Depending on the alloy stainless teel work hardens pretty easily and forming the fender in a press would work harden it. Phil Brown
On Dec 22, 6:31 am, Jan Heine <hein...@earthlink.net> wrote: > On Dec 21, 5:17 pm, Kelly Sleeper <tkslee...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > I also went to Vol 2 #1 and saw no actual testing of the Berthoud steel > > fender in that article under metal fenders. > > Back then, the Berthoud fenders were sold under the "Cagnion" brand, > and you could only get them in France. We simply labeled them "French > stainless steel." They are the same fenders. > > We have had several test bikes with cracked Berthoud fenders, but on > the other hand, I know riders who have ridden for years with Berthoud > fenders with no problems. It may be an installation issue (see below), > or occur during shipping, if the rear fender is pushed forward in the > box. > > The longest-lasting fenders appear to be the aluminum fenders. I have > seen bikes with 100,000+ miles on the same set of fenders. The Honjo > fenders on my Alex Singer now have lasted for 6 years and at least > 40,000 miles. (I only replaced the 1973 originals because I wanted to > use wider tires, not because they were failing.) > > With Honjo fenders (and probably Berthoud), it is crucial that they > are shaped as desired before installation. Pulling the fenders into > position with the stays puts constant stresses on the fenders and will > lead to premature failure. (The same probably applies to plastic > fenders, but you cannot reshape them easily, which may be why they > only last a few years.) > > Jan Heine > Editor > Bicycle Quarterlyhttp://www.bikequarterly.com > > Follow our blog athttp://janheine.wordpress.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.