This is my Stealth Bomber

[biknut]

I just completed a 5 mile test ride. Seems all good. I didn't hear any rubbing, or scraping sounds. It rained earlier today, and I rode through a few water trails. It was nice not getting my face splattered with water off the front tire.

I toyed around with different angles for the rear fender. First I looked at a sporty bobbed look. That wasn't too bad, and was my second choice, but wouldn't offer much protection. Then I tried a in between look, with the fender not short, but not long. That sucked a lot. Last I looked at the long look. That had the most appeal. It has a kind of Barrio low rider look, and offers the most protection.

Plus with the tires being wider then the fenders it looks kind of high performance, but at the same time without looking motorcycle. In fact it might even look even more bicycle like now than before.

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

Yes I like the look It's given your bike a very different appearance.

 

[GearNut]

The way they hug the tires they are barely noticeable, but they look really good. They give the whole bike a more refined appearance.
The rear fender gives you a place to mount an LED taillight too.

 

[Goat Herder]

Gotta say that looks good BN. The thought of no more puddles in the face and a stripe up my back. Makes sence to have one then. I am paying attention to what folks are saying is solid and trust worthy. Looking forward to your observations with these? I have to admeant I am pretty scard of fenders and as a result I have never had any on anything I own.

Might be time to look into it dunno?

 

[biknut]

I agree the fenders do transform the look of my bike. They tone down the wild off road look it had, which isn't easy to do, and give it a more civilized appearance. Something that doesn't come through in the pictures, is how bicycle looking these flimsy fenders look in the flesh, which in turn give the whole bike a more bicycle look.

It remains to be seen how well they hold up, but I'm pretty confidant they'll last about as long as they would on a regular bicycle. They only cost $30 so occasional replacement won't be that big a deal, and the way I mounted them makes removing them about a 1 minute operation.

My Bomber is coming up on it's one year anniversary soon. It's been remarkably dependable. So far the only failure was a swing arm bearing, which I was able to source locally for $16. I'm close to turning over 4000 miles on the odo.

I've never owned a bike that I didn't customize over time to make it uniquely my own, and this one is no different. My main attraction to this bike was it's performance, more than it's appearance, but now after a few key changes I'm pretty happy with it overall. Just about all it's shortcomings have now been addressed.

One of the biggies was adding lights. At first I was using battery operated bicycle lights, but replacing the battery's got old fast, and expensive. Now I have very bright LED head, and taillights hardwired to the bike. Street tires were the first change on the agenda. Getting a seat I liked was only a matter of stealing one off one of the less loved bikes in my garage. Now fenders have taken care of one of my last appearance complaints. Now it looks pretty complete to me, but I would be remiss if I failed to mention the most important styling component of all, namely my leather handle bar streamers.

 

[biknut]

Moving on, I decided to add fenders to my bike.

I put my new fenders through the paces the last couple days, and I like having them a lot. On my normal 26 mile commute I've hit a lot of potholes, and nothing has changed.

My theory that these fenders make my bike look more like a bicycle got a boost yesterday. As I pulled up behind some cars at a light, a guy walking down the sidewalk looked at my bike and said "When I saw you coming I though that was a real bike, like it had a motor , or something."

Had him fooled lol.

 

[Rudz]

That thing is gorgeous. Expensive as heck though lmfao

 

[wheelbender6]

Aesthtics aside, I'd rather have the fenders than cold water on my back that splashed from the back tire.

 

[biknut]

Aesthtics aside, I'd rather have the fenders than cold water on my back that splashed from the back tire.

Yes that's so true. I don't ride in bad weather much though. This bike doesn't seem to like water. For cleaning, the owners manual recommends a sponge bath, rather than hosing it off, and I've found that to be good advise. The two times I disregarded those instructions, it ran crappy for a day till it dried out. Fortunately this bike stays clean longer then any other bike I've ever owned.

 

[kevyleven007]

I'm one of those people who has to have fenders too. What's next, cruiser handlebars ? ( too much trouble)heh

 

[biknut]

 

[kevyleven007]

That's a real nice bike you got there Biknut.

 

[biknut]

That's a real nice bike you got there Biknut.

If the truth be known, it really is an incredible beastie. The personification of the strong, silent type.

 

[biknut]

Looks aren't it's strong point. The looks are ok, but it's kind of bulky, and chunky looking. I would prefer a smoother more streamlined look, but none of that matters when you're riding down the street.

 

[paul]

i think it is bad to the bone looking personally, i love it

 

[biknut]

i think it is bad to the bone looking personally, i love it

Thanks Paul. So far I haven't had any problems with the fenders, and I'm really not expecting any.

As a matter of fact, this beasty is running better than new after just passing 4000 miles.

 

[biknut]

You guys should have bought one while they were cheap. Now most shops have raised the price a grand, and nobody offers free shipping now.

That's why I tell my wife, I had to buy a Bomber when I did to save us money.

 

[biknut]

I've been experimenting with fenders. This is working for me better. This looks more like a dedicated street bike. This is a little more modern than before.

This was the first attempt.



Now this. I like this best.

 

[biknut]

I think this is one of the best pictures I've taked of my bike.

 

[biknut]

I made another change to my bike, and hopefully one of the last for a while. I installed new handle bars that have 1 inch higher rise, and they're red. The stock bars were a little to low for me. I'm pretty happy with these bars, and actually the whole bike at this time. There's really not much more I'm planning to do any time soon. It's taken me about 1 year to get this bike styled to my liking.

I'm very pleased now with the overall look. The combination of the fenders, bars, and rear rack has it going on for me. Any other styling changes I make after this will be pretty minor.

The next frontier will probably be in the performance area, but I'm not really feeling any urgency.