Fender / Rack Help

[rbtmcardle]

Now that I have thinned out the herd.. though I would love a custom Kirk or Spectrum all purpose bike, the most practical thing I can do is make the Spectrum I have fit my desire for a great all purpose commuter with fenders and a rack of some sort if possible.. I mean, its made for me, Ti and I already own it.

it is a standard Spectrum Super Ti with ouzo pro fork.. i currently have Velocity escapes with DT240 as hubs - I am keeping the tubulars but what tire? what width will work with what kind of fenders?

Has anyone here done this kind of retrofit?

Any advice is appreciated..

http://forums.thepaceline.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=22999&stc=1&d=1172183051

[jr59]

Why not pick up the phone and ask Tom?

[rbtmcardle]

Sure, but I really try to not bother busy people.. i figure he'd be too busy with full frame orders.. but perhaps I will go for the gusto and see if he can make me a new steel fork with accoutrements and ask about having the Ti frame modified with mounts for fenders and racks..

[TBDSeattle]

Well, you have a lot of choices. I've had a lot of experience with fenders... I live in Seattle, and I ride to work every day, and during the winter I have trained through the worst rain.

For a commuter I always bolt on. For a trainer I have converted to SKS Race Blade fenders (with carbon "buddy flaps").

For Commuters:
I bolt on for a commuter because it take so much abuse that the fenders get moved around. To keep yourself safe (no fender in the f wheel) they must be able to take a beating and not get loose. For a bike like yours that means p-clamps because you don't have eyelets. I always protect the frame with electrical tape before using the p-clamps. You will need to cut the fenders one of two ways for the back brake.

The first option, and the best, is to cut it before the rear brake, then use a rack stanchion to affix the fender, go up and over the rear brake, then drill a hole in the stanchion between the brake and frame and to attach the fender to the bike via the brake bolt. The your options are to include the cut portion between the rear brake and the bottom bracket or leave it off. I include it because on those January century rides any little bit helps! Attach via zip ties.

The second option is to cut two rectangles out of the fender to narrow it and allow it to pass under the rear brake, and continue on to the bb. This is fine for infrequent rides, but will require more maintenance as the fender will tend to rub against the wheel if the p-clamps loosen through the ride, say every 500 miles.

For occasional bikes:
SKS Race blades. I use them on a couple of bikes and love them. Note that you will need to drill two holes and attached a buddy flap to the front fender to protect your feet. I use a section of fender.

Best- TBD

[palincss]

A guy who used to live around here had an orange Ti Spectrum with SKS fenders he sometimes commuted on. He used River City Reacharaound brackets to make them fit.
http://rivercitybicycles.com/rcb-catalog/reacharound-fender-brackets/


A lot of bikes, particularly performance road bikes, have next-to-no clearance between the wheel and the frame, and there’s not space for a traditional fender. So what is a Portlander supposed to do? Hang up the bike 8 months out of the year? Never!

River City Bicycles has designed an workaround – A Reacharound – that allows for a split-fender installation on bikes that won’t take a traditional fender. Built exclusively for River City Bicycles, each set of Reacharounds includes three special fender-mounting brackets (two for the back and one for the front).

[wasfast]

Didn't have good luck with reach arounds and SKS fenders. There's a soft aluminum strip in the center of the SKS fenders that is extruded over. The aluminum fatigues and the fender cracks. Multiple experiences with that. It's worse on reach arounds because the longer rear section can flex in/out more compared to a non-cut fender.

I've had excellent success with Planet Bike Cascadia's. They're polycarbonate and nearly indestructable. About the same price as well.

Add p-clamps as mentioned (Home Depot electrical is one place to get them).

[Aaron O]

My advice, which is completely unbiased :cool:, is that you should sell this bike to me and build up something with eyelets and such as your all arounder. :banana:

Thin the herd down one more.

[charliedid]

I wouldn't waste my time trying to make fenders and a rack work on that bike.

Try Raceblades and see how they go. Only real option I see....

PS they work marginally well, slip around and vibrate like hell. :D

Or just buy one of these http://handsomecycles.com/bicycles/xoxo.php

[jr59]

My advice, which is completely unbiased :cool:, is that you should sell this bike to me and build up something with eyelets and such as your all arounder. :banana:

Thin the herd down one more.

Go you wild man! :banana:

[PoppaWheelie]

Looks like the pads on your rear brake are set pretty high in their adjustment tracks...which would suggest that there's not a whole lot of room under the caliper to run a fender. That definitely seems to recommend either the interrupted rear fender line (broken at the brake) or Raceblades.

I have a set of Raceblades and they actually work ok. I made plastic flaps for mine (bolted on with tiny screws, nuts and washers) and also anchored the plastic fenders to the plastic strut brackets with little self-guiding screws. I found both these little mods essential to get adequate coverage and prevent the fender from sliding along the bracket on bumpy roads. They don't really compliment the look of my bike, but they do work ok...and having the ability to take them on/off in 2 minutes is kinda nice.

[nahtnoj]

If you want real fenders that you won't hate, the frame is going to have to go back for some modifications.

Cut as much off the bottom of the HT as possible to accommodate a longer fork, new steel fork, rear brake bridge moved up.

[rice rocket]

How wide are your tires?

If you're at 23, I gave these to a friend as a gift and he loves them.

http://www.crudproducts.com/products/roadracer/roadracer_

[R2D2]

I've fendered a similar bike (Litespeed) with Ouzo Pro fork.
The crud cutters or reach around should work with minimal modifications.

I went a different route on the fork and used P-clamps and a Sheldon nut.
Althougth Berthoud had the nut before it become know as the Sheldon nut.
http://problemsolversbike.com/products/sheldon_fender_nuts/

But the Ouzo bolt is unique and I lathed/tapped a nut myself.
Also the fork crown restricts fenders to very narrow width.
I'm using Berthoud 23mm carbon fiber fenders.

Now my brother's philosophy has changed from fenders to "you're going to get wet anyway so why bother."
In fact fenders are no longer required for PBP etc....