Fenders - front mudflap important ?

try searching tech to - chain guard $2

Bob said:

How important is a front mudflap when using fenders? Does lot of spray
come up off the front wheel and hit the lower part of the bike?

Very. Yes.

--
Arthur Clune

"Bob" wrote...

Quoted message said:

How important is a front mudflap when using fenders? Does lot of spray
come up off the front wheel and hit the lower part of the bike? I'm
thinking of protection from riding on wet roads and through remaining
puddles, not riding in the rain.

I get a fair bit of spray on my feet even w/ a front fender, not so much on
the bike. If that's a concern than go with a mudflap. I'm seriously
considering a front mudflap for this winter.
--
mark

Quoted message said:

Thanks,

mark said:

"Bob" wrote...

Quoted message said:

How important is a front mudflap when using fenders? Does lot of spray
come up off the front wheel and hit the lower part of the bike? I'm
thinking of protection from riding on wet roads and through remaining
puddles, not riding in the rain.

I get a fair bit of spray on my feet even w/ a front fender, not so much on
the bike. If that's a concern than go with a mudflap. I'm seriously
considering a front mudflap for this winter.

Thanks boys, that's all I needed to know. except,er... anyone know of
a good material that can be worked into a front mudflap? Some sort of
thick vinyl used for some other purpose normally?

Bob said:

How important is a front mudflap when using fenders?

It depends on a number of things, but mostly on how damp you like your
shoes to get, and how much riding you do on wet roads.

Quoted message said:

Does lot of spray
come up off the front wheel and hit the lower part of the bike?

It's not the stuff that hits the bike that you're likely to be annoyed
by, though that can mess up the chain. It's the spray hitting your
feet that I find to be the major issue.

Quoted message said:

I'm
thinking of protection from riding on wet roads and through remaining
puddles, not riding in the rain.

Well, then, a mud flap may be a good idea. Here in the desert-like
conditions of Houston[1], I have only one bike with fenders, and it
gets ridden the least. When I lived in sodden South Florida, I found
fenders to be much more useful.

[1] Desert-like by comparison to Miami, at least; here, we frequently
have periods of an entire month during which it doesn't rain. Oh, and
we have these things called Seasons[2], too.

[2] Okay, Miami has seasons of a sort. Tourist and Off, as I recall.
Here, the seasons are descriptive of the weather, unlike Illinois
where they are Basketball, Football and Road Construction, with some
overlaps.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
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Bob said:

Thanks boys, that's all I needed to know. except,er... anyone know of
a good material that can be worked into a front mudflap? Some sort of
thick vinyl used for some other purpose normally?

Unless you ride really fast, even leather will work.

Some suggestions:

A piece cut from a rubber floor mat of the type sold for cars.
A trimmed car mud flap. (These still exist, believe it or not, and
are generally made of a tough plastic now.)
Thick leather, heavily oiled.
An AOL CD. (No, really, I've seen this done.)
A piece of conveyor belt material.

I'm sure that there will be other suggestions.

--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
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Bob said:

How important is a front mudflap when using fenders? Does lot of spray
come up off the front wheel and hit the lower part of the bike? I'm
thinking of protection from riding on wet roads and through remaining
puddles, not riding in the rain.

Thanks,

How far down the front fender curves is the most important thing. If
the fender arcs around most of the back side of the front tire, then
the mudflap is unimportant. If the front fender only covers the top
arc of the wheel behind the fork, then your mudflap will need to be a
foot or two long to keep the water off your shoes. Best is to get a
front fender that curves around the front wheel as far as possible.

"Bob" wrote

Quoted message said:

Thanks boys, that's all I needed to know. except,er... anyone know of
a good material that can be worked into a front mudflap? Some sort of
thick vinyl used for some other purpose normally?

The folks at Rivendell suggest cutting up an old water bottle and using zip
ties to attach it. Looks really good on a $2400 custom frame...

I've seen mudflaps made by SKS to fit their fenders, but I don't know where
they're offered for sale.

I've also seen beautiful leather mudflaps made by Gilles Berthoud, offered
by Peter White Cycles. Looked pretty elegant for smething that's going to
get dragged through the mud on a regular basis.
--
mark

I concur.

One of my bikes has a mudguard as you describe and needs no mudflap,
others have shorter mudguards and a mudflap if essential for keeping
water off the feet.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=109&subcategory=1124&brand=&sku=9381&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

Solid Black, Black Flame, Leopard, Cow, or Zebra.

A buddy of mine in Seattle made something called "Flapjax" which is a
carbon fiber flap - mostly to go on the rear. Looks rather appropriate
on a nicer race bike.

Bob said:

Thanks boys, that's all I needed to know. except,er... anyone know of
a good material that can be worked into a front mudflap? Some sort of
thick vinyl used for some other purpose normally?

Stair tread - the flexible kind typically used for basement stairs. You
can cut at least 4 out of a single one, which costs about $2 at a
hardware store.

The stuff they sell on a roll is, oddly, less flexible and doesn't work
as well.

My front flap is actually more of a "scoop". I use this blue Sewer
evacuation hose (soft, lays flat when not full) that I cut down its
lenght and wrap around the fender. It works well because it catches
much of the spray generated by the water running off the tire and into
the fender. It channels the water down below my feet which is what I'm
usually most trying to keep un-soaked.

(Arthur Clune) said:

Bob said:

How important is a front mudflap when using fenders? Does lot of spray
come up off the front wheel and hit the lower part of the bike?

Very. Yes.

And not only does it hit the bike -- it hits your feet.

JT

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Front flaps are a necesity. I use a piece of a polyethelene water jug.
Stair treads work as well. The best one I ever saw was made out of the
portective rubber liner that protects truck inner tubes from chafing on
the wheel.They can often be found in the trash at a truck tire
dealer-by truck I mean semi.
Phil Brown

"Werehatrack" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bob said:

Thanks boys, that's all I needed to know. except,er... anyone know of
a good material that can be worked into a front mudflap? Some sort of
thick vinyl used for some other purpose normally?

I use Berthoud leather mud flaps on my "heavy" bikes .

On my light fendered bikes I just rivet a piece of laundry detergent bottle.
Cut out the short side of a laundry detergent bottle. Trace the pattern of
one side of a seam on the short side of the bottle and fold it along the
seam and then cut. Perfectly symetrical.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY

Bob said:

Thanks boys, that's all I needed to know. except,er... anyone know of
a good material that can be worked into a front mudflap? Some sort of
thick vinyl used for some other purpose normally?

It doesn't need to be particularly thick, depending how you shape it.
Mine are thin polyethelene, cut from gallon jugs of grocery liquids -
distilled water, vinegar, etc.

I cut it into a shape vaguely like the silhouette of the Liberty bell.
I drill a 1/4" hole near the top of the flap, to match a 1/4" hole
about 1" above the lowest point of the fender.

I hold the flap in place with a nylon 1/4" screw and a wing nut. It's
there only when needed. The rest of the time it lives in my bike bag.

It fastens to the inner surface of the fender, not behind the fender.
This way the fender gives it a curve, so it's got some stiffness. But
the lowest widest part is still flexible. This is important for riding
over bumps, carrying the bike down stairs, etc. You don't want a rigid
flap to snag and harm your fender.

- Frank Krygowski

Hardware stores (should) sell 6"x6" sheets of thin rubber in the
plumbing section, either black or red (well, KoolStop would call the
color 'salmon' 🙂 I've used the 1/16" thick with excellent results.
Just trim to make a 1-2" tab on the top that will go on the inside of
the fender. Short bolts with fender washers to hold in place.

Some hardware stored will have the material in rolls for sale by the
foot if you need a longer flap.

Werehatrack said:

Bob said:

Thanks boys, that's all I needed to know. except,er... anyone know of
a good material that can be worked into a front mudflap? Some sort of
thick vinyl used for some other purpose normally?

Unless you ride really fast, even leather will work.

Some suggestions:

A piece cut from a rubber floor mat of the type sold for cars.
A trimmed car mud flap. (These still exist, believe it or not, and
are generally made of a tough plastic now.)
Thick leather, heavily oiled.
An AOL CD. (No, really, I've seen this done.)
A piece of conveyor belt material.

I'm sure that there will be other suggestions.

The stiff plastic "wrappers" that Michelin folding tires used to come in
(and maybe still do).

Mark