How should I adjust fenders/mudguards that catch on the tires?

Question

I've just received my brand new "urban" bicycle, one that comes with pre-mounted, full length aluminium fenders/mudguards.

However, on the front wheel there is no clearing at the back end of the fenders, and the fender catch on the tire while rolling, and the bicycle is not usable until that it adjusted.

I'm addressing this problem with those I've bought it from, but that is a online shop outside of the country I live in, so I can't just take it back. [UPDATE: The shop will cover costs (up to a limit) at a local repair shop to fix it, hurrah!]

The fender is in its highest position, so it cannot be moved any higher above the wheel. The fender is aluminium, which is a hard material, but very difficult to bend.

What is your advice to me? How should I go about to get proper clearance between the fenders and the tire?

Here is a pic I found on the web of the bike, hopefully giving some overview of the front wheel and fenders:

I do not have that many good ideas, but here are my thoughts:

• bending the fenders - but I am afraid that I might break them. Also that might not give me enough clearance
• bending the bracket that attaches to the frame. That is even thicker aluminium.
• putting it into a local repair shop
• buy a new set of tires that just have a smaller circumference

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

Answer 1

Front Fenders typically mount using a mounting bracket at the fork crown and a couple supporting members from the fender to the fork legs themselves. Since you are dealing with a bike that was presumably designed to utilize the fenders you have, I would suggest that if the rear of the fender is rubbing, detach the supporting members attached to the fork legs (one on each side) re-position the fork crown bracket such that the rear does not rub... (note it is not too uncommon to have to bend the bracket a bit to get the positioning you need) Then re-connect the lower supporting members.

Answer 2

This topic is old but I just had this same problem when building a 95% finished bike from costco. The front fender was hitting the bike wheel and I couldn't install the wheel properly without bending the fender or something else drastic.

After some googling and saw an article on common bike assembly problems...when turns out that the front fork was installed backwards in the factory! Check if your brake pads are in the front or back of the fork. It should be in front. (Also check to see some of the pictures that your bike has from the box or whatnot -- mine all showed that it was in the front but my bike came with it in the back...even though the damn stickers POINTED the wrong direction.).

So I had to remove the fork and reinsert it in the correct position, being careful to also realign the lines for the brakes. Wheel now goes on without a problem and no fender scraping wheel.

Maybe this'll help someone else's half-finished bike from online/big box stores.