Rear Fender Bridge: Near-Full Coverage Fenders for Bicycles With Little Tire Clearance

I had trouble putting a rear fender on my favorite bike because of the clearence between the tire and the brake arms.

You run into this problem on bikes that were designed for performance, i.e. not commuting.

I didn't want to use narrower tires. I was already forced to run 700X25 tires when I usually go no narrower than 700X28. So I decided to just split the rear fender into two pieces at the brake bridge on the frame and then bridge them with a narrow piece of metal.

It ended up working really well and not looking as bad as I thought it might. So far it hasn't made any noise although I just did put the fenders on today and I have only rode 10 miles with them.

Supplies:

• 2 M4 bolts
• 6 washers
• 4 M4 nuts
• zip-tie
• 1 "p"-clip with rubber coating (e.g. this one)
• a full coverage rear fender
• a bike

Tools:

• hack saw
• power drill
• vice or table and clamps
• 4mm hex wrench
• 8mm wrench or adjustable wrench

Step 1: Rough Fit and Cut Fender

Rough Fit and Cut Fender:

1. Place rear fender on bike so that it goes over the bridge
2. Draw a line in sharpie across the fender right in front of where it intersects the frames brake bridge.
3. Take fender off bike.
4. Cut fender with hack saw at mark.

Step 2: Prepare P-Clip and Fender Segments

Prepare P-Clip and Fender Segments

1. Use the vice to flatten the p-clip so that it is basically a straight piece of metal.
2. Hold the p-clip up to the cut end of each fender piece and mark the spot where the bolt will go through the fender. You want some of the rubberized covering to overlap the fender to cut down on vibration.
3. Drill holes.
4. Push bolts through the holes you drilled such that the head of each bolt it on the inside of the fander.
5. Thread on a washer and nut to fix the bolt to the fender.

Step 3: Attach Fender Pieces

Attach Fender Pieces

1. Attach the front segment of the rear fender as you would normally and then bolt one side of the p-clip to the post of the bolt you just attached to the fender segment in the last step.

2. Then bolt the other side of the p-clip to the post of the bolt you just attached to the other fender segment.

3. Then attach the rear segment of the rear fender as you would normally install a fender. TIP If you're bike frame does not have eyelets for fenders than you can attach the fender stays to the seat stays of the frame with more p-clips, like I did.)

4. Tighten a zip tie around the brake post of the brake and the pclip bridge you just installed. Make sure the zip tie is tight because the is going to be what prevents the bridge you just made from vibrating on the brake and making noise.

NOTE: I also installed a front fender which I did not go over because there was plenty of clearance for it.