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I recently bought a used trekking bike (Focus) to commute to work in Berlin.

It's a great bike, and now that the weather is a little wetter I'm finding that the fenders it came with aren't quite covering the wheels like I would like. About every two weeks they come out of alignment and I have to adjust the screws/bend the stays to get it to cover the wheel again.

Any tips for getting them to stay put? I've adjusted them three times now and it's getting old.

EDIT: I'm not sure the exact brand/model but the rear has 1/2 diameter coverage and the front has about 1/3 diameter coverage.

Material: black plastic

Attachment system: like these: Giant Brand Fenders

Or these Planet Bike ones: enter image description here

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  • Please post brand and model of fender.
    – cherouvim
    Commented Sep 18, 2013 at 9:22
  • @cherouvim I'll have to update it with specifics when I head home, but for now i've tried to update it with what I can. In case the images don't come through, here's a [link] (shopgiant-bicycles.co.uk/3089/products/…)
    – THEAO
    Commented Sep 18, 2013 at 9:34
  • I've had similar fenders for decades -- two different bikes, and wore out the pair on my current bike, so 3 total pair. For the rear fender one key is to get a really tight attachment where the fender passes between the seat stays. And be sure to use washers under the screws holding the fencer stays.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Sep 18, 2013 at 11:22

1 Answer 1

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I think the first step would be to work out what is causing them to fall out of alignment. Possibilities include:

  1. Vibration when riding causing fitting screws to loosen or parts to rotate
  2. Leaning your bike against something when parked
  3. Someone leaning their bike against yours or tampering with them

In case 1, you can remove the screws and refit them with some threadlocker (a weak glue that keeps machine screws/nuts in place, usually blue in bike applications).

In cases 2 and 3, the stays may be getting bent or fastenings rotated, in which case all you can do it be careful how you park the bike and where you leave it.

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  • Thanks for the tips--I think that cobblestones have something to do with it. The roads here have a lot of bumps. I'm trying loc-tite/threadlocker and I'll see how that goes.
    – THEAO
    Commented Sep 20, 2013 at 8:12
  • I had issue #1 with my rear fender and the LBS fixed it by using teflon tape in the threads, but now I find that occasionally vibration still causes the entire fender to come out of alignment and rub against the tire while the screws are still tight and secure! I can fix it by simply pressing sidways against the fender to "pop" it back into place but it's rather disconcerting that it still happens!
    – Michael
    Commented Sep 15, 2015 at 17:20

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