How to Make a MTB Front Shock Lightweight 50 gram Fender

zukster

1 kW
Joined
Sep 11, 2008
Messages
402
Location
North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Someone at my LBS local bike shop showed me an expensive European made front shock fender that looked like it was made from a duo-tang or plastic binder, so I used an old plastic binder and made my own for free. Pictures speak loader than words, so here you go:

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I made a template designed to be held to the crown of the fork with tie straps, aka zap straps. I use standard tie straps from Canadian Tire or Home Depot. One is made by ProWin. The other by Marr. They both work fine.

Tie straps are also used to bend the fender to the arc of the wheel. See below.

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Once I made the template from a couple pieces of paper, I taped it to the binder,cut it out, then drilled pilot holes, then holes for the tie straps.

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Next attach it to front shock crown.

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Keep the top of the back straps flush with the plastic so it bends down. You can also adjust it to one side by making the straps tighter on one side. If its still off a bit, then see the last picture.

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See how its off to the left a bit? This is corrected by those front holes you were wondering about earlier.

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This just twists it over a bit. Sometimes they are straight anyway.

Finally, I leave about 1cm poking up for adjustments. If you want a cleaner look, ride around for a week and make adjustments as it as it settles in. After a week it will probably not shift around any more and you can trim the last bit off the strap.

Enjoy your new 50 dollar light weight fender.
 
I did something similar, using zip ties to hold a stock plastic fender on to my front suspension fork. With a bit of hot glue to stop it moving around. Worked a treat.

Her are a few pictures from my build thread. Sorry I couldn't find a close up, but I have sold the bike now.

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ian.mich said:
Zipties have always been my best friend for ebikes

Same. They hold down my controller and all wiring too. Some people would prefer something more permanent for controller, but I find 4 or more zips give you a safety margin. If one or two break there's lots of time to put on some new ones. And cheap too. I used to use trident hose clamps. They are more sturdy but look like more of a hack.
 
zukster said:
ian.mich said:
Zipties have always been my best friend for ebikes

Same. They hold down my controller and all wiring too. Some people would prefer something more permanent for controller, but I find 4 or more zips give you a safety margin. If one or two break there's lots of time to put on some new ones. And cheap too. I used to use trident hose clamps. They are more sturdy but look like more of a hack.
Ya for my controller i use 4 zips aswell and tighten them hardcore with pliers. and yes wiring too. As with everything on my bikes, rediculous durability, interchangeability, and cheap replacement is everything. not a chance am i going to make some metal brace or rack or any crap like that.
 
ian.mich said:
Ya for my controller i use 4 zips aswell and tighten them hardcore with pliers. and yes wiring too. As with everything on my bikes, rediculous durability, interchangeability, and cheap replacement is everything. not a chance am i going to make some metal brace or rack or any crap like that.

I'm totally with you. BMSbattery.com KU63 controller is 15 dollars. Cute 100 is 80. The wheel nut slips right over the waterproof motor connector to make for easier maintenance. I connectorize everything so say if the controller breaks I just swap in a new one in.

I tried a clamp-on metal seatpost rack buy it was too heavy and always twisted on the seat post. So now I stuff my batteries in a waterproof under seat pack with only the power wires coming out. Then its easy to swap battery packs.

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I even connectorize the in-line switch and fuse.

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And a battery pack:

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That's 2x6S 4000mAH Zippy's from Hobbyking with Method's LVC and HVC breaker board inside too. The green button is the reset switch to reset the breaker if tripped.

Not for long range but I can do errands for 20km or so with peddling.
 
Brilliant Fender!!!

Have you tried heat bending that notebook plastic? I bet you could melt it into a nice curve. Since I often have a rack, even if just to carry a controller, I like to make rear fenders from foam anti fatigue or yoga mats. Zip tied on of course. The dumpster dived foam keeps the controller dry from mud or water the wheel hits.
 
dogman said:
Brilliant Fender!!!

Have you tried heat bending that notebook plastic? I bet you could melt it into a nice curve. Since I often have a rack, even if just to carry a controller, I like to make rear fenders from foam anti fatigue or yoga mats. Zip tied on of course. The dumpster dived foam keeps the controller dry from mud or water the wheel hits.

I have one more bike to do. I'll give it a try. I still might use the side zips too because they make for quick side-side adjustments if it goes crooked.
 
Better than mine !
Fender instant
(25 minutes drying time included. Epoxy placed directly on the tire with tape .... :shock: )

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Just a further note on this. I've seen some new fenders like this available at Mountain Equipment Coop MEC, but they are flimsy and do not go back far enough. This is where you need the protection. If possible you want it to go about half way down the wheel. On the front I find there is no spray if it does not go forward at all, so my latest goes from the shock crown and back only to maximize the distance back goes.
 
Cut to the chase. :wink:

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Electra Plastic Balloon Townie Fender Set

These are 3" wide and you can get them from Amazon for $50. Very lightweight. They also make them in aluminum.

I have full suspension. The solid one piece rear fender replaced my 3-piece kluge and ended the nightmare of problems I had been having since the birth of the that particular ebike. The forward part is zip-tied to the lower rear suspension linkage and the rear part mounts directly at the pivot point where upper and lower frameworks are connected.

For the front fender, I took a piece of 1-inch thick high-density foam I had lying about and cut out a 2x3 rectangle and mashed it between the fender and top of the shock forging to get conformity, then used Gorilla Glue to bind it to the fender. Painted it flat black to hide the fugly foam. Then I took a hole punch designed for leather and punched out two pairs of holes through the fender just big enough to sling two zip-ties through and secured it to the top of the shock. The lower part attaches to my custom torque arms.

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With the 2.5 inch wide Hookworms it just makes for a nice clean look. 8)

Unsplattered, KF
 
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