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Fenders |
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Written by Zach Magoon
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Sunday, 30 April 2006 |
Fenders! Got to have em. I know we all have been spoiled up here in Maine over the past couple weeks with the nice weather, but it's gonna rain soon enough. Looks like the rest of the week is gonna be off and on rain. I love my fenders.
I use the plastic ones that clamp op with a quick release on the back so I can switch it to other bikes easily if I need to. The front one has a little expanding wedge thingy that fits in the crotch of the fork so it can be used with mountain bikes with suspension forks or my Kona Project 2 disc fork .
I hate having a wet streak up my back so this thing saves me from that and the front one saves the spray from blinding me. Both are a must-have for the all-weather commuter. I think it even saves on cleaning the bike a bit as well. If I had a bike with braze-ons for actual aluminum fenders, that would be awesome, but I don't. Many touring road bikes have these, but neither my mtb bike nor my cyclocross bike have them--damn.
While were on the subject of equipment, I would like to put in some props for bib shorts. Holy hell, they're probably the dorkiest thing out there but just may be the most comfortable. My wife just laughed as she saw them on me without my jersey. I mean they look like some bad 80's fashion, but feel like a million bucks. By alleviating the waistband and adding the suspender-like straps, there are no real pressure points, making them just a dream to wear. I probably won't buy another pair of just shorts.
I also have a pair of knickers that I wear over my shorts (bibs dammit) when I commute now that weather is still chilly in the morning. They even shed some water/rain and I would highly recommend them--Patagonia makes them and they're actually climbing pants in their Rhythm line. They're half spandex and half nylon. If you don't want the look of the tight spandex while riding to work, The knickers are a great, comfortable and functional piece of clothing that won't shock the co-workers. But I still manage to flash the spandex when it warms up for my commute home and secretly I know they love it.
Zm |
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