So, I preemptively mounted some Planet Bike Cascadia ALX fenders I bought several years ago. (Note: Link takes you to currently available Cascadia ALX model)
The Singular Peregrine Mk4 seemed to be a great candidate for mounting those fenders to, and so this is what I did. There was one part though which proved to be a tiny bit of a challenge. This was in relation to the rear fender mount at the "brake bridge", as we used to call that part of the frame. It is odd we call it this because it no longer supports a brake these days. Maybe we should call this the "upper seat stay bridge" Or perhaps just "seat stay bridge" because there is no "lower" one. Anyway.....
 |
| That downward facing mounting boss.... |
At the top of the Planet Bike fender is a mount which is supposed to attach to a point where a caliper brake would mount on a rim braked road bike. Mountain bikes, while not supporting a brake off this bracing member between the seat stays, also generally had a hole going more or less horizontally through the tube.
But not the Peregrine. Nope! That boss is pointed straight down at the ground. Yes....fancy fenders do mount on a boss like this. I understand. However; not all folks buy those kinds of fenders, and well......I have fenders which mount in a completely different way at this point.
The Planet Bike fender has a metal mounting tab sticking up vertically from the fender which is supposed to mount to a seat stay bridge with the more common horizontal mount. I decided to modify the fender mounting tab as shown. Now I had to find a hex wrench with a short extension to fit in between the top of the fender and the mounting tab, now bent at a 90° to accommodate the bottom-facing boss. .
Since a suitable wrench did not exist, I had to modify a 3mm hex wrench to be short enough to have its "elbow" end fit between the fender and the bolt I was using to attach the fender to the mounting boss. Just getting the bolt started was a minor miracle, by the way. The easy part was tightening it.
Easy, maybe.... But also tedious, slow, and awkward. Once this hurdle had been cleared the rest was a can-o-corn. I even found a small stash of long spacers and corresponding bolts to help clear the front brake caliper. It pays to squirrel away parts sometimes!
The test ride wasn't maybe the best idea. We still had a lot of compacted snow and slush around the neighborhood. This cut my ride short, but not before I knew everything was tight and was working correctly. Even the slush was good for checking how sturdy the installation was due to the frozen stuff clogging up around the tire and fender at times. I'm confident this set up will do what I need to to do.
And hopefully that will be riding a lot more soon!
10 comments:
It blows my mind that you've still got frost in the ground up there... Here in Lincoln, our frost for the year is long gone... as is most of the moisture. It's gonna be a rough spring if we don't get some rain soon.
I've been riding my fender bike a lot lately... It's so nice to be able to hop on and ride and not worry about making a huge mess. It makes it a lot easier to get out the door in the spring...
BTW, your Peregrine looks awesome with fenders. The toil was worth the end result!!
@MG - Yeah, we are in a weird place here. Southern Iowa hasn't had any snow for a month, maybe more, and I'm sure the frost is out down that way as well.
@MG - Thanks Brother!
How do you compare Peregrine and MCD? What different place do they have in your fleet? Or are they just different "flavours" of steel gravel bike? Both very cool bikes. 👌
@PeterLuk - This is a great question. Thanks for reading and commenting!
The biggest difference, as I see it, is the designer's intentions for each bike. The Singular is coming at things from a more classically inspired design style with a level top tube, classic investment cast fork crown, and with a classically inspired aesthetic all around.
The Singular is also single speed compatible, which is also different here.
The Black Mountain Cycles MCD is from more of an adventure bike/MTB influence. This is reflected in the sloping top tube, segmented fork, and more purposeful design aesthetic.
The MCD is a bicycle I would be more at ease taking to an unknown area to ride whereas the Singular fulfills that classic steel bike in a modern day design thing I like.
There are more similarities than dissimilarities.
If I had to get rid of one of them I would probably choose to let go of the MCD first because I prize single speed capabilities and my Salsa Cycles Gen I Fargo fills a similar niche to the MCD.
Good on you for mounting mudguards/fenders. However, I don't understand why you didn't use the through-bolt and a suitable spacer that the frame natively supports. You don't have to use "fancy fenders" to use this approach and dispensing with bridge clips will absolutely be more reliable in the long term. The bridge clip in the photo will definitely break at the 90 degree bend. If not today, tomorrow...
Thanks for your answer! One can compare the geo, but it's better to insight to hear comparison from someone who rides and owns both.
@Fear rothar: I did what I did for a couple of reasons. One: If I drilled the fende I would have to get a leather washer. I do not have one handy. Two: I do not have a proper drill. (I know- might sound odd, but I don't have one.) Three: These fenders are temporary. Once "mud season" is over, likely by mid-April, the fenders are coming off. This is how I have dealt with fenders for twenty years.
Finally: These fenders are already at least ten years old, and I used the plastic/aluminum core Planet Bike fenders before these. I've never broken a mount on any of them, and I've abused them severely, so I do not feel concern for my mount modification. Of course, it still could break. No big deal at this point in my opinion.
@Guitar Ted That's fair. I will add, though, that leather washers are absolutely not the essential accessory for through-bolt mounting that the Fancy Fender Brigade might have you believe. I have several high mileage setups that say otherwise.
Post a Comment