I agree with most of Bill's observations, but not necessarily his conclusion, about wood fenders. In the right application, I like 'em.
"The flat ones do a lousy job as fenders, letting any real water spray out to the sides." This is a relative statement; it's true that the flat wooden fenders are not as good as curved fenders at preventing water from getting on you and your bike, but I would qualify the point by saying that in my experience they're fine (adequate, at least, and maybe better than that) in a drizzle, or riding on wet pavement and through puddles left after a rainstorm. And good mudflaps improve their utility significantly. Bill is absolutely correct that they're nowhere near as effective as a good pair of Honjos in hard rain. But I have a dedicated metal-fendered rain bike for such weather. "The nice rounded ones are crazy expensive, aren't adjustable in a stress-relieving way, and are way too thick, eating into the precious mm of clearance." I agree with these observations, too, though again with some caveats. Because the compound curve wooden fenders are very labor intensive, they are quite expensive -- although not much more than the Honjos on the Compass Cycles site. And they are unquestionably somewhat thicker than the Honjos, which (depending on the bike, of course) can eat into precious mm of clearance. On a restoration of a lovely lugged '80s mountain bike, for example, which may have oodles of clearance, this may not be a drawback. The biggest drawback of the compound curve fenders, in my experience (and I base this on a sample size of one, so take it with a really big dose of salt), is Bill's last point -- adjustability of the compound curve fenders is limited, without stressing the fender in a way that can cause stress cracking. I installed compound curve mahogany fenders on a SimpleOne that I gave to one of my sons, and the rear fender has begun to show signs of cracking at the top of the fender. BUT: They're insanely beautiful, to my eye, so if you can work around the drawbacks (by having a dedicated rain bike, for example, or by being extremely careful not to impose stress on them in installation (which may require accepting a bit less than perfect fender line in some installations)), they provide an aesthetic reward. I have flat Woody's fenders on my Quickbeam (where they also offer the added advantage of being particularly easy to bend out of the way for rear tire changes): http://www.flickr.com/photos/37542512@N04/4412267966/in/set-72157623567913352 and compound curve versions on the SimpleOne: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37542512@N04/6905323995/in/set-72157629391118347 , and they really are sharp-looking. Everything's a compromise, I guess. Also, the flat ones are stupid easy to install. Tom -----Original Message----- From: rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com [mailto:rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Bill Lindsay Sent: Saturday, October 12, 2013 11:24 PM To: rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com Subject: [RBW] Wooden Fenders for Atlantis - photos / suggestions i do not like wooden fenders. the flat ones do a lousy job as fenders, letting any real water spray out to the sides. the nice rounded ones are crazy expensive, arent adjustible in a strees-relieving way, and are way too thick, eating into the precious mm of clearance. good metal fenders, and even good plastic fenders are a smarter choice, in my humble opinion. a very good friend of mine started the craze, i think, with the woodies in the 90s. i wasn't crazy about them then, either. maybe a 26" atlantis, which might have too much clearance, could take them. i'm sold on metals -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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