Bicycle fenders - are they important?

Bicycle fenders are not there just for the looks!

I was talking to a friend of mine and he said he doesn't understand why I'm keeping my bicycle fenders on now that it is summertime. According to him, bicycle fenders are an extra weight during summer, because it doesn't rain that often, but only 3-5 days in every summer month.

After some discussion with others too, I've come to realise that many bicycle users share this opinion. Most of these believers are men. Women on the other hand do not bother with the uninstall of their bicycle's fenders. And I'm not talking only about women riders that have the same type of bicycle as mine, but also about women that ride bicycles with clip-on fenders. 

It is true that removing bicycle fenders from my bicycle is difficult, as I must first remove the basket and the racks, following by my bicycle lights and then the wheels, so I can be able to reach the screws that hold the bicycle fenders in place. I must admit that I am not willing to do all this work just to get rid of some grams from my bicycle!

But what about the other women? The ones that have clip-on fenders on their bicycles, why do they keep their fenders on even during summer? 

The most popular answer was because bicycle fenders are part of the bicycle itself and that they are useful even during summer.

Let me explain this a little...

Yes, rain is more rare, but the grime from the roads is still present, as long with water coming from human presence (the lady who washed her balcony/porch/pavement in front of her house, the leftover ice that is melting in the side of the street after the closing of the stores that sell fish, water coming from the watering of city's plants, etc). 

And when the occasional rainstorm approaches, you will have nothing to worry about as you are already prepared!

In addition to all, I would like also to say that fenders are helping to keep the bicycle itself clean from grime, as whatever the wheel picks up is stopped by the fender. Even small rocks sometimes! My bicycle fenders are made of steel and I hear often the cling sound of a small rock hitting the inner side of my fender.

Last but not least do not forget that summer duration is small and that today is the first day of autumn. In two days we are expecting thunderstorms and there are plenty more to follow from now on!

Bicycle fenders are an important tool! If you ride a bicycle for transportation then fenders should be a standard accessory on your bike. 

...The image of a cyclist with a black line across his back from the latest rain is still vivid in my mind!

I advise you, as we are officially in autumn now, to install bicycle fenders. 

I spend the whole previous winter riding all the time, because I had fenders! Even with heavy rain, I used my bicycle! I would wear my long coat, my hood and my boots, and be off my way and reached my destination wet from the outside (but clean-wet) and nice and dry from the inside!

Other times , when my coat/jacket didn't had a hood, I wore a hat or hold an umbrella.

If you consider rain as a problem for you to continue cycling in the winter, then use fenders! It makes cycling so much more convenient! Believe me when I'm saying this, but when it is raining half the water comes from the sky and the other half from the ground. With the use of bicycle fenders you block that second half.

Do not worry about grams and weight. Bicycle is a tool after all and fenders are an important part of it!