What's better than enjoying a ride on your bike in spite of inclement weather conditions? Why should you put away your bike when there are ways to bike it down safely to your office? You can get going with your biking streak by adopting a few DIY methods for making fenders for your bike, and saving it from all the grit and grime. All you need is to be well equipped and have a little knowledge about tools like hacksaws, drills, etc.

Here's a list of items you will need for this new venture:

  • A bag consisting of a hacksaw, clamp (1/16"), flat file, Allen wrench, needle-nose pliers, Screwdriver, Crescent wrench, Sandpaper (optional), marker, and drill with 5/32 and 7/32 drill bits
  • Galvanized utility wire (10 ft), aluminum flat bars (48" × 1.5"), 5mm Allen head bolts, L angle bracket, flat washers, and 2" bolt

Follow few simple DIY steps to prepare sturdy fenders for your Bike. These are as follows:

Shaping

The shaping of the fender is a crucial step as you need to get it absolutely bang-on. One can use the rear wheel from the bike and throw aside the tire. Using the wheel is the best way to get the correct shape for your fender. Use the aluminum bar around the rim and get the desired curve by rubbing the metal over a stable surface. Do not leave any uneven angles or curves while rubbing. Repeat the same procedure for the second fender and fix the wheel back. If you do not have aluminum then you can use a cardstock with a lot of duct tape.

Rear fenders are usually half the circumference of the wheel, while the front one should cover about a quarter of the tire's circumference. This is where you can whip out the hacksaw. Use it to cut the marks that to achieve desired curves. Flat file can be used to smooth all the rough edges.

Attaching

A little marking needs to be done while your rear wheel is removed. Mark a spot on the rear fender around 1-2 inches from the bottom fender. The drilling ensues after this. Use a 7/32 bit to drill a hole. For all those micro-adjustments, drill an oval slot with the drill. The fender now needs to be mounted to the chainstay bracket with the help of a 5mm bolt and two washers. Adjust your fender according to the width of the chainstay.

Now mark the upper mounting hole and remove the fender from the frame and drill another hole. Slotting is to be followed again. Now you can finally mount the fender at both chainstay and seatstay and then replace the wheel, ensuring the fender is placed at the center and over it.

Role of Wire Stay

All that is needed is to measure the required length of wire from one side to another. Leave out extra inches on either side for wrapping around dropout bolts. Now give the wire shape. Bend it to the shape of a U. Make sure the Wire Stay does not touch any component while you position the wire.

Mount cable clamps on each edge of the fender and drill holes on either side of the line with the help of the cable clamp mount. Drilling the holes with a 5/32 bit is what is required next. You can now easily mount the wire at the drilled holes. Mark three points 1 cm apart that provide you with a hint of where each bend will wrap the wire around the bolt. You can make the bends using pliers and then clip the excess wire.

Front Fender

Here is where the L Bracket will come into use. The L Bracket needs to be placed 6 inches from the front fender, and then two L bracket mounting holes need to be drilled using 7/32 bit. You can mount both L bracket and front fender to the fork crown and washers.

One needs to repeat the entire wire stay making process yet again.

The Ultimate Finish

Brighten up your fenders by applying some rough sandpaper to get away with the scuff marks or any kind of machine blemishes in the metal, and get ready to beat the weather with all of your waterproof rain gears and your super flexible bike. Polishing is another way to enhance the look of your highly functional and modified bike.