Fenders for bikes without eyelets...

[tbushnel]

On my one and only road bike (see Panasonic in the custom section if you have an interest) I have no eyelets on the rear and the Ouzo pro of course does not have them either. I have been using race blades and they are ok, but with the amount/frequency of rain here in the NW I really would like better coverage and dont mind a more "permanent" solution (that is not easily taken on and off).

Anyone know of some good aftermarket attachment devices? I haven't located a source for P-clamps appropriate in size for the seat stays.

Any help would be great.
Cheers,
Ted.

[yeastor]

I live in Portland and had fenders put on a Klein Quantum Race that had no eyelets. My LBS did it - procedure was similar to that shown on the River City Bicycles website under Service/Custom Fender Installation:

http://www.rivercitybicycles.com/mod.php?mod=userpage&menu=1105&page_id=58

In essence, they use reach around clamps for the rear fender, which is cut in two before and after the brake caliper. Rubber clamps attach the fender stays to the forks and seat stays. It was a routine job for the LBS - I would imagine ditto for many Seattle stores.

[manet]

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e61/easterncaster/IMG_2048.jpg

[bironi]

I too am a NW rider. I have rode with full fenders and mud flaps) mud flaps for years. I would suggest losing the high-end fork (sell it), buy a fork with more room for fenders, get creative with zip ties or clamps and keep yourselft and your buddies dry.

A Reynolds carbon race fork is great, but not on a rain bike. I have the Ouzo Pro on the Moots, but not on my rain bike or fixie.

Byron :beer:

[11.4]

In your neighborhood, Gregg's Greenlake has a complete range of stainless P-clamps and Tacoma Screw has all the 5 mm metric hardware you need to put them together. The P-clamps of a particular size tend to vary in actual clamping diameter, so get a few extras. Plan on using, for the most part, stainless metric button-head allen key bolts and stainless metric nylok nuts.

Take a careful look at the River City Cycles web site. They have a series of illustrations of how they install SKS or similar fenders on a tight-clearance road bike, and those illustrations are good to follow. SKS fenders are the easiest to mount and much better quality for this kind of thing than any of the other brands. River City sells a set of metal brackets to do a mount like they illustrate, but you can make your own from Blackburn rack brackets, available from almost any bike shop. The River City ones are both better and worse than homemade ones -- they aren't just plug-and-play, but they have all the necessary drillings in place.

I'd suggest going one size larger in width than what you might otherwise choose -- what will annoy you most about fenders is that they tend to shift slightly and if you have tight clearances with your tire to begin with, you'll have a lot more chafing.

Mudflaps are critical to keep dry -- both for your own feet and for anyone riding behind you. I cut up water bottles and mount a trimmed piece of a bottle with a single screw at the bottom of the fender, but you can also use strips of rubber stair tread, etc. Don't even think of going out without that added protection, especially in wet climates like yours.

You can omit the short front piece of fender in front of the front brake -- it gives a little protection, but is mostly for looks. On the rear, you may not be able to fit a fender from the brake bridge to the chainstay bridge, and enough frames don't have chainstay bridges (you need a chainstay bridge to mount a P-clamp to, which then attaches to the end of the fender). Most of your protection comes from the rear fender portion aft of the brake, but making a little 6-inch stub piece that covers the gap from the brake bridge to where the seat tube gets in the way helps keep that much more water off you.

Assembling a set of rain fenders on a tight-clearance road bike is frustrating and slow the first time, but thereafter you can disassemble and reassemble in 15 minutes or so. If you break anything and have to replace it, use the original as a template.

[tbushnel]

I appreciate the responses. 11.4, thanks especially for the direction on where to buy parts and what to buy. I love going into both Greggs GL and Tacoma screw. I have bought a bunch of stuff from both, so I can look forward to poking around for stuff again.
Cheers,
Ted.

[Vancouverdave]

Have Gregg's order you a pair of the fender-attaching brake nuts manufactured by Gilles Berthoud--they fit into and extend out from the recessed hole in fork crown and brake bridge. I second the other poster who advised ditching the carbon fork. A good "racey" alternative would be a Ritchey Logic steel fork if you can still get one. R&E used to offer them on their frames, so maybe they have some. Your favorite shop will have to go through Euro-Asia Imports for the Berthoud brake nuts, or you might be able to buy them mail order from Wallbike.com.