Well..back in the 1980’s and early 90’s at the bike shop in Oxford ,UK I fitted MANY sets of fenders of all sorts,to all sorts of bikes. These are the neatest,cleanest ,most well thought out and most sturdy I have ever seen!! As for the rainy test ride....synchronicity at its finest.
Excellent installation, and application for fenders. They are great for commuting short distances on familiar wet streets to keep your work clothes dryer and cleaner for the office or shop. These days I have mixed feelings about fenders on bike tours. On gravel roads and trails, sticks or mud can grind you to a stop. Descending at speed along unknown highways where debris like plastic bags can suddenly blow across your path, fenders can be dangerous. As a lazy old cyclist myself, I found that if it was raining during a bike tour it was a good excuse for a break. Plus, on my last tour, I figured out that going without fenders I got just as wet with them after several hours when I had to keep pedaling in steady rain. Fenders do look great, chrome ones on a black bike are yummy, especially when you pass a Roadie struggling uphill. 🙂
Mike, you bring up some really good points. I've run into a few issues running fenders, including the sticks and debris as you mention and even a few times OTB. You do have to be extra careful off-road. For longer rides with fenders, one way to mitigate risk is going with flat pedals. If you do grind to a stop because something jambs up, being clipped to the pedals isn't the greatest, and I would argue leads to more injuries. I've crashed both clipped-in and unclipped, and I would say without a doubt I walk away much less personal damage on the flat pedals. I've ridden a lot of miles with fenders both with clipless pedals and flats and have come to realize the risk is there but it in general is low. It's something you have to be aware of and make the choice you think is best. On the flip side, I've had items from my handlebar bag loosely hanging out not realizing it, and had I not had fenders on it could have easily gotten pulled into the tire and OTB I go.
Someone once suggested that I make the fender fit more tightly at the back of each wheel. Thinking was that when leaves or twigs got sucked in, the gap they were in would just keep getting bigger and not let them get wedged. I feel like I’m getting fewer buzzing trapped leaves since following that advice. But hard to prove. FWIW Those fenders look super sharp!
Great job, and as is so often the case, it's an engaging & iterative process to arrive at the best solution. Watching the past videos, I have always wished to see Ms. Cools have fenders on her ride, and now she's properly outfitted.
Unique parts do the best job and look a lot nicer. A beautyful piece of work that you did for that awesome bicykle and Mrs Cools passed the physical examination test really well 😄. Liebe Grüße🙋♀
@@Henrywildeberry Many female cyclists pass the test with a grade of 1 or A, just like men on bicycles. Sitzfleisch -(I hope i translate it correctly) Sitting meat is just sexy.🙋♀ Liebe Grüße
Really nice craftsmanship, Henry, thanks for taking us inside your shop and for taking good care of Ms. Cools' bike. and if you ever plan to return to Pacifica, that front fender looks sturdy enough for a fog light. 😀
Thank you, Robb! A fog light would be a cool feature!
ปีที่แล้ว +2
Looking great. Installed two pair of Honjos following yr 1st vid. Only after realised the front should be like u did for Ms Cools bike - to keep sand not blowing from under. Also the light is where it should be 👍
I regret installing my Honjo rear fender to chainstay crossmember with so much of the fender pulled lower than the bottom bracket. I didn't realize it at the time, but when I went to reinstall the rear wheel I has to deflate the tire to get the hub to enter the vertical drop out. A bit less fender hanging low would have given me a better wheel hub entry angle for my dropouts. Learning!
You should use leather washer instead of rubber washer. The rubber washer is cracking during time, exposed to sun. I have using leather washer for my mudguards since >20 years. Velo Lumino sell very nice good looking adapter for mounting a lamp on front mudguard. And rear light for mudguards mount. No mudflap?
@@Henrywildeberry Get the Simworks by Honjo mudflaps. Those thin tarpaulin ones are really lightweight and significantly reduce spray. I have them on my 1996 Koga-Miyata SilverAce.
If someone made a fender that goes between the chain and seatstays I think it would a great thing for a road bike, even in dry weather. Such minimal coverage would protect the rim derailleur and water bottles from road debris as well as kept the cable glides a bit cleaner. It might even make the bike more aero. I’ve often thought about making my own from an old piece of fender.
Would your fender then need to go over the top of the brake bridge in this case? That might be one of the challenges to make it fit and still have a uniform fender line around the tire.
@@Henrywildeberry Really depends on the seatpost angle. If it puts the seatpost close so as to keep the fender at the right distance, I would cut it short and anchor it somewhere around the water bottle bosses. Main purpose is to keep the front derailleur clean. Otherwise, I'd take it right up to the brake bridge and build a small clamp from that flat shaped steel that comes with the rear bike racks, to attach it to the rear stays.
It can take a long afternoon or two to get fenders set up well. (Mine have an extra hole or two🤷♂️) Well done on the stays, my toe will touch the loop of the fender stay at just the right position in the crank’s revolution and turn angle.
Definitely! I'm a bit slow, so it took me a full day to do my first install. As I do these more I get familiar with what needs to be considered and what holes to drill first, so you don't end up making too many mistakes. It's still a long day or two, and I learn something new on each install.
i wouldn't be so sure nobody has used Stong-Tie straps to fab a customized bike something (grin). I'm using concrete snap-ties to make handlebar bag hangers. Ive put those old Cannondale hanging bags on my vintage road bikes using those custom hangers. You've got fender mounting down to a science, entertaining and educational. thanks for another video. Where are those bike builds you promised? I cant wait. BTW, the light mount is very clever.
No wonder Simpson is doing so well. They're tapping into the bike market and they may not even know it! The bike builds are coming...but I can't promise they will be ready very soon. We have stuff to fab up and parts to find.
Hi Avalon - These are a 58mm Honjo fluted style we purchased at Jitensha Studios in Berkeley, CA. Here's a link to many of the parts and options they have. I would recomend calling them directly before you order because they can walk you through some options that might work best for your bike frame. Every frame is different (not always, but most of the time). Good luck! www.jitensha.com/eng/fndrs_e.html
I had an easy-ish time with Honjos, but not with Berthouds. The stays needed two holes, 1/3 of the way in from the edges of the fenders, instead of a single centered hole. Trying to drill two holes in rounded profile steel, spaced correctly, without a workbench or proper tools, sucked.
Yes, the two hole stay mount does add some extra complexity. It also adds a few more grams, if that matters. The Berthoud fenders are steel if I'm not mistaken? In that is the case the weight of a few extra screws probably isn't really much of an issue. I learn something new on each install. I find I can now eye some of the holes with pretty good accuracy. Cool! Enjoy your fender life!
The Gilles Berthoud are stainless steel. Compared to the aluminum of the Honjos (or VO) they are much harder to drill, requiring a stainless steel specific drill bit and a punch to make things easier. Once they are installed however they will likely outlast the bike! I've had some issues with aluminum fenders bending and even cracking but nothing with the GB's yet. Even scratching them against brick doesn't seem to do much to them!
You are so careful installing those fenders. Have you seen how fenders get installed at most shops. Have you ever considered building a camera mount for your front rack? Then you could have two cameras. Perhaps not.
The one downside to mounting a camera on the bike is how much more camera shake you get. GoPro camera's seem to have the most stable footage when mounted to the bike, but the quality of the image is pretty low. Helmet and chest mounted footage has less shake and with a helmet camera you can also control where the camera is pointed. That's all part of the fun and learning process is figuring out how to film the shots.
What makes you decide on 1 vs 2 daruma bolts on the fender to hold the fender stays? Is it purely aesthetics, or do certain fenders (wider ones?) require 2?
There's no hard and fast rule, but two provides a lot more stiffness to both the fender and the stay. I prefer two, but you could use one with no real issues other than the fenders will feel a little more flexy, especially over hard bumps where the fender will sway more and possibly rub on the tire. It's easier to install with only one, but the extra work to install it with two will pay off. Wider fenders will do better with two. It's up to you what your needs are. Good luck!
Hi Andrew - I don't know the exact part number, but they are the H79 58mm wide for 38-42mm tires. They come in various styles like hammered, fluted, or smooth. Good luck!
I'm not sure, I haven't put it on the scale. The aluminum fenders probably add about a pound to the bike. The light mount for the headlight is a little lighter than the fork crown mounted bracket, so we saved a few grams there. Overall, it's not a big concern for Ms. Cools. In the winter you're going to be wearing more layers to stay warm, and the roads are wet so you end up riding slower anyhow. It's just being able to go out and ride that counts.
@@Henrywildeberry I understand your point of view. My only doubt is about steep climbs. More weight, more fatigue. Anyway it's a question of pros and cons that only you can evaluate.
your taste is beyond impeccable almost otherworldly i bow before your eternal greatness
Well..back in the 1980’s and early 90’s at the bike shop in Oxford ,UK I fitted MANY sets of fenders of all sorts,to all sorts of bikes. These are the neatest,cleanest ,most well thought out and most sturdy I have ever seen!! As for the rainy test ride....synchronicity at its finest.
Wow! Thank you, Felix! That's a huge compliment.
In retrospect, the bike didn't look complete without the fenders - now it looks really cool in a classic Rando style. Nice work !
Fenders make any bike look cooler. I love this set up!
I too, am a card carrying “clean back-side” member.
Excellent installation, and application for fenders. They are great for commuting short distances on familiar wet streets to keep your work clothes dryer and cleaner for the office or shop. These days I have mixed feelings about fenders on bike tours. On gravel roads and trails, sticks or mud can grind you to a stop. Descending at speed along unknown highways where debris like plastic bags can suddenly blow across your path, fenders can be dangerous. As a lazy old cyclist myself, I found that if it was raining during a bike tour it was a good excuse for a break. Plus, on my last tour, I figured out that going without fenders I got just as wet with them after several hours when I had to keep pedaling in steady rain. Fenders do look great, chrome ones on a black bike are yummy, especially when you pass a Roadie struggling uphill. 🙂
Mike, you bring up some really good points. I've run into a few issues running fenders, including the sticks and debris as you mention and even a few times OTB. You do have to be extra careful off-road. For longer rides with fenders, one way to mitigate risk is going with flat pedals. If you do grind to a stop because something jambs up, being clipped to the pedals isn't the greatest, and I would argue leads to more injuries. I've crashed both clipped-in and unclipped, and I would say without a doubt I walk away much less personal damage on the flat pedals. I've ridden a lot of miles with fenders both with clipless pedals and flats and have come to realize the risk is there but it in general is low. It's something you have to be aware of and make the choice you think is best. On the flip side, I've had items from my handlebar bag loosely hanging out not realizing it, and had I not had fenders on it could have easily gotten pulled into the tire and OTB I go.
Someone once suggested that I make the fender fit more tightly at the back of each wheel. Thinking was that when leaves or twigs got sucked in, the gap they were in would just keep getting bigger and not let them get wedged. I feel like I’m getting fewer buzzing trapped leaves since following that advice. But hard to prove. FWIW
Those fenders look super sharp!
Great job, and as is so often the case, it's an engaging & iterative process to arrive at the best solution. Watching the past videos, I have always wished to see Ms. Cools have fenders on her ride, and now she's properly outfitted.
Love this. The piano, the rain, the bike, the freedom. Should you maybe paint the bracket so it doesn't rust. The steam punk look is great.
The fenders look great. Nice job on the light mount. No more wet backside!
It's so much more enjoyable riding without the dirt all over your backside!.
This dual function bracket was a cool idea and fun to watch the journey. Well done all around, and thanks for taking us along for the ride.
Thanks Michael!
Unique parts do the best job and look a lot nicer. A beautyful piece of work that you did for that awesome bicykle and Mrs Cools passed the physical examination test really well 😄. Liebe Grüße🙋♀
Ms. Cools passed her physical exam😂
@@Henrywildeberry Many female cyclists pass the test with a grade of 1 or A, just like men on bicycles. Sitzfleisch -(I hope i translate it correctly) Sitting meat is just sexy.🙋♀ Liebe Grüße
Fenders do make a difference in the wetter months everything stays so much cleaner. Great job fitting them👍
Thanks 👍
Really nice craftsmanship, Henry, thanks for taking us inside your shop and for taking good care of Ms. Cools' bike. and if you ever plan to return to Pacifica, that front fender looks sturdy enough for a fog light. 😀
Thank you, Robb! A fog light would be a cool feature!
Looking great. Installed two pair of Honjos following yr 1st vid. Only after realised the front should be like u did for Ms Cools bike - to keep sand not blowing from under. Also the light is where it should be 👍
I regret installing my Honjo rear fender to chainstay crossmember with so much of the fender pulled lower than the bottom bracket. I didn't realize it at the time, but when I went to reinstall the rear wheel I has to deflate the tire to get the hub to enter the vertical drop out. A bit less fender hanging low would have given me a better wheel hub entry angle for my dropouts. Learning!
Very nice solution! I just remembered my "winter bike" has 42 mm tires and no fenders at all (yet 🙂)
Now I see why all that exposed wire was wrapped around the fork. That's got to be one of the cleanest installations ever!
Wow, thank you!
You should use leather washer instead of rubber washer. The rubber washer is cracking during time, exposed to sun. I have using leather washer for my mudguards since >20 years.
Velo Lumino sell very nice good looking adapter for mounting a lamp on front mudguard. And rear light for mudguards mount.
No mudflap?
Thanks Olle! The rubber washers also squeak a little bit too. We need to make up some nice mudflaps. It's on the list!
@@Henrywildeberry Get the Simworks by Honjo mudflaps. Those thin tarpaulin ones are really lightweight and significantly reduce spray. I have them on my 1996 Koga-Miyata SilverAce.
That headlight mount turned out awesome!
Thanks you! It has a kind of steampunk look to it that I really like.
You two are really awesome. The bike is simply beautiful and super clean looking.
Thanks again for another great video.
Mark from Maryland
Thanks Mark! I love how the fenders tie the bike together really well. The pink and silver is a great combo.
Great looking fenders
that was a really nice video! love the ending, we can call her Ms Cooler now 😊
My fenders are ultralight carbon that is invisible. I worry about the way I mounted them so I only go out when it's sunny
If someone made a fender that goes between the chain and seatstays I think it would a great thing for a road bike, even in dry weather. Such minimal coverage would protect the rim derailleur and water bottles from road debris as well as kept the cable glides a bit cleaner. It might even make the bike more aero. I’ve often thought about making my own from an old piece of fender.
Would your fender then need to go over the top of the brake bridge in this case? That might be one of the challenges to make it fit and still have a uniform fender line around the tire.
@@Henrywildeberry Really depends on the seatpost angle. If it puts the seatpost close so as to keep the fender at the right distance, I would cut it short and anchor it somewhere around the water bottle bosses. Main purpose is to keep the front derailleur clean. Otherwise, I'd take it right up to the brake bridge and build a small clamp from that flat shaped steel that comes with the rear bike racks, to attach it to the rear stays.
Nice video Henry. I like Your Fitz bikes. They look stylish.
Thank you!
It can take a long afternoon or two to get fenders set up well. (Mine have an extra hole or two🤷♂️)
Well done on the stays, my toe will touch the loop of the fender stay at just the right position in the crank’s revolution and turn angle.
Definitely! I'm a bit slow, so it took me a full day to do my first install. As I do these more I get familiar with what needs to be considered and what holes to drill first, so you don't end up making too many mistakes. It's still a long day or two, and I learn something new on each install.
You 2 guys ride a lot... but your bikes are always clean !
It looks good 👍 I'm having a hard time finding fenders that fit my bike at this time I'm running 650b x 2.4" on my gorilla monsoon there just big lol
Great fenders and a great light position, too. Just in time :)
Beautiful!! Perfection!!
You guys are so cute!!
Rolling art
i wouldn't be so sure nobody has used Stong-Tie straps to fab a customized bike something (grin). I'm using concrete snap-ties to make handlebar bag hangers. Ive put those old Cannondale hanging bags on my vintage road bikes using those custom hangers. You've got fender mounting down to a science, entertaining and educational. thanks for another video. Where are those bike builds you promised? I cant wait. BTW, the light mount is very clever.
No wonder Simpson is doing so well. They're tapping into the bike market and they may not even know it! The bike builds are coming...but I can't promise they will be ready very soon. We have stuff to fab up and parts to find.
You have earned your coffee and cake (s)
😁
Heating aluminum to around 300 degrees may allow you to bend it without cracking
IN England we call them ......mud guards 🇬🇧
Well done!
V cool installation 👍🏾. Was that a lynx? (Or a very big moggy 🐈?)
looks great!
Thank you! Cheers!
You are my fender senpai. Can you please share the model of Honjo fenders used in this case? Thanks!
Hi Avalon - These are a 58mm Honjo fluted style we purchased at Jitensha Studios in Berkeley, CA. Here's a link to many of the parts and options they have. I would recomend calling them directly before you order because they can walk you through some options that might work best for your bike frame. Every frame is different (not always, but most of the time). Good luck! www.jitensha.com/eng/fndrs_e.html
I had an easy-ish time with Honjos, but not with Berthouds. The stays needed two holes, 1/3 of the way in from the edges of the fenders, instead of a single centered hole. Trying to drill two holes in rounded profile steel, spaced correctly, without a workbench or proper tools, sucked.
Yes, the two hole stay mount does add some extra complexity. It also adds a few more grams, if that matters. The Berthoud fenders are steel if I'm not mistaken? In that is the case the weight of a few extra screws probably isn't really much of an issue. I learn something new on each install. I find I can now eye some of the holes with pretty good accuracy. Cool! Enjoy your fender life!
The Gilles Berthoud are stainless steel. Compared to the aluminum of the Honjos (or VO) they are much harder to drill, requiring a stainless steel specific drill bit and a punch to make things easier. Once they are installed however they will likely outlast the bike! I've had some issues with aluminum fenders bending and even cracking but nothing with the GB's yet. Even scratching them against brick doesn't seem to do much to them!
You are so careful installing those fenders. Have you seen how fenders get installed at most shops. Have you ever considered building a camera mount for your front rack? Then you could have two cameras. Perhaps not.
The one downside to mounting a camera on the bike is how much more camera shake you get. GoPro camera's seem to have the most stable footage when mounted to the bike, but the quality of the image is pretty low. Helmet and chest mounted footage has less shake and with a helmet camera you can also control where the camera is pointed. That's all part of the fun and learning process is figuring out how to film the shots.
What makes you decide on 1 vs 2 daruma bolts on the fender to hold the fender stays? Is it purely aesthetics, or do certain fenders (wider ones?) require 2?
There's no hard and fast rule, but two provides a lot more stiffness to both the fender and the stay. I prefer two, but you could use one with no real issues other than the fenders will feel a little more flexy, especially over hard bumps where the fender will sway more and possibly rub on the tire. It's easier to install with only one, but the extra work to install it with two will pay off. Wider fenders will do better with two. It's up to you what your needs are. Good luck!
@@Henrywildeberry I get what you mean, I think I'll go with 2 after all. Thanks for the quick reply!
What's that front light?
It is a Busch & Müller Lumotec Cyo T Senso Plus
Hi Henry, What Model Honjo Fenders are they? I can't seem to find them on their website.
Hi Andrew - I don't know the exact part number, but they are the H79 58mm wide for 38-42mm tires. They come in various styles like hammered, fluted, or smooth. Good luck!
I literally installing the same fenders right 🤯
Do you feel any additional air drag when riding with such wide fenders?
Not yet 😄 Time will tell...
Maybe it is the camera angle but it looks like she needs more leg extension.
what colour is the bike? Does it have an RAL or something? really cool .
RAL 3015 i suspect but i don't know.
Yes, I believe that's the correct RAL. I may have the RAL number in the show notes of the bike build video.
What about weight today in this configuration?
I'm not sure, I haven't put it on the scale. The aluminum fenders probably add about a pound to the bike. The light mount for the headlight is a little lighter than the fork crown mounted bracket, so we saved a few grams there. Overall, it's not a big concern for Ms. Cools. In the winter you're going to be wearing more layers to stay warm, and the roads are wet so you end up riding slower anyhow. It's just being able to go out and ride that counts.
@@Henrywildeberry I understand your point of view. My only doubt is about steep climbs. More weight, more fatigue. Anyway it's a question of pros and cons that only you can evaluate.
Beautiful workmanship on the fenders and light mount . Really like your bikes, they do it all. Enjoy your winter riding! Any trips planned ?
The Simpson 😅 ride bikes
Screw fenders!!!