> Let me modify that "expertly" to "competently" or "carefully".
Yes, I was having a Sunday morning ego-trip. I've installed all my fenders, and I'm no expert. It's not difficult--just time consuming. Pleasantly so, to me. On Dec 7, 11:06 am, Steve Palincsar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Sun, 2008-12-07 at 08:38 -0800, Andrew Karre wrote: > > Aesthetics aside, the main benefit of metal fenders is that they, when > > expertly installed, work MUCH better than plastic. > > Let me modify that "expertly" to "competently" or "carefully". I've > successfully installed two sets, and you can't find anyone farther from > "expert" at this than me. I saw Peter White install one fender, and > before I began I read what was available online at the Jitensha site, > and purchased the two VBQ back issues that had articles on how to > install Honjo fenders. I then spent a couple of weeks reviewing, > visualizing, and going over the steps in my mind. > > The most notable thing I recalled from watching Peter White was that you > have to take your time and be patient. You install the fender, mark it, > remove and drill it, install it again, mark the next spot, remove, > drill, reinstall, mark the next, remove, drill, reinstall. It takes > time, and you can't be in a hurry. > > I specifically didn't say "measure" because real measurement, i.e., with > a measuring instrument, wasn't at all required. That's a good thing, > because I don't shine at real measurement. In fact, I almost never get > it right, and can't seem to get the same measurement twice running. No > fear, it's not required. > > And even real pinpoint accuracy in marking isn't required. Sometimes a > sightly oval hole that allows for a little adjustment in case you were a > trifle off and the holes don't quite line up works as well as if you'd > had xray vision and nailed it perfectly. > > Outright crudity can work, too. My Kogswell P/R was designed to be > mounted with a 1 cm spacer under the fork crown. I went looking for a > drilled rubber spacer similar to what comes with the Berthoud fender > mounting hardware (and similar to what they have in chem labs, a 1-hole > rubber stopper) and couldn't find anything like it. > > The closest I came was what the hardware store called a "rubber plug". > It was at least 1 cm too long, but a saw made short work of that: I just > cut it in half by eyeball. The cut wasn't even, of course, none of my > saw cuts ever is, but a few minutes with a coarse grade of sandpaper > fixed that. I sort of drilled a "hole" - I put that in quotes because > the result didn't look like any drilled hole I've ever seen before - for > the mounting bolt (the front fender mounts with a bolt that comes up > from below that runs through the fender into either a threaded mounting > bracket on the underside of the fork crown, or from an eyebolt that > comes down from the brake or front rack mounting bolt). It was more > like a rip through the center, and it wasn't round or even straight. > But when I bolted the fender up, it was perfectly adequate. > > So don't look at this and think you need to find an expert with the > experience of Peter White or Mike Barry to mount these fenders. If you > can install a picture hook you probably have the skills needed to > install metal fenders, provided you take care, take the time and really > understand each step before you go and drill or cut any metal. > > > This isn't to say > > that plastic fenders are ineffective--not at all. SKS fenders are much > > better than nothing, and I see why they and the Planet Bike > > equivalents are popular with shops (more power to them) > > I agree. They're much better than nothing, but at the same time, Honjo > and Berthoud fenders are in my experience as much better than the SKS > (which I've used many times over the years) as the SKS are compared to > no fenders at all. > > > , but now that > > metal fenders are relatively inexpensive and more readily available > > than ever, it does seem strange to me that they haven't become the > > standard for more obsessively detail-oriented bikes like most Rivs. > > Part of this, I think, is that Riv's philosophy about fenders is > informed by the climate at Walnut Creek. They have, I'm told, a > distinct rainy season out there, and you install fenders for the rainy > season, and remove them afterwards. Plastic fenders lend themselves to > that approach; you wouldn't want to remove and reinstall metal fenders. > They're a permanent part of the bike. > > Another thing: a really good fender line depends on the bike being > designed for metal fenders. That includes bridges spaced exactly > equally, and it also means a mount under the fork crown and a mount for > fenders under the brake bridge. > > Rivendells aren't designed that way. In fact, the chainstay bridge on > the Atlantis is so far from the correct location that when a friend of > mine installed SKS fenders on her Atlantis she had to use a wine cork > around 1 1/2 inches long to space out the forward edge of the rear > fender. > > Also, Riv is a parts supplier as much as, if not more so than, a frame > distributor. They're really big on customer service, and have a very > generous return policy. Metal fenders aren't for everyone, and they can > be a real headache to set up. I imagine they can be a huge customer > service problem, too, given the wrong sort of customer. I have the > feeling, from something I once saw in either a Flyer or a Riv Reader, > that maybe at one time Riv had that experience and decided it might just > be too much of a headache to support. > > > If > > you're looking forward to shellacing your handlebar tape, then you'll > > really enjoy the aesthetic bliss that comes with the perfect fender > > lines possible only with metal. > > I absolutely agree. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
