FD interferes with rear fender

On Oct 28, 6:14*pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
On 10/28/2008 1:57 PM landotter wrote:





On Oct 26, 9:09 pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
A couple months ago I got some good assistance from the group here on how
to narrow the "Q" factor on my old Specialized Sirrus which I've converted
to a town bike (upright bars, nice wide saddle, basket, rack, fender,
lights).

But I ran into a snag when mounting triples with narrower Qs on a short
spindle: the front derailler could not move close enough to the seat tube
to shift the chain the the inner ring.

It was suggested here that I try an old school bottom-swing mtb FD. I got
a Shimano LX Bottom swing FD from eBay but hadn't gotten around to putting
it on until this morning when my knees announced that I better get around
to narrowing that tread--or else. So I put it on with a narrower crank set
and it all works great. The FD does swing closer to the seat tube which
means that the chain can now drop onto the inner ring.

However, the new FD has more bits behind the seat tube than the old, so I
had to remove my rear fender. It was already pretty crowded behind the
seat tube, what with this being a small frame and me putting on some 35mm
commuter tires...I was lucky to be able to squeeze the fender between the
tire and the BB in the first place. Now there's no chance.

So it seems that my options are to not use a rear fender, or chop off the
forward portion of the fender above the FD.

The (Planet Bike Freddy) Fender came with an accessory slip-on clamp that
I needed to use anyway to keep the fender from rubbing on the tire midway
up the seat tube (cable tied it to the seat tube), and I suppose I could
try to depend on it to fix the forward portion of the fender, but I dunno.
Seems iffy w/o the nice bolt that held the front of the fender to the
brazed-in mounting hole thing between the chainstays.

Cut a hole in the fender to make room for the FD, maybe?

Run 28mm tires so you can move the fender away from the mech? ;-)

Nope, nope. I like the chubbies.

My PB fenders rub the mech when I use the granny--doesn't hurt
anything. Top swing, btw.

With my previous top swing, the fender had /just/ enuough room to avoid
rubbing the tire. This here bottom swing is bulky. No more'n 4 mm between
the cable pull thingy and the tire. I might just chop a hole in the fender
to give it some breathing room.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

May I suggest a dremel over a hacksaw? I once cut a fender with a
hack saw (or something similar, it was a while ago) to get it between
the fork blades. Where I cut continued on in a crack as time went on,
to the point where I expect the fender to split in half soon - perhaps
this winter. It already requires manual adjusting somewhat regularly
as it tends to flop over at the cut/crack spot, and rub the tire.
With a dremel you can remove a section without actually cutting and
creating that weak point. I plan to use the cylindrical sanding disk
next time. http://tinyurl.com/5t8u9c The one on the left, not the
one on the right (which, while still a sanding tool, is more of a
cutting tool IMO).

On 10/29/2008 6:14 AM wrote:

On Oct 28, 6:14 pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
On 10/28/2008 1:57 PM landotter wrote:





On Oct 26, 9:09 pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
A couple months ago I got some good assistance from the group here on how
to narrow the "Q" factor on my old Specialized Sirrus which I've converted
to a town bike (upright bars, nice wide saddle, basket, rack, fender,
lights).
But I ran into a snag when mounting triples with narrower Qs on a short
spindle: the front derailler could not move close enough to the seat tube
to shift the chain the the inner ring.
It was suggested here that I try an old school bottom-swing mtb FD. I got
a Shimano LX Bottom swing FD from eBay but hadn't gotten around to putting
it on until this morning when my knees announced that I better get around
to narrowing that tread--or else. So I put it on with a narrower crank set
and it all works great. The FD does swing closer to the seat tube which
means that the chain can now drop onto the inner ring.
However, the new FD has more bits behind the seat tube than the old, so I
had to remove my rear fender. It was already pretty crowded behind the
seat tube, what with this being a small frame and me putting on some 35mm
commuter tires...I was lucky to be able to squeeze the fender between the
tire and the BB in the first place. Now there's no chance.
So it seems that my options are to not use a rear fender, or chop off the
forward portion of the fender above the FD.
The (Planet Bike Freddy) Fender came with an accessory slip-on clamp that
I needed to use anyway to keep the fender from rubbing on the tire midway
up the seat tube (cable tied it to the seat tube), and I suppose I could
try to depend on it to fix the forward portion of the fender, but I dunno.
Seems iffy w/o the nice bolt that held the front of the fender to the
brazed-in mounting hole thing between the chainstays.
Cut a hole in the fender to make room for the FD, maybe?
Run 28mm tires so you can move the fender away from the mech? ;-)
Nope, nope. I like the chubbies.

My PB fenders rub the mech when I use the granny--doesn't hurt
anything. Top swing, btw.
With my previous top swing, the fender had /just/ enuough room to avoid
rubbing the tire. This here bottom swing is bulky. No more'n 4 mm between
the cable pull thingy and the tire. I might just chop a hole in the fender
to give it some breathing room.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

May I suggest a dremel over a hacksaw? I once cut a fender with a
hack saw (or something similar, it was a while ago) to get it between
the fork blades. Where I cut continued on in a crack as time went on,
to the point where I expect the fender to split in half soon - perhaps
this winter. It already requires manual adjusting somewhat regularly
as it tends to flop over at the cut/crack spot, and rub the tire.
With a dremel you can remove a section without actually cutting and
creating that weak point. I plan to use the cylindrical sanding disk
next time. http://tinyurl.com/5t8u9c The one on the left, not the
one on the right (which, while still a sanding tool, is more of a
cutting tool IMO).

Well yeah, that does bring up the issue about the best PB fender cutting
tool. I had to cut a hole in the front fender to clear some weldy bits on
the underside of the fork crown, and I used my Dremel with a little
burr-shaped bit. It pretty much wanted to melt its way through the
plastic. Didn't work very well.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon

In article ,
Mike Rocket J Squirrel wrote:

On 10/28/2008 1:57 PM landotter wrote:

On Oct 26, 9:09 pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
A couple months ago I got some good assistance from the group here on how
to narrow the "Q" factor on my old Specialized Sirrus which I've converted
to a town bike (upright bars, nice wide saddle, basket, rack, fender,
lights).

But I ran into a snag when mounting triples with narrower Qs on a short
spindle: the front derailler could not move close enough to the seat tube
to shift the chain the the inner ring.

It was suggested here that I try an old school bottom-swing mtb FD. I got
a Shimano LX Bottom swing FD from eBay but hadn't gotten around to putting
it on until this morning when my knees announced that I better get around
to narrowing that tread--or else. So I put it on with a narrower crank set
and it all works great. The FD does swing closer to the seat tube which
means that the chain can now drop onto the inner ring.

However, the new FD has more bits behind the seat tube than the old, so I
had to remove my rear fender. It was already pretty crowded behind the
seat tube, what with this being a small frame and me putting on some 35mm
commuter tires...I was lucky to be able to squeeze the fender between the
tire and the BB in the first place. Now there's no chance.

So it seems that my options are to not use a rear fender, or chop off the
forward portion of the fender above the FD.

The (Planet Bike Freddy) Fender came with an accessory slip-on clamp that
I needed to use anyway to keep the fender from rubbing on the tire midway
up the seat tube (cable tied it to the seat tube), and I suppose I could
try to depend on it to fix the forward portion of the fender, but I dunno.
Seems iffy w/o the nice bolt that held the front of the fender to the
brazed-in mounting hole thing between the chainstays.

Cut a hole in the fender to make room for the FD, maybe?

Run 28mm tires so you can move the fender away from the mech? ;-)

Nope, nope. I like the chubbies.

My PB fenders rub the mech when I use the granny--doesn't hurt
anything. Top swing, btw.

With my previous top swing, the fender had /just/ enuough room to avoid
rubbing the tire. This here bottom swing is bulky. No more'n 4 mm between
the cable pull thingy and the tire. I might just chop a hole in the fender
to give it some breathing room.

Bending or dimpling the fender might work, will allow the fender
to fend tire spray, and will maintain more structural stability.

--
Michael Press

On Oct 29, 7:17 am, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
On 10/29/2008 6:14 AM wrote:



On Oct 28, 6:14 pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
On 10/28/2008 1:57 PM landotter wrote:

On Oct 26, 9:09 pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
A couple months ago I got some good assistance from the group here on how
to narrow the "Q" factor on my old Specialized Sirrus which I've converted
to a town bike (upright bars, nice wide saddle, basket, rack, fender,
lights).
But I ran into a snag when mounting triples with narrower Qs on a short
spindle: the front derailler could not move close enough to the seat tube
to shift the chain the the inner ring.
It was suggested here that I try an old school bottom-swing mtb FD. I got
a Shimano LX Bottom swing FD from eBay but hadn't gotten around to putting
it on until this morning when my knees announced that I better get around
to narrowing that tread--or else. So I put it on with a narrower crank set
and it all works great. The FD does swing closer to the seat tube which
means that the chain can now drop onto the inner ring.
However, the new FD has more bits behind the seat tube than the old, so I
had to remove my rear fender. It was already pretty crowded behind the
seat tube, what with this being a small frame and me putting on some 35mm
commuter tires...I was lucky to be able to squeeze the fender between the
tire and the BB in the first place. Now there's no chance.
So it seems that my options are to not use a rear fender, or chop off the
forward portion of the fender above the FD.
The (Planet Bike Freddy) Fender came with an accessory slip-on clamp that
I needed to use anyway to keep the fender from rubbing on the tire midway
up the seat tube (cable tied it to the seat tube), and I suppose I could
try to depend on it to fix the forward portion of the fender, but I dunno.
Seems iffy w/o the nice bolt that held the front of the fender to the
brazed-in mounting hole thing between the chainstays.
Cut a hole in the fender to make room for the FD, maybe?
Run 28mm tires so you can move the fender away from the mech? ;-)
Nope, nope. I like the chubbies.

My PB fenders rub the mech when I use the granny--doesn't hurt
anything. Top swing, btw.
With my previous top swing, the fender had /just/ enuough room to avoid
rubbing the tire. This here bottom swing is bulky. No more'n 4 mm between
the cable pull thingy and the tire. I might just chop a hole in the fender
to give it some breathing room.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

May I suggest a dremel over a hacksaw? I once cut a fender with a
hack saw (or something similar, it was a while ago) to get it between
the fork blades. Where I cut continued on in a crack as time went on,
to the point where I expect the fender to split in half soon - perhaps
this winter. It already requires manual adjusting somewhat regularly
as it tends to flop over at the cut/crack spot, and rub the tire.
With a dremel you can remove a section without actually cutting and
creating that weak point. I plan to use the cylindrical sanding disk
next time. http://tinyurl.com/5t8u9c The one on the left, not the
one on the right (which, while still a sanding tool, is more of a
cutting tool IMO).

Well yeah, that does bring up the issue about the best PB fender cutting
tool. I had to cut a hole in the front fender to clear some weldy bits on
the underside of the fork crown, and I used my Dremel with a little
burr-shaped bit. It pretty much wanted to melt its way through the
plastic. Didn't work very well.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon



How about removing the CS bridge clip and using a P clamp with a bolt
and some spacers to move the fender closer to the tire and further
away from the FD?
Phil Brown

On 10/29/2008 11:15 AM philcycles wrote:

On Oct 29, 7:17 am, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
On 10/29/2008 6:14 AM wrote:



On Oct 28, 6:14 pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
On 10/28/2008 1:57 PM landotter wrote:
On Oct 26, 9:09 pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
A couple months ago I got some good assistance from the group here on how
to narrow the "Q" factor on my old Specialized Sirrus which I've converted
to a town bike (upright bars, nice wide saddle, basket, rack, fender,
lights).
But I ran into a snag when mounting triples with narrower Qs on a short
spindle: the front derailler could not move close enough to the seat tube
to shift the chain the the inner ring.
It was suggested here that I try an old school bottom-swing mtb FD. I got
a Shimano LX Bottom swing FD from eBay but hadn't gotten around to putting
it on until this morning when my knees announced that I better get around
to narrowing that tread--or else. So I put it on with a narrower crank set
and it all works great. The FD does swing closer to the seat tube which
means that the chain can now drop onto the inner ring.
However, the new FD has more bits behind the seat tube than the old, so I
had to remove my rear fender. It was already pretty crowded behind the
seat tube, what with this being a small frame and me putting on some 35mm
commuter tires...I was lucky to be able to squeeze the fender between the
tire and the BB in the first place. Now there's no chance.
So it seems that my options are to not use a rear fender, or chop off the
forward portion of the fender above the FD.
The (Planet Bike Freddy) Fender came with an accessory slip-on clamp that
I needed to use anyway to keep the fender from rubbing on the tire midway
up the seat tube (cable tied it to the seat tube), and I suppose I could
try to depend on it to fix the forward portion of the fender, but I dunno.
Seems iffy w/o the nice bolt that held the front of the fender to the
brazed-in mounting hole thing between the chainstays.
Cut a hole in the fender to make room for the FD, maybe?
Run 28mm tires so you can move the fender away from the mech? ;-)
Nope, nope. I like the chubbies.
My PB fenders rub the mech when I use the granny--doesn't hurt
anything. Top swing, btw.
With my previous top swing, the fender had /just/ enuough room to avoid
rubbing the tire. This here bottom swing is bulky. No more'n 4 mm between
the cable pull thingy and the tire. I might just chop a hole in the fender
to give it some breathing room.
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
May I suggest a dremel over a hacksaw? I once cut a fender with a
hack saw (or something similar, it was a while ago) to get it between
the fork blades. Where I cut continued on in a crack as time went on,
to the point where I expect the fender to split in half soon - perhaps
this winter. It already requires manual adjusting somewhat regularly
as it tends to flop over at the cut/crack spot, and rub the tire.
With a dremel you can remove a section without actually cutting and
creating that weak point. I plan to use the cylindrical sanding disk
next time. http://tinyurl.com/5t8u9c The one on the left, not the
one on the right (which, while still a sanding tool, is more of a
cutting tool IMO).
Well yeah, that does bring up the issue about the best PB fender cutting
tool. I had to cut a hole in the front fender to clear some weldy bits on
the underside of the fork crown, and I used my Dremel with a little
burr-shaped bit. It pretty much wanted to melt its way through the
plastic. Didn't work very well.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon



How about removing the CS bridge clip and using a P clamp with a bolt
and some spacers to move the fender closer to the tire and further
away from the FD?
Phil Brown

Hi Phil, the fender was already super close to the tire as is. There's
only 4 mm between the rear of the FD and tire.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon

On 10/29/2008 10:30 AM Michael Press wrote:

In article ,
Mike Rocket J Squirrel wrote:

On 10/28/2008 1:57 PM landotter wrote:

On Oct 26, 9:09 pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
A couple months ago I got some good assistance from the group here on how
to narrow the "Q" factor on my old Specialized Sirrus which I've converted
to a town bike (upright bars, nice wide saddle, basket, rack, fender,
lights).

But I ran into a snag when mounting triples with narrower Qs on a short
spindle: the front derailler could not move close enough to the seat tube
to shift the chain the the inner ring.

It was suggested here that I try an old school bottom-swing mtb FD. I got
a Shimano LX Bottom swing FD from eBay but hadn't gotten around to putting
it on until this morning when my knees announced that I better get around
to narrowing that tread--or else. So I put it on with a narrower crank set
and it all works great. The FD does swing closer to the seat tube which
means that the chain can now drop onto the inner ring.

However, the new FD has more bits behind the seat tube than the old, so I
had to remove my rear fender. It was already pretty crowded behind the
seat tube, what with this being a small frame and me putting on some 35mm
commuter tires...I was lucky to be able to squeeze the fender between the
tire and the BB in the first place. Now there's no chance.

So it seems that my options are to not use a rear fender, or chop off the
forward portion of the fender above the FD.

The (Planet Bike Freddy) Fender came with an accessory slip-on clamp that
I needed to use anyway to keep the fender from rubbing on the tire midway
up the seat tube (cable tied it to the seat tube), and I suppose I could
try to depend on it to fix the forward portion of the fender, but I dunno.
Seems iffy w/o the nice bolt that held the front of the fender to the
brazed-in mounting hole thing between the chainstays.

Cut a hole in the fender to make room for the FD, maybe?
Run 28mm tires so you can move the fender away from the mech? ;-)
Nope, nope. I like the chubbies.

My PB fenders rub the mech when I use the granny--doesn't hurt
anything. Top swing, btw.
With my previous top swing, the fender had /just/ enuough room to avoid
rubbing the tire. This here bottom swing is bulky. No more'n 4 mm between
the cable pull thingy and the tire. I might just chop a hole in the fender
to give it some breathing room.

Bending or dimpling the fender might work, will allow the fender
to fend tire spray, and will maintain more structural stability.


Yep, but there's only 4 mm between the tire and the FD. That would be a
high-precision dimple! And make a good leaf trap.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon

On Oct 29, 6:14*am, " wrote:
On Oct 28, 6:14*pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel



wrote:
On 10/28/2008 1:57 PM landotter wrote:

On Oct 26, 9:09 pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
A couple months ago I got some good assistance from the group here on how
to narrow the "Q" factor on my old Specialized Sirrus which I've converted
to a town bike (upright bars, nice wide saddle, basket, rack, fender,
lights).

But I ran into a snag when mounting triples with narrower Qs on a short
spindle: the front derailler could not move close enough to the seat tube
to shift the chain the the inner ring.

It was suggested here that I try an old school bottom-swing mtb FD. I got
a Shimano LX Bottom swing FD from eBay but hadn't gotten around to putting
it on until this morning when my knees announced that I better get around
to narrowing that tread--or else. So I put it on with a narrower crank set
and it all works great. The FD does swing closer to the seat tube which
means that the chain can now drop onto the inner ring.

However, the new FD has more bits behind the seat tube than the old, so I
had to remove my rear fender. It was already pretty crowded behind the
seat tube, what with this being a small frame and me putting on some 35mm
commuter tires...I was lucky to be able to squeeze the fender between the
tire and the BB in the first place. Now there's no chance.

So it seems that my options are to not use a rear fender, or chop off the
forward portion of the fender above the FD.

The (Planet Bike Freddy) Fender came with an accessory slip-on clamp that
I needed to use anyway to keep the fender from rubbing on the tire midway
up the seat tube (cable tied it to the seat tube), and I suppose I could
try to depend on it to fix the forward portion of the fender, but I dunno.
Seems iffy w/o the nice bolt that held the front of the fender to the
brazed-in mounting hole thing between the chainstays.

Cut a hole in the fender to make room for the FD, maybe?

Run 28mm tires so you can move the fender away from the mech? ;-)

Nope, nope. I like the chubbies.

My PB fenders rub the mech when I use the granny--doesn't hurt
anything. Top swing, btw.

With my previous top swing, the fender had /just/ enuough room to avoid
rubbing the tire. This here bottom swing is bulky. No more'n 4 mm between
the cable pull thingy and the tire. I might just chop a hole in the fender
to give it some breathing room.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

May I suggest a dremel over a hacksaw? *I once cut a fender with a
hack saw (or something similar, it was a while ago) to get it between
the fork blades. *Where I cut continued on in a crack as time went on,
to the point where I expect the fender to split in half soon - perhaps
this winter. *It already requires manual adjusting somewhat regularly
as it tends to flop over at the cut/crack spot, and rub the tire.
With a dremel you can remove a section without actually cutting and
creating that weak point. *I plan to use the cylindrical sanding disk
next time. *http://tinyurl.com/5t8u9c*The one on the left, not the
one on the right (which, while still a sanding tool, is more of a
cutting tool IMO).

I'd pick a little saw over a sander because of the melting and
clogging problems with the sander, but I'd also clean up the edge of
the cut afterwards by melting it with a soldering iron. That should
help to keep cracks from forming.

Oh, and for making nice clean round holes in plastic or sheet metal I
like Greenlee chassis hole punches. Though looking online I'm
surprised at their expense. I gathered my set from a junk pile in
front of an electronics lab that was cleaning out.

-pm

"pm" wrote in message
...
On Oct 29, 6:14 am, " wrote:
On Oct 28, 6:14 pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel



wrote:
On 10/28/2008 1:57 PM landotter wrote:

On Oct 26, 9:09 pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
A couple months ago I got some good assistance from the group here on
how
to narrow the "Q" factor on my old Specialized Sirrus which I've
converted
to a town bike (upright bars, nice wide saddle, basket, rack, fender,
lights).

But I ran into a snag when mounting triples with narrower Qs on a
short
spindle: the front derailler could not move close enough to the seat
tube
to shift the chain the the inner ring.

It was suggested here that I try an old school bottom-swing mtb FD. I
got
a Shimano LX Bottom swing FD from eBay but hadn't gotten around to
putting
it on until this morning when my knees announced that I better get
around
to narrowing that tread--or else. So I put it on with a narrower
crank set
and it all works great. The FD does swing closer to the seat tube
which
means that the chain can now drop onto the inner ring.

However, the new FD has more bits behind the seat tube than the old,
so I
had to remove my rear fender. It was already pretty crowded behind
the
seat tube, what with this being a small frame and me putting on some
35mm
commuter tires...I was lucky to be able to squeeze the fender between
the
tire and the BB in the first place. Now there's no chance.

So it seems that my options are to not use a rear fender, or chop off
the
forward portion of the fender above the FD.

The (Planet Bike Freddy) Fender came with an accessory slip-on clamp
that
I needed to use anyway to keep the fender from rubbing on the tire
midway
up the seat tube (cable tied it to the seat tube), and I suppose I
could
try to depend on it to fix the forward portion of the fender, but I
dunno.
Seems iffy w/o the nice bolt that held the front of the fender to the
brazed-in mounting hole thing between the chainstays.

Cut a hole in the fender to make room for the FD, maybe?

Run 28mm tires so you can move the fender away from the mech? ;-)

Nope, nope. I like the chubbies.

My PB fenders rub the mech when I use the granny--doesn't hurt
anything. Top swing, btw.

With my previous top swing, the fender had /just/ enuough room to avoid
rubbing the tire. This here bottom swing is bulky. No more'n 4 mm
between
the cable pull thingy and the tire. I might just chop a hole in the
fender
to give it some breathing room.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

May I suggest a dremel over a hacksaw? I once cut a fender with a
hack saw (or something similar, it was a while ago) to get it between
the fork blades. Where I cut continued on in a crack as time went on,
to the point where I expect the fender to split in half soon - perhaps
this winter. It already requires manual adjusting somewhat regularly
as it tends to flop over at the cut/crack spot, and rub the tire.
With a dremel you can remove a section without actually cutting and
creating that weak point. I plan to use the cylindrical sanding disk
next time. http://tinyurl.com/5t8u9c The one on the left, not the
one on the right (which, while still a sanding tool, is more of a
cutting tool IMO).

I'd pick a little saw over a sander because of the melting and
clogging problems with the sander, but I'd also clean up the edge of
the cut afterwards by melting it with a soldering iron. That should
help to keep cracks from forming.

Oh, and for making nice clean round holes in plastic or sheet metal I
like Greenlee chassis hole punches. Though looking online I'm
surprised at their expense. I gathered my set from a junk pile in
front of an electronics lab that was cleaning out.

-pm


I use a Roper Whitney Jr. hand punch - they're about $80 now, and the same
company makes a larger XX model for a little over $200.
Kerry

On Oct 29, 2:20*pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
On 10/29/2008 10:30 AM Michael Press wrote:



In article ,
*Mike Rocket J Squirrel wrote:

On 10/28/2008 1:57 PM landotter wrote:

On Oct 26, 9:09 pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
A couple months ago I got some good assistance from the group here on how
to narrow the "Q" factor on my old Specialized Sirrus which I've converted
to a town bike (upright bars, nice wide saddle, basket, rack, fender,
lights).

But I ran into a snag when mounting triples with narrower Qs on a short
spindle: the front derailler could not move close enough to the seat tube
to shift the chain the the inner ring.

It was suggested here that I try an old school bottom-swing mtb FD. I got
a Shimano LX Bottom swing FD from eBay but hadn't gotten around to putting
it on until this morning when my knees announced that I better get around
to narrowing that tread--or else. So I put it on with a narrower crank set
and it all works great. The FD does swing closer to the seat tube which
means that the chain can now drop onto the inner ring.

However, the new FD has more bits behind the seat tube than the old, so I
had to remove my rear fender. It was already pretty crowded behind the
seat tube, what with this being a small frame and me putting on some 35mm
commuter tires...I was lucky to be able to squeeze the fender between the
tire and the BB in the first place. Now there's no chance.

So it seems that my options are to not use a rear fender, or chop off the
forward portion of the fender above the FD.

The (Planet Bike Freddy) Fender came with an accessory slip-on clamp that
I needed to use anyway to keep the fender from rubbing on the tire midway
up the seat tube (cable tied it to the seat tube), and I suppose I could
try to depend on it to fix the forward portion of the fender, but I dunno.
Seems iffy w/o the nice bolt that held the front of the fender to the
brazed-in mounting hole thing between the chainstays.

Cut a hole in the fender to make room for the FD, maybe?
Run 28mm tires so you can move the fender away from the mech? ;-)
Nope, nope. I like the chubbies.

My PB fenders rub the mech when I use the granny--doesn't hurt
anything. Top swing, btw.
With my previous top swing, the fender had /just/ enuough room to avoid
rubbing the tire. This here bottom swing is bulky. No more'n 4 mm between
the cable pull thingy and the tire. I might just chop a hole in the fender
to give it some breathing room.

Bending or dimpling the fender might work, will allow the fender
to fend tire spray, and will maintain more structural stability.

Yep, but there's only 4 mm between the tire and the FD.

Thus my suggestion to go down a tire size in all seriousness so you
can back off the fender. Short chainstays even on hybrids is getting
ridiculous. I have mine bolted behind the CS bridge, through the metal
hook, as the bridge's tapped, not hooked over it, allowing me to bend
the hook and fender back just perfectly so. Totally rigid.

On Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:41:29 -0700, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
On 10/26/2008 8:04 PM Michael Baldwin wrote:
Mike Rocket J Squirrel writes:
I think aesthetics & function may lose out to practicality in this
case.
You need a lower Q factor 100% of the time. You only need full fender
protection [ ? ] % of the time. Cut the fender.

Thanks, Mike. I'm not real worried about the aesthetics. I'm mainly
wondering that if the front of the fender is cut off so it can no longer
be anchored by the bolt between the chainstays, whether it can be neatly
affixed behind the seat tube using the provided slip-on clamp and a couple
of wire ties.

Only one way to find out, I reckon. Someone hand me that that hacksaw!

You don't have to shorten the fender, necessarily, just narrow it down
a bit. Tin snips work well for this. Cut the fender so it doesn't
overhang the seat tube for a few inches of height as necessary to
clear the derailer.

Pat

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