I don't think that the process of drilling your own fenders is too difficult. It does, however, merit some care in getting everything right. The old adage - "measure twice, cut once" - is certainly applicable. Look at photographs of bikes with Honjo fenders carefully to ascertain the correct placement of the stays, use a punch to mark the point for your drill so that it won't have a tendency to drift. You may find a Dremel tool useful for dressing the ends of the stays to get a nice finish (this is one of the few actual uses I've ever found for a Dremel tool!). With care, you can definitely achieve results that look professional.
I have a 1996 Rivendell Road Standard model which I've fitted with 44mm Honjo fenders. They look, in my opinion, very nice. I wouldn't, however, expect to fit tires any larger than 28mm in width with the clearances on my bike. The rear brake bridge for my Riv was definitely intended for short reach sidepull brakes (the Rivendell Road bicycle tested in Bicycle Guide magazine had Suntour Cyclone sidepulls, mine is fitted with Suntour Superbe Pro sidepulls internal return spring models which are similar in reach). There's definitely not sufficient clearance for 32mm tires (I'm presently using a set of Panaracer Category Pro tires which are 26mm in width). On the mounting of the rear fender, at the brake bridge, if your bike has a bridge that is drilled and tapped you'll definitely need to establish the right curve to the fender before drilling a hole in the fender to mount on the bridge. I didn't get this right and resorted to using the adjustable bridge. You'll also find it works well to use a spacer between the chainstay bridge and the fender (I assume you have chainstay bridge that is tapped for fenders). You can even paint the spacer to match your frame's color, I did and it looks neat! This instruction from Jitensha is generally useful: http://www.jitensha.com/eng/honjinstl.html Good Luck! Jim On May 28, 8:05 am, b hamon <periwinkle...@yahoo.com> wrote: > I am beginning to re-do my beloved Rivvy, which looks pretty tired after ten > years of service.Added shellacked tan cork grips this morning. Honey-colored > Brooks B-17 will follow next payday, replacing a 14-year-old B-17 that no > longer offers much support. Pondering new fenders, but I'm also worried about > tire clearance (I got one of those Maynard Hershon "if I'd known then what I > know now" kind of bikes and can barely run 700 x 32 tires with the fenders I > have now). > Current fender is a cheap Planet Bike set in black. I'm looking at the V-O > fenders (they're cheaper than Honjos and I sort of like the matte finish) OR > Planet Bike Cascadia. The Cascadias are a known quantity; I know that they'll > just fit with my 32 tires. But the idea of alloy fenders is appealing. > Last batch of VO fenders I saw were not pre-drilled. How much of a hassle IS > it to drill your own fenders? Seriously. Is it an all-day-at-home affair? > Also, Current brake set is the Shimano RX-100 "long reach" that were > recommended when the frame was built without cantis back in 1999. Is there > another dual-pivot caliper that offers even a little more tire/fender > clearance? What do you like? > Bethhttp://bikelovejones.livejournal.com > > http://veloquent.blogspot.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
