Yes, I sliced up a set of funky vintage Bluemels in order to safely get full coverage fenders on my regular commuter – a 1990’s Terry Symmetry. At first I had mounted them intact underneath the brake bridge and fork crown – leaving me about 4 mm of clearance, and that was after I switched to narrower 28 mm tires. I knew I was tempting the clearance gods, and sure enough, a small piece of debris got wedged in there while I was traveling very slowly (thank those gods), and that was enough to convince me that it was time to try a different solution.
Fortunately, many have heard the call of frustrated road bike riders who want full coverage fenders but who purchased their machines during the dark, racing-fad era that finally ended just a few years ago. Such bikes are typically built with inadequate clearance for fenders, and no clearance at all if you want to run wider tires. Now, you can find conversion brackets at a number of outlets that will allow you to essentially use modified rack mounting brackets to mount fenders over the top of the rear brake bridge and on either side of the fork crown. River City offers a set for a mere $15.
Since I already had a bunch of these brackets lying around, I decided to make use of what I had available. I also needed to create some more of Sheldon’s “fender nuts” which involves tapping the recessed brake mounting nut (not too far down), and using a short bolt.
After measuring, I cut a small section out of the rear fender. I didn’t like the look of two giant brackets, so for the seat post side of the rear fender I used a small bracket from a hardware store and modified it, which gives a cleaner look. That took about 10 minutes.
For the front fender, I did not remove any material, but cut it directly in front of the fork crown mounting bracket. That way I could get more coverage around the front wheel. The front section is cantilevered over the tire, and it does rattle every now and then, but not excessively so. The mount behind the fork crown was more problematic. I needed to get the fender up higher than the original bracket provided for, so I mangled up another hardware store bracket to come up with this unattractive solution. I’ll replace this with a simpler and prettier solution (someday, maybe, when I get around to it, probably, eventually).
Meanwhile, the fenders are doing their job. My homemade mudflap is picking up the debris that would normally hit my bottom bracket, which now looks pristine, even after a rainy, muddy ride. And the fenders themselves feel very securely mounted – I’ve had no trouble with them at all. Even better, I was able to remount my 32 mm tires, which I much prefer to use, especially during the winter. And, it’s nice to be able to ride around with some vintage Bluemel’s, which look great on the Terry, and add to its fun mix of new and vintage components.
