Electra Townie fenders - install question

[outback97]

Hey guys, sorry this is not about a rat rod, but I hoped someone here could help.

My wife wanted fenders for her Electra Townie since it didn't come with them. I figured I could surprise her for Christmas and so I snuck the bike down to the basement, thinking installing these would be cake. They came with a little bag o' parts and no instructions, and the fender stays were all wrapped up in the packaging so you couldn't really see how they were designed until you opened it up. I put things together as it made sense to me.

Here's how I set them up (photochop image from a photograph you'll see below). I intend to cut them down so they don't stick out like little antennae, then put the supplied caps on the ends of the stays.

Later, I emailed Electra suggesting they ought to put together some kind of instructions because it's not obvious how these things are supposed to go, and they sent back a helpful email with instructions and pictures. They want the stays on the *outside* of the brackets though:

Also, they don't suggest trimming them down. For the life of me I can't imagine a company as image conscious as Electra putting out something like this... can you picture metal wires protruding from fenders in one of their pretty catalogs? I can't. Anyway, I plan to cut them, but I was wondering if there's any reason not to leave the stays inside as in my first picture? Or any reason not to cut them down? It seems stronger the way I did it but maybe someone here can chime in and offer a more knowledgeable view. Thanks!

 

[scrumblero]

lol you had em right the first time... :roll: and trim em as you like, what do they care...sheesh..

 

[KOTA]

I've got two Townies....If that's the way the fenders "fit", I won't be buying them. I aggree with scrumblero, YOUR way looks a lot better........Post a pic when you're done.

 

[Beau]

They are the same as the Planet Bike and SKS fenders.

Don't mount them on outside! Mount them the way you had them and cut those "thigh slicers" down so they just stick out a bit.

Keep in mind, Electra isn't gonna tell you to cut them off and use a grinder! When you snip the little ends they go flying off in to space!

I do know that the aluminum fenders don't fit some of the Townie bikes.

FWIW, I hate this design but once set up they work well.

 

[outback97]

Thanks guys, now I don't feel so dumb. It just seems natural that they'd go through the hole. Had I known it was designed like this, I might have passed on these. But you really cannot tell by looking at the packaging until you open it.

What's weird is they responded so quickly with detailed instructions and several photographs that they obviously had on hand, it wasn't like someone just threw this together to email to me. Maybe it is that they're afraid of the liability of cutting the stays? I don't know. I will either use a small bolt cutter or dremel to cut them off. I want to have the stays as flush as possible while still having the end caps on so there's minimal protrusion of them.

This isn't her bike, but is almost exactly how it should look when done (except she has a black metal basket in front):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bzo/1811583628/

Edit: Just noticed you can view an original size of this photo... sure enough this person set them up exactly like I have. I think I'll try to cut the stays even shorter though if possible.

I will take some photos when they're done, but that probably won't happen until around the New Year. Too cold and snowy here to ride right now anyway, it'll have to be a work in progress for a little while longer. Thanks again for the insights!

 

[outback97]

OK, finally got this done this week. I ended up marking the fender stays with a sharpie, then loosening things up so the stays were free, then cutting them shorter with a small bolt cutter. This cutting method probably doesn't result in the cleanest cut, but since they're covered with the rubber caps it was good enough for me. It is probably the easiest and doesn't result in a lot of noise or metal filings. My bolt cutter is a cheap Harbor Freight 14" one.

Here's a few photos:

I only needed to cut off around 3/4" of the stays, it varied depending on location though.

I think this looks much better than Electra's suggested way of leaving the stays sticking out :shock:

 

[hubgearfreak]

you've done them perfectly.

it doesn't surprise me that someone employed by a company to respond to customer's technical questions is more likely to be good in customer service and interview techniques, with technical ability at the bottom of the list of skills required :lol:

 

[subadrew]

weird, when I put the fenders on my GF's townie they didn't stick out at all. Was a tight fit with 2.1225 tires though.

 

[outback97]

subadrew:

My wife's Townie is a 21D from a few years back (we got it used, don't know the model year). It has 26 x 1.9 tires. It looks pretty much identical to the one in the flickr link I posted above, except has a black wire basket.

Do you know what model / year your GF's Townie is? There's a few different Townies.

 

[subadrew]

Her's is a 07 i think.

This one http://www.fitsugar.com/Sarah-MGs-Bike- ... e-3-393326

It came with some ? tires, but I put on some 26x2.125 white walls. They BARELY fit in the fender. Make sure to put some locktight on the inner fender frame/fork bolts. They came loose pretty often and the rear one is a PITA to get to (wheel removal...).