My commute is around 13-14 miles each way. I ride bike to work around 2-3 times each week. There is often headwind on my return home, with winds up to 12-14 mph. And my route is along the bay, without any covering to break up the wind. The headwind makes a huge difference; can add extra 30 minutes to my return commute; and my legs are dead afterwards.
I bought this used Trek bike specifically for commute. It has 32mm tires, which should be slightly faster than my other bike with 50mm tires. The bike came with rack and fenders. Bike rack is useful. Not sure about the fenders, because I won't ride when wet, as I will drive instead if it rains.
I'm debating if I should remove the fenders. Is there any advantage or disadvantage of the fenders besides water and mud? Will remove the fenders make the bike slightly more aerodynamic in headwind, plus reduce bike's weight?
by D00M98
15 Comments
I deleted my fenders, even on tours….
Will you ever ride when the roads are wet? Or get caught by an unexpected storm? No real benefit to removing them but also no reason to keep them
I sincerely doubt removing the fenders will make much of an aerodynamic difference and the the weight difference probably isn’t much compared to the weight of you and the rest of the bike.
Try it out and see if you like it better, but personally I don’t see any reason to remove them if they’re already installed.
Fenders will make it better if you’re riding on wet roads after rain, if you only ever venture out on dry roads then you probably don’t need them.
You are the biggest source of drag on your bike. And Your light is blocked by the bag.
You’d probably get a bigger reduction in drag by removing the phone holder.
If you really want to reduce your profile get some aero bars or drop bars so you can drop your body lower into the wind.
Why do you care about aerodynamic and weight when it’s a COMMUTER? Beside, you can improve both of that with your body weight and your posture on bike. A little weight can also help improve your physical strength with riding.
Fender removal *might* save a little fiddling when troubleshooting/servicing the wheels.
Otherwise … as others here have already said … fenders justify themselves at ridiculously low penalty.
And they don’t even crack the Top 10 list of “Stuff Slowing You Down.”
P.S. Why drive in the rain when you could bike with those nice fenders LOL
You don’t choose rain, rain chooses you!
Fenders can also protect against small rocks that the tires could throw into the frame and chip its paint. And there would be less cleaning if you come across mud, puddles, etc.
You are joking about the aero part, right? 😉
My commute is about half of yours and I too avoid riding in the rain. It recently rained here, then afterwards me and the family went for a ride and explore a new housing development, there was asphalt but with lots of puddles and mud. I did my best to avoid the mud but without the fenders, I would have been a mess. Fenders all the way and I don’t think there is any impact on performance.
The first time you don’t have them and need them, you’ll regret taking them off.
I did my first rain/snow/sleet ride a few days ago and I was very glad I had my fenders. I didn’t get sprayed by the tires even a tiny bit.
I live in an area where rain is rare (relatively speaking) and have fenders on my main commuting bike. Even when dry, the insides of my fenders are always dusty and dirty. I figure is my fenders weren’t there, a lot of that crap would be on me. Fenders keep you cleaner in all conditions, it’s just more noticeable in the rain.
They still look cool even when it’s not raining.
Also great for riding just after rain, I can often dodge the actual rain by watching the weather radar, but not so easy to always wait for the roads to dry.
Also once you have fenders you may find you enjoy riding in the rain. Rainy days are the best days for bike commuting as car traffic is always bad.
As long as they don’t rattle, they’re nice to have regardless.
You will eventually hit a pool of water, maybe from a sprinkler head, irrigation, you never know