A fatbike fender story...

FitmanNJ

Well-Known Member
I recently invested in some Classic-Cycle.com fatbike fenders in an attempt to upgrade from my previous fender setup. To help others anticipate what they might encounter if they‘d like to do the same, here’s a little info on my experience. The fenders I bought were the widest ones they sell (“Fat Bike Plastic Fender Set 26 x 4.0 - 4.8 124mm Black Matte with Stays Extra Wide,” Item# 1509, ~$78 US plus ~$35 shipping; took about a month for delivery to the US from Germany). They look great and are well-made, but they were a challenge to install due to:

(1) lack of fender mounting holes on both my fork (Manitou Mastodon) and my frame (a medium/18” 2018 Fatback Skookum). The “universal clip holder brackets” that I purchased from Classic Cycle (“39mm”) in addition to the fenders were too small for my Mastodon (~44mm in diameter), and too large/not flexible enough for my rectagular seatstays. I tried various sizes of hose clamps (failed), but finally found some “P-clamps” on Amazon that, with some rubber tape underneath, held well enough to anchor the fender mounting struts (1.5” diameter P-clamps for the Mastodon, 1” for the seatstays).

(2) lack of wheel/tire clearance, especially with my 100mm rims/studded Surly Bud 4.8” (front) & studded Surly Lou 4.8” winter wheels. The fit on my “summer” wheel setup using Bud (front) & Schwalbe Jumbo Jim 4.8” (rear) on 65mm rims wasn’t a whole lot better. I ended up cutting slots in the fenders with a Dremel tool at the seatstay yoke and at the Mastodon’s brace to create some additional space (someone more skilled at use of a Dremel could undoubtedly make a better-fitting cut than I did). I also used the Dremel to cut small slots in the fender to secure it with zipties where needed.

So, the Classic Cycle fender project ended up taking a lot more work than I expected, but I’ve been happy with the results. The protection from mud buildup is vastly better than what I was getting with the collection of Dave’s Mud Shovel/MukkyNuts fenders that I had previously cobbled together in an attempt to get good coverage. I do get brief contact of the rear fender struts with the tire side knobs while landing drops, particularly if the drop is in a turn, where you might also be leaning the bike. I’ve only had the fenders installed for a couple of weeks, so it’s too soon to tell whether mud accumulation or some other problem will become an issue with this fender setup...but, I’m optimistic!
 

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Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
looks like a bunch of work there - well done.
 

FitmanNJ

Well-Known Member
looks like a bunch of work there - well done.
The roadblocks along the way definitely pushed my patience. The fenders have been working very well, though. By writing this, I’m hoping to reduce the frustration of anyone else interested in taking a crack at this.
 
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