Front Fender Crack

[WilliamMunny]

Somehow I managed to crack my front fender.

I am not sure how I did it, but am suspecting maybe a rock was picked up by the front tire. Not sure if that is possible, since I am still running the stock tires. I noticed it after returning for a fairly long ride on some gravel Forest Service roads. There were some areas that had a lot of washboards and some larger rocks in places.

I did manage to drop the bike for the first time in a muddy rut in a washed out area at a very slow speed. Not too happy about that, but the AltRider crash bars did their job and the left side of the bars were the only thing to get scratched and packed with mud. Without them, I think my fan would have been toast or at least jammed with mud.

I see a few people have had fender cracking issues. The fender extender seemed to play a part of that for some. How often do fenders get cracked, like this one, without an extender? What is usually the cause? If it is a rock being sucked up, what happens when you put real rubber on the bike? A few years ago, there was some talk about a kit to raise the front fender a bit, but it looks like that idea is dead. Is there any way to lessen the chances of this happening (and still ride off of the pavement)?

Thanks. Oh yes, I had a great time!

 

[echo_four_romeo]

Only time I had that problem I was riding in some thick mud. Tires became almost impossible to ride on. Ended up cracking the fender because the mud packed in underneath. Then on my way out of the area the mud picked up a bamboo stick laying across the trail and it carried up behind the fender and smacked the brake lines. Ended up tightening one side and loosening the other, righty tighty-lefty loosey. Lost front brakes for the next 500 yards until I could find a safe place to stop the bike.

TL;DR - Avoid thick mud and sticks laying across the trail. If you have to ride through that, check the fender clearance and clean it out before continuing.

 

[WilliamMunny]

Thanks. That sounds like good advice.

 

[tomatocity]

Do you have a skidplate?

 

[WilliamMunny]

Yes. It is the AltRider plate.

 

[tomatocity]

Yes. It is the AltRider plate.

Most of the cracked fenders were when a FendExtenda was installed and it would get caught on the skidplate while riding off road. The Altrider skidplate is low enough in the front for this to happen. Not sure if the stock fender is long enough to catch the skidplate. If you have stock forks they could collapse enough to allow the contact.