Blue View - Too Much Mud

When we were deciding which ebike to buy, I had narrowed down our selection to either the REI e2.1 or the e2.2. The e2.2 had a slightly bigger motor, a slightly bigger battery pack, and came with fenders. It also cost $700 more than the e2.1, which seemed like a big premium to pay for the minor differences. The real kicker, however, was that the e2.2 wasn’t in stock, making the decision easier. We bought the less expensive bikes with the thought that we might add fenders later if we decided they were necessary.

Now, with just about a thousand miles on our bikes, we’ve come to the conclusion that fenders would be a very nice addition. We end even the nicest days with at least a little mud coating our clothes, hydration packs and panniers, but after a rainstorm, we’re usually covered in muck. The dirt sections of the C&O Towpath from Cumberland, MD to DC were especially bad. It rained heavily while we were riding the trail, and there were more than a few days that we looked as if we had spent the afternoon mud wrestling each other… with no clear winner.

Riding through Amish country, where many of the bike trails were shared with horses, was also interesting. If the weather was dry, we could usually avoid most of the horse plop, but after any of the many rain showers… well, you get the idea. On these days, I soon learned not to follow Marcie too closely.

Having made the decision to add fenders to our bikes, the next hurdle was finding the right ones. The obvious place to look was the REI website - maybe I could order the fenders that come with the e2.2. That seemed like a good plan, but REI doesn’t sell those fenders separately. I contacted REI directly, but they couldn’t recommend a fender that would fit. They suggested that we buy fenders that were the right size to fit our tires, bring them in, and they’d figure out a way to mount them for a fee, I also perused the e2.1 Q&As on the REI website. Eventually , I found two different makes of fenders that looked like they would fit.

The first set were full metal fenders made by Portland Design Works. They looked great and had terrific reviews, but I couldn’t figure out a way to mount them, so they were returned. Next we bought two of the Commuter II fender sets from SKS-Germany Blumel. The directions led me to believe they would just bolt on. While that might have been true of some bikes, it certainly wasn’t the case with our ebikes. After an hour’s pondering and a couple trips to the local Home Depot for extra hardware and brackets, I got them to fit.

I tried to document the process with photos:

The end result looks great… so great, in fact, that I’m reluctant to actually take the bikes out and get them muddy. In the spirit of good reporting, however, we’ll mount up and see how they do, and I’ll let you know how they hold up.

See you next week…