I certainly didn't mean to imply Honjos couldn't survive rough roads. Clearly 2005-20013 on Vt roads is a very good run for fenders. But for constant banging, steel will outlast Al..
M On Saturday, July 26, 2014 4:17:01 PM UTC-4, Steve Palincsar wrote: > > On 07/26/2014 03:16 PM, Michael Hechmer wrote: > > Bo, here's another data point. I rode my Rambouillet with Honjo > > hammered fenders from the Fall of '05 till mid summer of '13 when the > > rear fender broke at the seat stay bridge. They never rattled until > > just before the break - or maybe actually between the crack and the > > break. They were installed by a very good and experienced mechanic. > > > > I live on a dirt road in a state with notoriously bad roads so the Ram > > saw its share of rough surfaces. In contrast I installed Honjo > > fenders on an Ebisu, which I used as a commuter on 30 miles of mostly > > rough surface every day and broke 2 fender in 4 years. After that I > > went back to the original mechanic; installed Bertoud steel fenders, > > and never had a problem again. Proper installation is critical (and > > not beyond us DIY folks) but if you are doing a lot of rough riding > > and not concerned about the extra weight, steel is the way to go. > > A man may be a highly skilled and experienced mechanic, but installing > Honjo fenders is a specialized skill with a few gotchas. Did he have > experience and skill at installing Honjo fenders? Were they installed > with leather washers at the contact points with the bicycle? I'm not > saying you shouldn't use Berthoud steel fenders, but I am not convinced > Honjos can't survive on rough surfaces. > > > > > > My wife broke an SKS plastic fender when a pine cone kicked up between > > the rear tire and fender. That installation required a wide gap at > > the chain stay because her '84 Sequoia has vertical drop outs. I > > think the break away feature of plastic fenders is crucial in that > > kind of application, > > SKS breakaway stays are in front only, not in back. > > > but with a properly installed metal fender on vertical drop outs there > > should be no more than 10 or 15 mm between the tire and fender, which > > offers little space for sticks or pine cones. > > > > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
