Make your own bicyle fenders

I started commuting to work in the spring/summer of 2008. I rebuilt a TREK bike that was left in an apartment in Lafayette, IN. It was a mountain/cross bike, and was able to start commuting after getting lights for it. I chose the Cygolight HiFlux 100 for the headlight. I use NiMH C-Cell batteries that last for several hours. I don't know for sure, but probably 10-20. My commute is 10 miles each way, and it's only dark during the ride to work. For the rear light, I chose the Planet Bike. I've had 3 people tell me that this is really visible. Two of them saw me a mile away.

I don't intentionally ride in the rain, but I got caught a couple of times and the spray off of the 1.5" tires was worse than the rain falling from the sky. I had some leftover fenders that I mounted and it really helped. These fenders are removable and the rear fender is only a "half" fender.

This winter, I bought a road bike, w/ 700C size wheels. It has 23mm tires, and it rides much faster than the Cross bike. I was searching for fenders for that bike, and came across Kent's Blog, on coroplast fenders. Instructions here. I thought I'd show pictures of what I did with his ideas. I got some extra coroplast from a local sign shop for free. I think my project would have more character if I had used signs like Ken did, but that's OK.

I got a long piece of coroplast so I could do the rear fender in one piece. I used the rack to support the fender, and cut the coroplast to fit between the rear stays near the bottom bracket. I went over the rear brake just like Ken did, although I really wanted not to have to do that.

For the front, I used some old brackets originally designed for mounting reflectors to attach the front fender, so I didn't have to go around the fork like Ken did. I also made a wide spot at the rear of the front fender. This serves 2 purposes. It, provides a spray shield and it also helps form the rear fender, so I can get by with a single piece of coroplast to attach the fender to the fork. Update: I later added the 2nd piece from the hub to the fender because I was getting some rubbing

I ordered some Scotchbright reflective tape, and will be applying this to my fenders so I show up even better in the dark.

UPDATE: I've been using real fenders for the last several years. They are closer to the tires and keep the spray down a lot more. I really had to monkey with them to get them to fit on this old road bike frame. I use 25mm tires, and there is hardly any room between the tires and the fender. If I catch a stone it will scrap the fender. I think the newer road bike frames have even less room for fenders. I think you need to get a cyclocross or touring frame for fenders.