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For a 20" rear wheel with a this kind of fender, what would be the best angle to install it to minimize the spray on one's butt/legs?

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dork
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    It's too short - can't you extend it with some creative milk-jug-cutting or wood bending? – RoboKaren Mar 27 '17 at 05:55
  • @RoboKaren, I probably can. Just wondering if it were to stay that short, I guess – dork Mar 27 '17 at 05:59
  • Those things are mostly for show. While they will do some catching of water, they're worse than a full mudguard, and most are only mounted on one arm so they're fragile. Not something I want near my wheels! Ideally you want guards that are sized as a just-over-half-wheel on the rear and a third of a wheel on the front. – Criggie Mar 27 '17 at 10:10
  • Out of curiosity, what are bikes like these generally used for? I'm assuming they aren't that good for distance due to the small wheel size and I'm not even sure where I would begin googling. – Pants Mar 27 '17 at 13:07
  • @Pants they look like folding bikes to me. – marcvangend Mar 27 '17 at 15:08
  • Folding bikes are great for multimodal transport (i.e. bike to the train station then carry the bike onboard), for apartment dwellers, or for commuters who want to bring their bike indoors. – RoboKaren Mar 27 '17 at 16:53
  • @pants that's probably a good question in its own right. We have questions about folding bikes, but not one about why they exist. – Criggie Jun 03 '17 at 23:32

1 Answers1

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The spray will come off at a tangent to the wheel. If you're trying to prevent your back getting wet, putting the short fender to the rearmost position is the best but your legs will still get spray. If you want to prevent your butt getting wet, raise it a little. Note that going faster will mean the wind will push the spray back a little, but the spray will also increase in velocity and strength.

Fender spray

Unfortunately, your fender on your bike as-is is too short to protect your entire body and legs. You could make your own fender extension using milk jugs, wood, metal sheeting, plastic sheeting, coroplast, or any other number of DIY materials.

Note: Image is from a website selling a fender for bicycles.

RoboKaren
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  • Ah. So when it comes to the pictures I've attached, the first one would protect the butt/thighs; the third, the back? – dork Mar 27 '17 at 06:06
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    Pretty much. I'd put it into the rearmost setting as it's easy to jerry-rig something else to protect the butt and thighs. – RoboKaren Mar 27 '17 at 06:56