Front Fender Problem on a motorized bicycle

[Mac]

I went to Home depot, bought 1/2" hollow stainless pipe, and some.125 3/4" stainless flat stock, about 3 feet of each, remade the top tab with the flatstock, drilled appropiate hole, used 6 support screws with wide washers for support, then radiused a piece of the flatstock around the rear fender moune and used the 1/2" tubing welded to the piece I radiused and then erlded the opposite end to the forkgood top and aft support, OK maybe some overkill there, but they havn't cracked yet, no noise no movement, no getting weT either, did the same for the back fender and rack(Cruiser) so far (1000)miles, so good. It can be done with a bit of work. I painted them black and if you werent looking for 'em, ya'd barely notice.

Mac

 

[fm2200]

With all these problems with fenders why bother. The average standard bicycle fender is not gauged heavy enough to withstand all the vibration that the engine puts out. Unless your commuting with your bike and getting caught in the rain, that's the only way I would employ the use of fenders. I primarily ride in non raining conditions, the occasional times when it starts to rain I just ride slower as to not generate the spray from the tires.

 

[bairdco]

but fenders are so cool!

seriously, you're right about todays fenders. all mine are 70+ years old, and they're made out of good old american steel.

I've said it before, upgrade to a set of Wald fenders for your cruisers.

 

[fm2200]

I can see that there is some real nostalgic appeal, and for some, very necessary dress up features, but if not modified there is a very real risk factor particularly on the front fenders. So I agree with you, but most will only use as is and could wind up paying with skin & bones.

 

[Dave31]

I just wanted to share what this guy did to mount his fenders... I forgot to snap a pic of the rear but he made some nice struts for the rear.** found the pic

 

[trackfodder]

That is a very workmanlike job. I might suggest using 3/8" SS tubing with a curve laying over the top of the fender retained with 2-screw clamps. The ends could be flattened and drilled for attachment to the fork. This is for 2ndary struts like horizontal rear or front strut,

 

[happycheapskate]

That looks really good on the gray bike.
Someone posted a good modification using a heavy door hinge for a bracket. I think that ought to hold up well. It was on a springer fork.

 

[Dan]

That is a sweet looking bike all around Dave. Paint job looks flawless.

 

[Dave31]

That is a sweet looking bike all around Dave. Paint job looks flawless.

That bike has lots of details and he did a very good job with this bike. I really love the way he did the chain guard. I have more photos if anybody would like to see more of this bike.

 

[hankmanpei]

I can only imagine the horror, yes the JB weld type repair is a good idea, but it isn't repairing the main problem, Toss the chain and weld a pully on the rear sprocket and anouther on the crank and go belt drive, no more loose nuts, spokes or teeth . Hankmanpei (bodyman/painter extrodanaire)

 

[Saddletramp1200]

Welcome to THE Forum hank, Where would a person find these pullys and belt for a setup like that?

 

[wayne z]

That looks really good on the gray bike.
Someone posted a good modification using a heavy door hinge for a bracket. I think that ought to hold up well. It was on a springer fork.

Here ya go.

 

[builder bob]

It WAS a beautiful Schiwn Cruiser. My buddy was riding home and he said he was only cruising around 20-25mph and the fender tab that attaches to the forks near the brakes snapped off. Before he relized he was on the ground. I'm glad he wore his helmet that day. I've noticed on my bike that speeds over 32mph my front fender vibrates like a S.O.B. Also I know (just like everything else in the world) some factorys don't build bikes like they use to.

Yikes! I hope that doesn't happen again! has anybody had problems with the wheel bearings locking up? i saw a thing on youtube (don't know how true it is) that the wheel bearings will lock up if ridden for more then a few minuts of riding above 20mph unless sealed bearings are used. i find this hard to belive. anyone else herd of this? sounds preaty bad.

 

[abikerider]

Hi Buider Bob,
As far as bearings go, that is complete BS. I have gone 55 mph on our tandem with loose bearings with no problem. My wife and I rode the 90 mile west coast whizz-in ride on Schwinns with loose bearings cruising at 30-35 mph with no problems. Sounds like typical internet urban legend stuff. Just keep clean grease in the bearings and you shouldn't have any problems.

 

[Harold_B]

I made my own brackets from flat stock aluminum. I had cut a length of 2x4 to match the profile of the fender and bent the aluminum to match. Fenders are solid.

 

[abikerider]

I made my own brackets from flat stock aluminum. I had cut a length of 2x4 to match the profile of the fender and bent the aluminum to match. Fenders are solid.

I would have used aluminum except that I know aluminum will fatigue and crack from flexing/vibrations more easily than steel and wanted something that I was sure would not crack after many miles. Stainless steel would be my first choice but it's a little expensive and hard to get. I used a wholesaw blade of the right size and bent my fender stays around it for the proper radius.

 

[abikerider]

Hi Harold, that's an interesting linkage for the front fender struts. Is the fender bracket mounted to the suspended (front) fork or the unsuspended (rear) fork? It looks like the fender moves with the suspension. If so, what was the reason for attaching the forward-most struts to the rear fork? You have a very unique setup.

 

[Harold_B]

The linkage is attached to the fixed leg of the fork. I had a choice of routing the front support to the back fork leg or routing the rear bracket to the front leg. When the springs are loaded the spacing matches the rear fender. I decided to make the fender position fixed relative to the suspended wheel so that I could minimize the amount of fender material I needed to remove to clear the forks. It's actually a rear Nirve Mini Skirt that I modified to fit the front so it more accurately replicated an old 1920's bike (to my eye anyway). The aluminum flat stock is clamped to the fork using conduit routing clamps and 1/8" thick rubber between the clamps/flat stock and the forks.

I used the same basic approach on the Nirve Street Sweeper fender on the rear except there's no suspension. Two formed brackets and the tab secured to the frame.

 

[abikerider]

I'm curious, why didn't you just attach the fender struts to the front fork and eliminate the linkage? Is it for the visual effect of the linkage? Also, that rear fender comes down really close to the ground. Are you worried about it snagging on a speed bump, pothole, or curb? Usually people attach mud flaps on fenders to avoid this.

 

[Harold_B]

No, not too worried about dragging the rear fender. It probably looks more drastic in the photos than it really is. I've taken the bike over speed bumps and down dirt roads with no issues. Only time the fender drags is if I pick up the front wheel more than 6" or so. Perhaps if I need to hop a curb or maybe jump a barbed wire fence like Steve McQueen....

I could have used an L-Bracket to attach the front to the fork but the length that hangs beyond the fork would still need to be supported and the fork mount hole sits about an inch higher than I wanted the fork to mount. So, still would have needed a brace on the front and it would have needed a long bracket to the fork which I didn't want. Took me a couple of tries to get it like I wanted it.