Low Cost Fenders for the Slipstream and Vanguard
Summer has officially ended and it is time to think about riding in not so nice weather. One way to help is adding fenders. Fenders keep mud and water off of you when the road is wet.
Planet Bike Freddy Recumbent Fenders offer an alternative to custom fenders for the Ryan Vanguard and Longbikes Slipstream. For less than $40 you can buy the Planet Bike Freddy Fenders and a few extra stays. You’ll see why you may want the extra stays in my next post when I show you how I installed the fenders.
I like the Planet Bike Fenders because they are plastic. I know that sounds odd but plastic fenders are quieter than metal fenders. They use steel stay but the fenders are plastic.
I also love the rubber flaps on these fenders. The flaps really help keep mud and water off of you while you ride. The Slipstearm has a tendency to throw mud right up onto my face and glasses when I ride on a wet road. Fenders really make the ride much more pleasant.
Planet Bike sells the front and rear Freddy Recumbent Fenders separately in all of the usual recumbent sizes. For the front they have 16″ and 20″ fenders. For the rear they offer 20″, 26″ and 700c fenders. You can get all of the details at Planet Bike.
These fenders really do fit almost any bike. The mounting system is flexible and easy to install. It will take you a little over a hour to install the fenders because you will have to cut the stays to the correct size for your bike. If you have a problem, the folks in Customer Service at Planet Bike are great.
Universal Cycles has a better price for these fenders than at the Planet Bike site. Check out their prices at Universal Cycles. When I checked today, their price was $8.99 for the front (16″ or 20″) and $16.99 for the rear (26″ or 700c, $13.99 for the 20″ rear). That’s $23 for a set.
For Installation help see … Installing Low Cost FendersÂ
eBent Recumbent Cycling 
I like Planet Bike because they make nice stuff and donate a percentage of their profits to cycling advocay. Also, if you belong to a cycling advocacy group, Planet Bike waives the shipping cost.
I just got installing Freddy Fenders on my Tour Easy. Like you say, cutting the stays the right length is crucial. In my experience, all fender installations require patience, precision, and a bit ingenuity. On the Tour Easy, I had to cut a notch in the rear fender to get the fender line and clearance right. Here is my installation:
http://bessasandackerman.com/bucket/te/index-Pages/Image15.html
Cheers, and thanks for the blog.
Perry
September 5, 2006 at 3:12 pm
Perry, nice neat job. I’ll try to get my pictures posted very soon.
I had to take the fenders off to ship the Slipstream to Seattle. I didn’t expect much rain in eastern Oregon and Washington in August so I didn’t ship them with the bike.
Now that September is here in New Hampshire, I am expecting a lot more rain and will be putting them back on
Enjoy the Ride … Roland
Roland
September 5, 2006 at 3:19 pm
Roland, thanks. I very much look forward to your pictures and comments about the fenders. I am in Connecticut so we are on the same page about fenders and weather. I got mine mounted just in time to ride through all the rain we’ve had these last week or so.
Perry
September 5, 2006 at 3:27 pm
[…] The following pictures and instructions are from my first installation of the Planet Bike Freddy Recumbent Fenders (see Low Cost Fenders for more information on the fenders) on my Longbikes Slipstream. Installation on a Ryan Vanguard would be very similar. I’ll be reinstalling the fenders now that I am back from my Northwest Tour and will probably be able to refine the technique on the send pass. I will update these instructions if I figure out any improvements. […]
Installing Low Cost Recumbent Fenders « eBent Recumbent Cycling
September 6, 2006 at 8:48 am