----------



## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*depends*



barbedwire said:


> I'm contemplating getting some fenders, but I hardly ever ride in the rain. When it rains, I purposely decide to not ride. So, do you think fenders be a waste of money for me?


I take mine off for half the year here. I figure why carry them around, with extra weight, wind drag, and wear and tear on them when it does not rain here for half the year. So, I think it depends on where you live.

The average rain here in Fresno for the entire month of July and also August is 0.01". Not much more for May through October. It is almost a certainty that it will NOT rain, and I don't think the occasional puddle justifies them.

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USCA0406?from=hrly_bottomnav_undeclared

However, if I lived somewhere, like I did in Missouri, where any given day it could rain in the afternoon even if it looked perfectly clear in the morning, I'd leave them on year round.


----------



## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

Fixed said:


> I take mine off for half the year here. I figure why carry them around, with extra weight, wind drag


Bwahhh haa haa haa! Please.. stop! yer killing me! WIND DRAG? 

oh, man, that's good.

wind drag.

from fenders.


----------



## Doggity (Mar 10, 2006)

Hell yes...they're worthwhile. My SS MTB is my only bike, and in 'winter mode' it's always got fenders. As another poster has already pointed out, they don't just keep you cleaner; they keep your whole drivetrain _way_ cleaner. Besides, if you've got fenders on yer bike, that _totally_ destroys any credibility you might _hope_ to have with the roadie crowd, which makes 'em worthwhile for that reason alone.


----------



## doughboy_88 (Aug 22, 2006)

.....


----------



## brujenn (Nov 26, 2007)

You should ride in the rain. With fenders.


----------



## 2wheelie (Apr 8, 2007)

I ride year round with a set of hojo's and I love them. The keep my bike clean rain or shine. Plus, other roadies will think your a bad ass when you blast by them on your fendered ____.


----------



## Chris H (Jul 7, 2005)

I guess I'm the only one that likes the fact that help keep all that dirt and crap out of my bike and drivetrain. Plus, I don't get those nasty little rock chips on my downtube, or little shards of glass flung up at me.

Also, most of the areas I ride through have automatic sprinkler systems. That's worse than rain IMO, cause it mixes with the dust and gets everywhere. Like some sort of nasty dirty urban ghetto cement.


Fenders are for more than just rain. Sometimes you gotta think outside the box.


----------



## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*don't understand*



nepbug said:


> ...but it also is good for chain lube life as well. After installing my fenders I got 600 miles out of one lube application this last winter (it was pretty dry and the snow kept the dust down), and I'm averaging about 200 miles/application through the spring and summer so far.


I don't understand. What difference could fenders make on chain lube? What's the mechanism?


----------



## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

Fixed said:


> I don't understand. What difference could fenders make on chain lube? What's the mechanism?


Fenders do a pretty good job of keeping dust and dirt off your chain. Can't say that I've gotten 600 miles out of one lube, but man, my bike and drive train do stay cleaner.


----------



## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

I have fenders on my commuters, but not on my road bike. (And I'll ride in the rain no matter what ... it's one of my favorite things to do.)

I do have some clip-ons from Planet Bike that I can throw on my road bike if I need to.


----------



## nepbug (Jun 6, 2006)

buck-50 said:


> Fenders do a pretty good job of keeping dust and dirt off your chain. Can't say that I've gotten 600 miles out of one lube, but man, my bike and drive train do stay cleaner.


Exactly.

This would work even better, but alas I don't run singlespeed and can't use a full chain guard.


----------



## TomBrooklyn (Mar 15, 2008)

If you don't ride in the rain, fenders would be about as useful as tits on a bull.


----------



## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

TomBrooklyn said:


> If you don't ride in the rain, fenders would be about as useful as tits on a bull.


What is today, Thread Archeaology Day? Are you bored, Tom, or just feeling nostalgic about 2008?


----------



## cyclesport45 (Dec 10, 2007)

Training rides with other non-fendered road bikes (raining, or even just wet roads) is brutal.

I did a fast (drafting necessary) century in September with two buddies, no fenders. The first 30 miles was rain. Think waterboarding torture, on a bike. When we got back to start, I took my fenders off and beat my buddies with them.


----------



## lgh (Feb 21, 2006)

If it rains, fenders without a doubt. They might take a little to set up but then they're good-to-go. Everything on the bike is cleaner. 

Larry


----------



## SpicyMac (Sep 24, 2010)

Why would you get fenders if you don't plan on riding in the rain?

That's like wearing rain gear all the time, even if you don't ride in the rain ever.


----------



## MikeBiker (Mar 9, 2003)

JCavilia said:


> What is today, Thread Archeaology Day? Are you bored, Tom, or just feeling nostalgic about 2008?


Why do you hate history?


----------



## bradr (Oct 29, 2011)

I love my fenders in the dry, I find that some of the routes I take on my bike that there is soo much junk in the road path that it all gets flung up into the fender instead of at my head. By junk I mean glass, small pebbles and sand.

Never was as much an issue on my MTB, but more of an issue on my cyclocross, might just be related to the tire type or speed (my MTB has no big ring and therefore tops out quick for speed.)


----------



## SantaCruz (Mar 22, 2002)

yes on the fenders.

one less excuse to not ride. eewwww - it's wet.


----------



## seeborough (Feb 3, 2004)

bradr said:


> I find that some of the routes I take on my bike that there is soo much junk in the road path that it all gets flung up into the fender instead of at my head.


Someone riding over a piece of gravel, popping it into your wheel or frame - OK, I've been there plenty of times. 

Hit by debris off my own tire? Never.


----------



## WWayne (Jan 7, 2011)

*Drag from fenders and tires*

Fenders and wind drag. Yes there is and it is quite substantial. There is a layer of air at and near the tire surface that is put into motion by the rotation. Without restriction this layer is quite thin and dissipates. This wind (moving air) is twice your road speed and in the opposite direction of your travel. It effectively increases the apparent size of the tire. Larger tire, more wind resistance. The fender traps this moving air between the tire and the inner part of the fender producing fluid resistance to the rotating tire. Also, the effective tire size now includes the fender further increasing drag.

Try this. Put your bike on a stand and spin up the rear wheel. Feel the breeze coming from the tire. (careful not to get too close).


----------



## K6JRS (Nov 26, 2011)

Not a personal attack, but...this whole argument makes no sense to me in a forum titled "Commuting, Touring and Ride Reports". 

Jay



WWayne said:


> Fenders and wind drag. Yes there is and it is quite substantial. There is a layer of air at and near the tire surface that is put into motion by the rotation. Without restriction this layer is quite thin and dissipates. This wind (moving air) is twice your road speed and in the opposite direction of your travel. It effectively increases the apparent size of the tire. Larger tire, more wind resistance. The fender traps this moving air between the tire and the inner part of the fender producing fluid resistance to the rotating tire. Also, the effective tire size now includes the fender further increasing drag.
> 
> Try this. Put your bike on a stand and spin up the rear wheel. Feel the breeze coming from the tire. (careful not to get too close).


----------

