Tips and tricks for installing fenders the hard way

[Smitty2k1]

I'm no newcomer to fenders, I've installed two sets of SKS longboards and one set of Velo Orange, but I recently scored these fenders for under $14 from Soma: https://www.somafabshop.com/shop/pro...?category=2790

These Tanaka fenders come completely undrilled, which will be new for me. I'm also installing these on a disc brake bike that has the rear disc brake caliper outside the rear triangle, so I'll have some interference there.

My questions to the hive mind:
1) Any tips or tricks for marking and drilling the necessary holes in these fenders so that everything lines up correct the first time?
2) What's the preferred method for avoiding disc caliper interference with the stays- standoffs or bending the stays? If it is bending the stays does anyone have a process of how to do that without a vice or any other specialty tools?
3) I should use this an excuse to buy some new tools. What tools would you consider "nice to have" for installing fenders? I've certainly got all the "must have" tools, but during this COVID winter I want to treat myself.

[palincss]

Originally Posted by Smitty2k1

I'm no newcomer to fenders, I've installed two sets of SKS longboards and one set of Velo Orange, but I recently scored these fenders for under $14 from Soma: https://www.somafabshop.com/shop/pro...?category=2790

These Tanaka fenders come completely undrilled, which will be new for me. I'm also installing these on a disc brake bike that has the rear disc brake caliper outside the rear triangle, so I'll have some interference there.

My questions to the hive mind:
1) Any tips or tricks for marking and drilling the necessary holes in these fenders so that everything lines up correct the first time?

You can't mark and drill all the holes at one time. It just doesn't work. What you have to do is temporarily fix the fender in place and mark one set of holes. Remove, drill, mount that one set, then mark the next set and remove the fender. Drill, remount the two mounted holes, mark the third; remove, drill, remount. It takes time and it simply cannot be rushed.

Originally Posted by Smitty2k1

3) I should use this an excuse to buy some new tools. What tools would you consider "nice to have" for installing fenders? I've certainly got all the "must have" tools, but during this COVID winter I want to treat myself.

You really don't need very fancy tools to do this. What you do need is patience and the right attitude. Read a good set of instructions half a dozen times, visualizing the steps. Breathe deeply and be calm. It's kind of a Zen thing: if you get into the flow of it, it all makes sense and even though it's taking a long time it doesn't seem that way. Try to force it and hurry it up, and you'll screw it up, because it simply cannot be rushed.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by palincss

You can't mark and drill all the holes at one time. It just doesn't work. What you have to do is temporarily fix the fender in place and mark one set of holes. Remove, drill, mount that one set, then mark the next set and remove the fender. Drill, remount the two mounted holes, mark the third; remove, drill, remount. It takes time and it simply cannot be rushed.




You really don't need very fancy tools to do this. What you do need is patience and the right attitude. Read a good set of instructions half a dozen times, visualizing the steps. Breathe deeply and be calm. It's kind of a Zen thing: if you get into the flow of it, it all makes sense and even though it's taking a long time it doesn't seem that way. Try to force it and hurry it up, and you'll screw it up, because it simply cannot be rushed.

This ^ is a great response.

[Pastashop]

The bit about patience is very true. I installed and re-installed (on different frames) a few metal fenders, and here's my preferred sequence in 21 easy steps:

1. Mount the wheels and tires in the frame.

2. Put in the rear fender and mark the place of the hole corresponding to the chainstay bridge mounting point. (I like to allow for the fender to protrude one or two inches past the bottom bracket, but you might have prefs. to make it end at the chainstay bridge.)

3. Slide the fender out and drill hole for Step 2 above. Make sure it's centered. If you need to crimp or dremel out the fender to fit between chainstays, there are some tutorials on the web for this. Or you can improvise.

4. Take out rear wheel, bolt the fender into the hole at the chainstay bridge, taking care to suspend the apex of the fender near the seatstay bridge, so that it doesn't bend under gravity. Bolt it in all the way.

5. Re-mount the rear wheel and ensure you're getting a good fender line with the apex of the fender butted up against the mounting hole on the seatstay bridge. This may require some shaping, depending on how the fender arrives to you, and tire dimensions. Generally, you can squeeze the fender sides with your fingers, which will make its arc increase. In this fashion, you can muscle a wide 650b to fit a narrower 700c tire profile.

6. Take out rear wheel, unbolt the fender from the chainstay bridge, drill the apex of the fender where the marking is.

7. Bolt the fender to the frame via the two drilled holes. Re-mount wheel.

8. Fit stays and adjust their length – Tape the stays to the back of the fender, 2-3 inches above the end, mount their ends into eyelets at the dropout, and set the fenderline. Then tighten the eyelet bolts on both sides. Mark the part that protrudes past the eyelet. Mark where the stays sit on the fender, and choose where the draw-bolts or retainer brackets will go.

9. Take out rear wheel and unmount the fender. Cut stays (or you can do this a bit later), and drill holes for the draw bolts. Affix stays to the fender, keeping the draw bolts slightly loose.

10. Re-mount fenders, re-mount the wheel, and set fender line. Adjust and re-tighten draw bolts, tighten eyelet bolts, make sure fender line is good. Adjust as necessary. Trim stays as necessary.

11-20. Repeat (1-10) for front fender. Note that front-most portion of fender should extend just past 1 or even 2 o'clock, and must be reinforced by mounting to a front rack or an extra pair of stays. Also note that with metal fenders you'll want ideally about 15-20 mm of clearance between tire and fender.

21 - optional. D*mn everything to h*ll and buy SKS plastic fenders from Rivendell, which take a tenth of the time to mount and adjust, but don't work as well.

[jtakeda]

I’m not sure if these will work with your fenders but they look like they might.

https://www.benscycle.com/portland-d...AaAvsDEALw_wcB


I used them with Pdw fenders to space out the fender for disc—don’t see why they wouldn’t work for your style attachment.

[mktng]

Only thing I can add which I found helpful with my honjos. Plus if you want to buy tools. Buy a hand deburring tool. I drilled a small hole to star and not only used the tool to smooth out the drilled hole. I was able to shave material off slowly using it. Until the hole was big enough to fit the nut through.

[jacrider]

Originally Posted by Pastashop

The bit about patience is very true. I installed and re-installed (on different frames) a few metal fenders, and here's my preferred sequence in 21 easy steps:

1. Mount the wheels and tires in the frame.

2. Put in the rear fender and mark the place of the hole corresponding to the chainstay bridge mounting point. (I like to allow for the fender to protrude one or two inches past the bottom bracket, but you might have prefs. to make it end at the chainstay bridge.)

3. Slide the fender out and drill hole for Step 2 above. Make sure it's centered. If you need to crimp or dremel out the fender to fit between chainstays, there are some tutorials on the web for this. Or you can improvise.

4. Take out rear wheel, bolt the fender into the hole at the chainstay bridge, taking care to suspend the apex of the fender near the seatstay bridge, so that it doesn't bend under gravity. Bolt it in all the way.

5. Re-mount the rear wheel and ensure you're getting a good fender line with the apex of the fender butted up against the mounting hole on the seatstay bridge. This may require some shaping, depending on how the fender arrives to you, and tire dimensions. Generally, you can squeeze the fender sides with your fingers, which will make its arc increase. In this fashion, you can muscle a wide 650b to fit a narrower 700c tire profile.

6. Take out rear wheel, unbolt the fender from the chainstay bridge, drill the apex of the fender where the marking is.

7. Bolt the fender to the frame via the two drilled holes. Re-mount wheel.

8. Fit stays and adjust their length – Tape the stays to the back of the fender, 2-3 inches above the end, mount their ends into eyelets at the dropout, and set the fenderline. Then tighten the eyelet bolts on both sides. Mark the part that protrudes past the eyelet. Mark where the stays sit on the fender, and choose where the draw-bolts or retainer brackets will go.

9. Take out rear wheel and unmount the fender. Cut stays (or you can do this a bit later), and drill holes for the draw bolts. Affix stays to the fender, keeping the draw bolts slightly loose.

10. Re-mount fenders, re-mount the wheel, and set fender line. Adjust and re-tighten draw bolts, tighten eyelet bolts, make sure fender line is good. Adjust as necessary. Trim stays as necessary.

11-20. Repeat (1-10) for front fender. Note that front-most portion of fender should extend just past 1 or even 2 o'clock, and must be reinforced by mounting to a front rack or an extra pair of stays. Also note that with metal fenders you'll want ideally about 15-20 mm of clearance between tire and fender.

21 - optional. D*mn everything to h*ll and buy SKS plastic fenders from Rivendell, which take a tenth of the time to mount and adjust, but don't work as well.

Yes, this is a great step-by-step set of instructions.

Only thing I would recommend adding before finishing each fender, it getting out your dremel tool, and trim off all excess length on the bolts inside the fenders. This both gives you more tire clearance and will encourage less water/slush to divert out from under the fenders.

The whole process takes a while. I recently did 2 sets of Honjo fenders. First bike was 4 hours, second was less than half that. However, well done, fenders look good.

Good luck.

[bikinchris]

Originally Posted by Smitty2k1

I'm no newcomer to fenders, I've installed two sets of SKS longboards and one set of Velo Orange, but I recently scored these fenders for under $14 from Soma: https://www.somafabshop.com/shop/pro...?category=2790

These Tanaka fenders come completely undrilled, which will be new for me. I'm also installing these on a disc brake bike that has the rear disc brake caliper outside the rear triangle, so I'll have some interference there.

My questions to the hive mind:
1) Any tips or tricks for marking and drilling the necessary holes in these fenders so that everything lines up correct the first time?
2) What's the preferred method for avoiding disc caliper interference with the stays- standoffs or bending the stays? If it is bending the stays does anyone have a process of how to do that without a vice or any other specialty tools?
3) I should use this an excuse to buy some new tools. What tools would you consider "nice to have" for installing fenders? I've certainly got all the "must have" tools, but during this COVID winter I want to treat myself.

If you wind up needing parts or struts for Tanaka, I have a complete mounting set around here somewhere.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Pastashop

The bit about patience is very true. I installed and re-installed (on different frames) a few metal fenders, and here's my preferred sequence in 21 easy steps:

1. Mount the wheels and tires in the frame.

2. Put in the rear fender and mark the place of the hole corresponding to the chainstay bridge mounting point. (I like to allow for the fender to protrude one or two inches past the bottom bracket, but you might have prefs. to make it end at the chainstay bridge.)

3. Slide the fender out and drill hole for Step 2 above. Make sure it's centered. If you need to crimp or dremel out the fender to fit between chainstays, there are some tutorials on the web for this. Or you can improvise.

4. Take out rear wheel, bolt the fender into the hole at the chainstay bridge, taking care to suspend the apex of the fender near the seatstay bridge, so that it doesn't bend under gravity. Bolt it in all the way.

5. Re-mount the rear wheel and ensure you're getting a good fender line with the apex of the fender butted up against the mounting hole on the seatstay bridge. This may require some shaping, depending on how the fender arrives to you, and tire dimensions. Generally, you can squeeze the fender sides with your fingers, which will make its arc increase. In this fashion, you can muscle a wide 650b to fit a narrower 700c tire profile.

6. Take out rear wheel, unbolt the fender from the chainstay bridge, drill the apex of the fender where the marking is.

7. Bolt the fender to the frame via the two drilled holes. Re-mount wheel.

8. Fit stays and adjust their length – Tape the stays to the back of the fender, 2-3 inches above the end, mount their ends into eyelets at the dropout, and set the fenderline. Then tighten the eyelet bolts on both sides. Mark the part that protrudes past the eyelet. Mark where the stays sit on the fender, and choose where the draw-bolts or retainer brackets will go.

9. Take out rear wheel and unmount the fender. Cut stays (or you can do this a bit later), and drill holes for the draw bolts. Affix stays to the fender, keeping the draw bolts slightly loose.

10. Re-mount fenders, re-mount the wheel, and set fender line. Adjust and re-tighten draw bolts, tighten eyelet bolts, make sure fender line is good. Adjust as necessary. Trim stays as necessary.

11-20. Repeat (1-10) for front fender. Note that front-most portion of fender should extend just past 1 or even 2 o'clock, and must be reinforced by mounting to a front rack or an extra pair of stays. Also note that with metal fenders you'll want ideally about 15-20 mm of clearance between tire and fender.

21 - optional. D*mn everything to h*ll and buy SKS plastic fenders from Rivendell, which take a tenth of the time to mount and adjust, but don't work as well.

Nice of you to write all that out.

This should be a sticky

[jpsawyer23]

A trick i use to knowing where to drill for the rear fender is to secure the fender with a small bungee. The two hooks on either side of the fender and then wrapping around the seatpost sucking it against the brake bridge. Then you can figure out where to drill the holes and get a good fender line without having to hold it in place with your hand. You can also leave the wheel in like this.
Drill for the chainstay bridge first and then brake bridge. And make sure youre accounting for how far you want the fender to sit above the tire. If it has to sit lower than the brake bridge, and you drill the hole with the fender right up against the brake bridge and then need to lower it, the mounting tang or hole wont line up with the brake or fender mount anymore.
And using something like a tailoring measuring tape can help finding the center of the fender. And a punch is your friend when drilling the hole so the drill doesnt migrate.

[Pastashop]

Originally Posted by jpsawyer23

A trick i use to knowing where to drill for the rear fender is to secure the fender with a small bungee. The two hooks on either side of the fender and then wrapping around the seatpost sucking it against the brake bridge. Then you can figure out where to drill the holes and get a good fender line without having to hold it in place with your hand. You can also leave the wheel in like this.
Drill for the chainstay bridge first and then brake bridge. And make sure youre accounting for how far you want the fender to sit above the tire. If it has to sit lower than the brake bridge, and you drill the hole with the fender right up against the brake bridge and then need to lower it, the mounting tang or hole wont line up with the brake or fender mount anymore.
And using something like a tailoring measuring tape can help finding the center of the fender. And a punch is your friend when drilling the hole so the drill doesnt migrate.

Great tips!

[Smitty2k1]

Hey everyone - thanks for all the great tips, step by step instructions, etc. Especially to @Pastashop!

As I mentioned, I've done a set of metal fenders, Velo Orange, before, and two sets of SKS longboards (I'm replacing one of the longboards with these incoming Tanakas). I've got a center punch and Dremel for the stays, but the deburring tool is a good idea, they are cheap I'll probably pick one up.

From what Soma's web page shows, these fenders do NOT come with leather washers like my metal VO fenders did. It seems leather washers are almost a must for metal fenders, what do you guys think?

Because these are going on my city bike, I think I'm also going to add mud flaps to them. It looks like Treetop Goods sells both leather washers and mudflaps, so I'll probably buy from them unless anyone has another source to consider.

The one item I still haven't figured out is how to bend the stays around my disc calipers. My previous longboards were just installed with spacers - they worked ok but don't look the best. I'm primarily replacing the longboards with the metal fenders for appearances, so I want these to look GOOD. I'll have to do some more research on how to bend the stays around the calipers.

Before shot of the bike for historical record purposes, I'll post another shot when I get the new wheels (all polished silver) and fenders on.

[Mr B]

Leather washers are a solid concept, but the clear rubber stickers PDW include with their fenders make for an equally silent ride.
I dare say one could make some rubber washers from pieces of inner tube, frame protection film or even certain types of thicker rubbery handlebar finishing tape (such as the stuff MASH supplies with their tape).

[marciero]

The best guide for installing full fenders that I have seen is the four part series by Anton Tutter at Velo Lumino on the blog there. It may be over the top for your purposes with plastic fenders, as it details stress relieving for proper arc, dimpling, etc. There is also one by JP Weigle in the Winter 2010 BQ. Rene Herse would include a copy of that article when you purchased fenders. The VL one is probably even more detailed, and with better pictures.

[jpsawyer23]

Originally Posted by Pastashop

Great tips!

Thanks! You're write up was impressive too