Removable front fender?

[smontanaro]

The thread on rain pants reminded my I need a front fender.

I have a Giant FCR3 (700x28 tires) which I sometimes ride to work. As my main commuter with the full fenders is down for the moment, I expect the Giant will see some use during rain and snow this season. I have one of those quick release fenders on the back which straps to your seatpost, but I have nothing on the front. The bike has no suspension, a reasonable amount of space under the fork crown, and the normal V-brake setup. REI carries a couple which they specifically say are for 29er shock suspensions:

Planet Bike Bog Front Fender (http://www.rei.com/product/782731/planet-bike-bog-front-fender)
SKS Shockblade II 29er Front Fender (http://www.rei.com/product/859839/sks-shockblade-ii-29er-front-fender)

Will they work on bikes without suspension?

They also have the Planet Bike Grunge Board (http://www.rei.com/product/736683/planet-bike-grunge-board-fender) which straps to the down tube and looks like it wouldn't stop much.

Any suggestions? Thx...

[EricEstlund]

My suggestion is to get a standard front fender- they should work great with your bike, and are only three small bolts to remove once they are set up (fork crown, each dropout eyelet).

The guards you listed to are specifically designed to work with suspension forks- that is, forks where the crown and lowers move in relationship to each other (although full coverage fenders can often be mounted to the arch anyway with some rigging). They also allow lots of stuff to fly through in the event you are riding off road with them- great in that environment, not so great for actually keeping your feet dry.

Planet Bike, SKS et all make hybrid width fenders that would be ideal for your bike and make a lot more sense for your application.

[R3awak3n]

I agree with Eric. The front fender is much more important as a full coverage fender than the rear one because it prevents water from going straight into your feed and legs (rear one just hits your back so the kind of fender you have, although not ideal, does an ok job). I would get real fenders, some of the PDW ones and just leave them in for the winter.... trust me, it will change your ridding life.

[rwsaunders]

I agree with Eric. The front fender is much more important as a full coverage fender than the rear one because it prevents water from going straight into your feed and legs (rear one just hits your back so the kind of fender you have, although not ideal, does an ok job). I would get real fenders, some of the PDW ones and just leave them in for the winter.... trust me, it will change your ridding life.

+1...I'd gone down the removable fender route years back and they were a complete waste of money. The front fender will save your feet from the brunt of road spray but most importantly, it will save your crank, bottom bracket and chain from a premature death.

[smontanaro]

Thanks for the recommendation that I just pony up for regular fenders. I have an SKS Chromoplastic P45 awaiting installation on my regular commuter (which was a 27-to-700c conversion, so has plenty of room). I haven't actually tried a test fit, but I did look at the clearance between the tire and the top of the fork crown on the Giant. I'm skeptical that I will be able to squeeze a regular fender in there. If I was to put on my studded tires (45NRTH Xerxes), a fender certainly wouldn't fit. In fact, perhaps the tires themselves wouldn't fit.

I might be stuck with one of those downtube-mounted splash guards. Or some fender which is split between front and back and doesn't actually go under the fork crown.

[Davist]

I bought the SKS raceblade long (a pair of fenders, I know) last year and I am using on my CAAD10 with 28s. They were easy to install and remove easily. I think they discontinued for whatever reason, though, a quick web search finds them, though.

random interweb pic:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8216/8339253743_f5a0acc6cf_b.jpg

I thought it's funny that the longs are "longer" than the XLs, but figured it was a translation thing.. :confused: