Fenders. Yea or ney?

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As a number of folks have expressed, it depends. I kept the rear fender on this Spaceliner because I felt obliged to save the cool rear rack and the rack mounts to the fender. I did bob the fender because the rear brace was mangled. Fenders definitely add weigh and rattling noises, but sometimes the coolness is worth it.
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You can keep the rear rack and still lose the rear fender on a Spaceliner. I couldn't get the mangled ones on mine to work with the wider tires I wanted to use.
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My first response is I like fenders on bikes, I have added them to bikes that didn't have them, but also have removed then from some bikes that did had them. Like others have said, it depends on the bike, and the look you want.
My Ross had nice fenders and I removed them to give it more of a hot rod look
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My Electra did not have fenders, but I installed bobbed fenders on it. To also give it a hot rod look! LOL
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I almost always run fenders. Right now I have only one or two fenderless bikes, and it feels kinda weird.
 
Yes, on a daily bike. Any bike that i ride in the rain has fenders. And where i live it is often the case, unlike sunny California :)
My bike in Barcelona, where it also does not rain too much, is a rat fink with only short rear fender, and works well. But i prefer functionality over stylish looks. Especially considering that you can always make fenders add to your bike looks if doing it with attention and creativity.
 
How ‘bout wood? I’ve been looking to do a build with a set of these guys fenders. And other parts.
https://www.woodysfenders.com/
I think fenders are a matter of personal choice or style. Years ago I was an early customer of Woody's Fenders, putting a set of flat fenders on my TREK, also adding wood veneer to the chain guard and water bottle. Woody now makes curved wood fenders as well as chain guards and racks. His motto is "Get A Woodie!"
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In southwest Florida we get six months of dry weather and six months of almost daily rain. I appreciate fenders. For me they are one reason I like beach cruisers in full trim. I ride every day.
 
Many winter riders up here, where we get 200 inches of snow, use fenders. They don’t care about protecting themselves, it’s the bike they want to preserve, I only ride maggots in the winter so I don’t use fenders. These maggots get tossed out every few years. Splash guards work better as the salted snow gets packed in between the tire and fender and can freeze solid if it gets cold enough. I learned this the hard way. Most of my bikes get ridden on forest roads so a stick could get caught between fender and tire. A set of fenders that doesn’t hug the tires don’t look as cool as huggies but the extra space is much safer, something that they understood way back as bikes were ridden off pavement much more than now. My cruisers all have fenders.
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Almost always YES for me, unless I’m going to a BMX style bike. Otherwise fenders always look better to me.
 
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Depends on the bike, the build, the persona.

Klunker? Absolutely not
Low cruiser? Maybe. Depends on what the build "tells" me

I like both, but it's gotta be the right combination
 
I ran over a beer can once. It hugged the front tire and went up into the fender. I didn't flip but came close.
I tried both ways on my latest bike, but decided I liked fenderless better.
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