since most of my bikes are either cruisers or english 3speeds, i have alot of bikes with fenders. older and sometimes rattly fenders and i have this ocd need for a quiet bike or for its noises not be from loose fenders or transfered road noise through the axle, frame, fender mounts and into the fenders. most of mine are the rivited together brace to fenders but a few of mine have removable fender braces. so i took some old inner tubes, cut them down a little to be doubled if thin and sandwiched between the fender brace and where it contacted the inside of the actual fender, eliminating the metal to metal contact, thus dampaning noise from the fenders. of course nothing would be visable from outside as you'd cut off any visable end of innertube dampaner that stuck out from under the side of the fenders and braces.
now i've done this to all my cruisers with fenders and everyone of them rides a little quieter and sounds smoother, and from looking at them, even closely, you'd never see anything was ever done or even there. getting rid of the metal to metal contact definatly dampens road noise as well as gets rid of any loose vibration.
now for the rivited types, i just bend the brace in towards the tire, and stick a tiny piece of the same tube up on the between the fender and brace as close to the fender brace rivit holding them together, leaving only a semi metal to metal contact and being trimmed up small enough not to be seen. the vibration in the fender is just usually from a gap between the brace and fender or loose rivit and your just closing up the gap, thus tightening up the rivit as well.
sorry to go on, but it is one of those crazy ideas that struck me one day, i did it to my bikes and IT WORKED and has since. 6 out of 6 bikes all quieter.
now i've done this to all my cruisers with fenders and everyone of them rides a little quieter and sounds smoother, and from looking at them, even closely, you'd never see anything was ever done or even there. getting rid of the metal to metal contact definatly dampens road noise as well as gets rid of any loose vibration.
now for the rivited types, i just bend the brace in towards the tire, and stick a tiny piece of the same tube up on the between the fender and brace as close to the fender brace rivit holding them together, leaving only a semi metal to metal contact and being trimmed up small enough not to be seen. the vibration in the fender is just usually from a gap between the brace and fender or loose rivit and your just closing up the gap, thus tightening up the rivit as well.
sorry to go on, but it is one of those crazy ideas that struck me one day, i did it to my bikes and IT WORKED and has since. 6 out of 6 bikes all quieter.
