Do flat fenders work fine?

Question

There are some stylish flat fenders out there. I'm referring to those fenders that have no curvature across the width of the tire, though they do curve around the wheel. Some of these fenders seem to only be as wide as the tire.

This question is posed to people who have used flat fenders:

Do you ever find that you get some splash, say on your legs, or the outer edges of your butt/back? Or are they completely fine?

When answering, please also tell me whether your flat fender was the same width as the tire, or a bit wider.

Question is posed as a discussion-starter polling the community. How will you choose the best answer when all are valid? Perhaps you could rewrite to eliminate this aspect of the question? — Goodbye Stack Exchange, Oct 02 '12 at 07:04
The link is dead, so it's impossible to know what "stylish flat fenders" you are referring to. — kmm, Jul 04 '17 at 21:29

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 01 '12 at 09:18

I can't speak as a user of them, but I can as one who has followed them. They seem to work reasonably well, but they aren't as good at protecting people behind you - the arc behind them is narrower than the traditional curved in guard. I would think that in this regard, wider would seem to be better

In this they are better than the horizontally flat guards you see, which do nothing to protect those following you.

If you're only worried about your back and legs, these seem fine - but if you're concerned for your fellow travelers, I'd be less keen on them.

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 01 '12 at 11:35

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There are two factors: 1) Since they don't "hug" the wheel as closely they aren't quite as effective for a given width. 2) They aren't as stiff, meaning they'll vibrate somewhat worse with a given mounting technique.

answered Oct 01 '12 at 11:35

Daniel R Hicks

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 02 '12 at 02:55

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I have regular (curved around) full fenders in one commuter, and nothing on other, this one with skinny tires.

On the fenderless one, when water from the front tire hits the downtube, I feel like every drop of it is projected sidwards, and my feet quickly get wet.

On the other hand, on the fender-equiped one, only the water projected directly from puddles hit my feet, and every water that hits the fender is (or looks like it is) directed towards the middle of the fender and eventually goes out by its lower side.

So, although I have never used flat fenders like shown in the photo, I am afraid they protect much less than their more common curved counterparts.

Hope this helps!

answered Oct 02 '12 at 02:55

heltonbiker

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I think this is an interesting answer to a different question. – SuperElectric Oct 02 '12 at 06:14
I think this is a salvageable answer - if you want to add some inferences around how your curved mudguards/fenders would work if they were flat. I suspect the water caught would be more likely to blow off the sides rather than pushed around by the wind of the tyre and out the bottom. – Criggie Jul 13 '17 at 22:55

Do flat fenders work fine?

3 Answers3