> But aren't the plastic fenders more apt to get out of whack? Over the > years I've had plastic fenders snap off from brittleness from the cold, > and I've had them take on a perverse curve from no obvious cause that > was very difficult to correct.
Cheaper plastic is less resistant to cold. I think the plastic SKS uses is high caliber stuff. In any event, the camper and I call it a season when temps drop below 40. In colder weather I may do a day ride, but on the commuter which has fluted Honjos. > What other sort of fender mishaps have you experienced on the road, that > would require shop tools to rectify? Aside from just the general pain trying to adjust the play at the p- clamps with the bike on uneven ground and only the kick stand to keep it steady, I had two incidents that convinced me to go with SKS on the camper. First was probably just bad planning on my part. While riding in (very) rural Northeast Iowa, one of the nuts on the inside of the lower fastener bracket came off, loctite notwithstanding. I did not have a replacement and could not duct tape the fender into place. The nearest hardware store was a day and half a way. I wound up having to take off the fender - which meant unloading the bike, taking off the chain to take off the wheel and stowing the fender awkwardly a top my gear until I got a bolt. The second was more serious. I was riding a crushed limestone trail wet from a few days worth of rain. Some slurry with a large chunk of limestone came up under the front rack with enough force that the center fender mounting piece actually bent the Paul Racer mounting bolt it attaches to inside the fork. The fender itself bent - but as you point out was easily bent back into shape. The brake was more of a problem. I could not get it set up to work without rubbing on one side of the tire. I wound up having to ride the rest of the day with only the back brake to stop a bike with over 40 pounds of gear. I am pretty sure the SKS would have just broken away in that situation. An external bracket on the fender would have prevented this. But then you loose that great integrated look possible only with metal fenders. On Dec 7, 9:24 am, Steve Palincsar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Sun, 2008-12-07 at 06:45 -0800, JoelMatthews wrote: > > It depends on how the buyer intends to use it. > > > The bike is definitely a looker. Metal fenders are definitely better > > looking than plastic. But plastic makes more sense in some > > situations. > > > When I read the description it really appears to me someone took off > > the racks, but it is definitely kitted up for serious touring. I > > have three bikes. The commuter has Honjos, the boulevardier has > > Berthouds, and the camper has SKS. Not that I am slighting the > > camper. I love the bike. The reason is when metal fenders get out of > > whack, you really need to be at your home shop to get them back into > > whack. SKS are much easier to pull or prod back into place, and are > > more amenable to a duct tape or zip tie fix if it comes down to that. > > But aren't the plastic fenders more apt to get out of whack? Over the > years I've had plastic fenders snap off from brittleness from the cold, > and I've had them take on a perverse curve from no obvious cause that > was very difficult to correct. > > I've only ever had one metal fender mishap on the road. I was at Bike > Virginia, had climbed a long hill, and as I crested the hill I spotted > an old friend from the local bike club who'd moved away ten years ago. > Naturally, I stopped to say hello. > > As I was chatting, holding the bike, back to the road, a guy climbed the > hill and stalled right at the crest. He fell over sideways, right on > top of me and my bike. I staggered but didn't go down; but I also > didn't notice that my back fender had gotten pushed forward, the stays > having slid through the R-clip, and was actually touching my back tire. > > As I started going down the hill after the break, I was surprised at how > slowly I was going - and noticed a weird noise, and a smell of burning > rubber. I stopped at the bottom of the hill to check things out and > found the fender was very hot from where it had been rubbing on the > tire. > > It took only a minute to loosen the R-clips, allow the fender to move > back, re-align and re-tighten, and I was off. > > What other sort of fender mishaps have you experienced on the road, that > would require shop tools to rectify? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
