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I bought these fenders recently:

The rear fender works fine — there are enough mount points to support my brake, kickstand, rack, and fender.

But when the salesperson sold me the fenders, we both failed to realize that my bike's front brake uses both of the mounting holes available on the left side of the fork:

I went back to the bike shop, talked to a tech and he gave me a longer bolt, recommending that I just mount the fender stay on the outside of the front brake (with some washers surrounding it). But when I asked at another bike shop, someone told me to definitely not try mounting them on the same bolt.

Could mounting them together cause any problems with brake alignment or reliability, or is it fairly safe?

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    Yeah, don't do that, and maybe stay away from the shop that tried to tell you that you could.
    – Scott Hillson
    Dec 3 '14 at 23:22
  • @hillsons Yeah, that's what I think I'll do...do you have any recommendations for a solution?
    – jtbandes
    Dec 3 '14 at 23:23
  • head over to western bike works or bike gallery or REI and find some Planet Bike fenders that attach via rubbers straps or clips, etc, one of the local bike shops around here ( not the one that sold you those ) will be able to help.
    – Scott Hillson
    Dec 4 '14 at 0:04
  • Another option is things like the SKS X-Board which goes on the down tube.
    – Batman
    Dec 4 '14 at 3:27
  • Never interfere with brake bolts. They are just meant for holding the brake!
    – Carel
    Dec 6 '14 at 15:31
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Do not do that. That's dangerous because those stays are often made of soft steel and it's easy to bend or damage them, which means they'll pull out from under the bolt head. In that case you end up with a loose bolt on your brake caliper. Which is bad.

Two alternatives spring to mind: fenders that mount directly to the fork via clips or bands (or hose clamps if you're DIY), or the short fenders that only attach to the fork crown (I think the latter are decorative rather than functional, but enough people disagree that you can still buy them). I would just use cable ties to attach the fenders to the fork and see what happens. I think that will work, but if it doesn't I'd use hose clamps instead. Careful not to overtighten the clamps - you can crush the fork tube which will damage the suspension.

If you're committed to attaching to the brake the safer way is to make a plate that links both bolts and has a tab to bolt the mudguard onto. That way the plate can't rotate and is fairly solid so it's not likely to shift or deform and leave to with a loose front brake mount. The failure mode will be that extra tab bending or breaking, and with a little thought to the design that will be annoying rather than dangerous.

enter image description here

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  • Another workaround may be to screw in a stud (threaded rod) then the brake, then a nut, done up tight, then the fender mount, then another nut, preferably a dome nut to avoid sharp edges on the stud which would have to be cut to the right length.
    – Chris H
    Dec 4 '14 at 9:29
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I can't comment on whether using the same bolt is safe or not, but one possible workaround would be clip-on fenders. These just attach to the frame of the bike and don't need to be attached to the fork at all. They're not as sturdy/durable as fully installed fenders but will avoid any issues with a lack of mounting space on the fork.

For example, Planet Bike sells some clip-on fenders for $20, and you could probably find them cheaper online or at your LBS.

Clip-on fenders

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I'm not sure it would work in this case, but you can get brake nuts with a thread inside the cap.

http://problemsolversbike.com/products/sheldon_fender_nuts

I would definitely not mount the fender between the bolt and the brake mount.

P-Clips are cheap and will allow you to mount the fender on the fork.

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  • Would not work, you need to bolt in from the other side of that nut. But it's brilliant for what it's designed to do.
    – Móż
    Jul 5 '15 at 10:43

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