Fender recommendation

[boomforeal]

I built my first proper road bike in many years last Spring, and have been thoroughly enjoying it. Most of my rides are squeezed into ~2 hour windows after work or between other things.

I’d love to keep this going or even amp it up during the fall/winter/spring, as I live in the pacific north west and have a pretty flexible work schedule, so I can plan/sneak out around inevitable periods of rain.

So, looking for recommendations for fenders that look good, offer great coverage and clearance, and don’t require the patience of a saint to install. Please and thanks

[Epicus07]

What bike are they going on and what tire and wheel size?

For a more modern looking bike I prefer PDW. For classic, Honjo or Bertoud. There are a lot of good options but for me I like full metal and minimal protrusion at the fender stay connection. Alu is lighter but more easily dented and imo rattles more

[tellyho]

Are you talking permanent install or temporary? To my way of thinking, fenders don't need to be permanent unless on a bike you're going to grab every day no matter the weather. Raceblades are pretty good. If full install, I've used Velo Orange. Installing fenders is one of the most fiddly bike tasks...

[Peter P.]

SKS fenders. Flexible plastic, easy to install.

[cp43]

Originally Posted by Peter P.

SKS fenders. Flexible plastic, easy to install.

Agreed. SKS or Planet Bike plastic fenders. Cheaper than metal, easier to install, and in my experience, more durable.

Chris

[reuben]

I asked the same question recently, and included link to an even earlier thread I had bookmarked. Good luck!

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=309327

[Wunder]

All this depends on the bike and the mounts. For a "Proper road bike" (i.e. no eyelets to mount fenders) I have had good luck with the SKS RaceBlade LONGs. Those mount to QR axles and brake bolts and with the interrupted design even work on most bikes that only clear a 23 or 25mm tire. I used these on a Cannondale CAAD10.

For a bike with better clearances, eyelets, chainstay bridges, etc. something like the PDW, Velo Orange, Honjo, etc. are good.

[EB]

PDW or SKS.

Friends don’t let friends install Honjos. If you really want to go that route, find an LBS that will do it well and give them a big tip.

[Derosid]

I have a roadbike that I use to commute to work. For riding in the rain I don’t think there is a substitute for full fenders. I have a set of Specialized Dry Tech fenders that work very well, don’t weight much, and are inexpensive. I just leave them on the bike.

[p nut]

If I were living in PNW, I’d want nothing other than full coverage fenders. I’ve had SKS race blades and it didn’t work too well for me. Better than nothing but there are much better fenders.

This all depends on the bike in question. Is this a rim brake road bike with no fender mounts or clearance? A bike with proprietary fender mounts? Need more details.

[boomforeal]

Thanks all!

Originally Posted by Epicus07

What bike are they going on and what tire and wheel size?

Sorry yeah that's an obvious piece of info I missed: Soma Smoothie HP. Product page says max tire size clearance with fenders is 32c, which is what I'm running

Originally Posted by tellyho

Are you talking permanent install or temporary?

Semi-permanent? It rains pretty consistently here from Oct to May so they'll go on next month and come off next summer

Originally Posted by cp43

Agreed. SKS or Planet Bike plastic fenders. Cheaper than metal, easier to install, and in my experience, more durable.

Is there any advantage to metal fenders?

[jdp211]

Metal fenders are way more durable than plastic and look nicer. Its worth the pain of getting the first install right (or paying a shop to do so, being in PNW there will be many shops with extensive experience with fenders). the Berthoud hardware is really really nice, worth pairing that with whichever metal fender you find most aesthetically appealing (be it Berthoud, Honjo, or other). Once you've drilled and gotten your holes in the right spot, subsequent installs and uninstalls will be much much easier, and they'll last for many years.

[p nut]

For a Soma Smoothie, I’d personally get PDW fenders. So easy to set up and they come with safety tabs. They also look very good.
I prefer metal fenders myself. SKS and PB have been fine but they seem to chip and crack after several years. I haven’t had a metal one crack yet.

[keevon]

Another recommendation for full metal fenders. I have Velo Orange fenders on two bikes - one set is about 8 years old, the other is just over a year. They've been superb, much better than the SKS and Planet Bike fenders that I've had previously.

When installed on a frameset with proper mounts and hardware, they're rock solid and silent. Initial setup is time consuming as mentioned, but once everything is bent/cut/drilled, you don't need to adjust them again.

I highly recommend checking the clearance between your tires and the frameset before ordering fenders. Manufacturer's clearance claims are often suspect, and tire heights vary for the same size. Velo Orange says the minimum clearance is 10mm, while Rene Herse says minimum 20mm. More clearance is better - you want enough space between the tire and fender to allow small pebbles and debris to clear without getting stuck.

I also highly recommend a safety release for the front fender. This helps prevent larger debris from jamming on the fender and sending you over the bars. These PDW safety tabs work perfectly with the stays on Velo Orange fenders (and others): https://ridepdw.com/collections/fend...rs-safety-tabs

More reading here: https://velo-orange.com/pages/choosing-fenders
And here: https://www.renehersecycles.com/requ...-installation/

[tellyho]

I broke two sets of SKS before committing to metal. I won't go back, but I ride through NE winters and cold is no good for plastic. Hell, plastic is just no good in general.

If you want the best guide to install (though certainly the most fiddly), you'll find it here