In need of fenders for LHT

[Savra]

I've got my lovely new LHT but am having a difficult time finding the right fenders for it. I went to a LBS here and asked what size I should get and they ordered fenders for a large mountain bike tire. While I have 26" wheels they are rather skinny in comparison to a mountain bike. I am hoping other LHT owners on here might have a better idea what fenders would fit. The LBS seems stumped since they aren't mountain bike tires.

[moderncyclista]

I've got my lovely new LHT but am having a difficult time finding the right fenders for it. I went to a LBS here and asked what size I should get and they ordered fenders for a large mountain bike tire. While I have 26" wheels they are rather skinny in comparison to a mountain bike. I am hoping other LHT owners on here might have a better idea what fenders would fit. The LBS seems stumped since they aren't mountain bike tires.

You know, I bought the wrong thing for my LHT --- before I thought of asking anyone. I went with 26 inch Planet Bike standard fenders and they look wrong. They are effective at keeping water-spray at bay, but just don't fit.

I e-mailed Surly themselves and was recommended by their staffer to get SKS P-45 fenders. I plan on getting some, if something else shiny doesn't distract me. LOL.

[radacrider]

Yeah, finding skinny fenders for 26" wheels can be a challenge. What size tire is on the LHT? The SKS P45 works with tires in the 1.5" range (plus or minus). The SKS P35 works with the smaller 26" tires (1.3" (32-599)).

I have used the P45 and currently have P35 on my commuter (26 x 1.3" tires). Both are actually designed for hybrids with typically 700c wheels, so some fitting might be require for an ideal fit.

By the way, with the SKS you can carefully use a heat gun to do a little re-shaping of the fender's arc. On my commuter (my SUB), I modified the mounting brackets so I could keep the fenders close to the tires.

[Sky King]

I've got my lovely new LHT but am having a difficult time finding the right fenders for it. I went to a LBS here and asked what size I should get and they ordered fenders for a large mountain bike tire. While I have 26" wheels they are rather skinny in comparison to a mountain bike. I am hoping other LHT owners on here might have a better idea what fenders would fit. The LBS seems stumped since they aren't mountain bike tires.

The best fit is going to be a tanaka fender - 26 inch by 60 mm. They take a little more effort but are beautiful once on. Metal fenders are longer so come down farther in the front than the plastic also a custom fit when you install them - tons of how to install videos on you tube.
Planet Bike hardcores should work and we have mounted those on several LHT's.

[Savra]

The tire is a 26X1.5. Since the 26 by 60mm fender is the bigger of the fenders I would think it would be for the bigger tires. But that would fit better than the 26 by 40mm?

[Tri Girl]

OK- so question. I don't have a LHT or 26" wheels, but I have a Bianchi Eros touring bike and have 650's. I had a set of planet bike cascadia 26" fenders and I made them "fit", but they just don't look right.
Would those fenders (the tanaka fenders or the SKS) fit 650's? I know 26" is the closest thing to 650's and they do NOT make fenders for 650 wheels.

Thanks!

[radacrider]

The tire is a 26X1.5. Since the 26 by 60mm fender is the bigger of the fenders I would think it would be for the bigger tires. But that would fit better than the 26 by 40mm?

Likely your 1.5 has a 42-599 marking on it, which is a different standard to compare sizes. If that is the case, then, yes a 60mm fender will look monstrous. When I ran a 1.5 - 1.6 tire, I used the P45s on my bike. To create a clean look, I did have to modify fixed mounting points (front fork, rear seat stay and bottom bracket area) so the fender was closer to the tire.

I am now running 1.3 (32-599) tires and needed to switch the the P35 fenders. These also required modifying the fixed brackets to fit the fender to the smaller tire.

Note, the P45 and P35 are actually built for hybrid type bikes with 700C wheels.

Here is my SUB with the smaller tires and the P35 fenders:



Here is a closer look at the P35s on the rear wheel/tire:


Here is the SUB with the the larger 1.6 (42-599) tires and the P45 fenders:

[Sky King]

Savra,
You can certainly go with the Tanaka 26 X 45, We tend to go a little wider for the option of changing to a wider tire.

Tri Girl, Tanaka makes a 650B fender. I ride a 650B on my Rivendell and I have the Gilles Berthoud fenders, the come predrilled so a little easier to install than the Tanaka

[Catrin]

I went with the SKS fenders to give me the option of running a wider tire if I want on the LHT. Now that I've a mountain bike I don't know if I will do that, but I like options I do not think the fenders look too large at all once they were installed. Will post a picture tonight when I get in from my ride.

[Tri Girl]

so 650b's would work with 650c's? DUH! I didn't realize that. I saw some Velo Orange 650b's but the searching I did online didn't make it seem like they were compatible. WOOT! Thanks!

[Savra]

Thank you for all the suggestions! I took them all into consideration and then called my LBS and told him I needed SKS P45 fenders! I had to tweak the set up a bit to make them fit well. With the hardware they gave me they would have been WAY too far away from the actual tire. After three trips to Home Depot I was successful.

[Sky King]

Good job on the install! We just received the SKS Longboards and put them in our store today. I might install them on the Sam Hillborne and see how I like them.