Fender bracket failure
Tihamér
My Stratus is outfitted with the original Rans fenders. However, at
6,300 miles, the bracket of the front fender of my Stratus broke. The
fender itself is still okay, and Eugene Rupp of Rans was kind enough
to send me a replacement bracket at no charge (thanks Eugene !).
Yesterday, at around mile 6,900, I was riding at around 20 mph when I
suddenly heard a loud crack, my rear wheel locked up and started
sliding sideways. Luckily there were no cars in sight and I did not
fall down ! When stopped, I found out the bracket of the rear fender
also did break and caused the fender to get stuck underneath my rear
wheel (of course, this time, the whole fender was dammaged) and this
was the reason my rear wheel started sliding. I was able to remove the
whole fender (what was left of it anyway) and get home again.
Anyone with Rans fenders have the same experience ? It seems strange
to me that both brackets did brake at exact the same place! I checked
the rear fender bracket after my front bracket broke off, but could
not find anything wrong with it !
Tihamér - Ravels (Belgium)
Cletus Lee
trik...@pandora.be says...
-> Hi,
-> My Stratus is outfitted with the original Rans fenders. However, at
-> 6,300 miles, the bracket of the front fender of my Stratus broke...
-> Anyone with Rans fenders have the same experience ? It seems strange
-> to me that both brackets did brake at exact the same place! I checked
-> the rear fender bracket after my front bracket broke off, but could
-> not find anything wrong with it !
I've not had a problem with the front fender at all. I did cut about 4 inches
off the lower end so that it would not drag going through low spots.
However, the rear fender has gone through several iterations. First, within
a few weeks, the vibration caused the mounting bracket on the chain stays to
fatigue and break. John Schlitter (when he was still at RANS) sent me a new
one. Later, the fender itself split in two at the bracket where the top
fender stays attach. I trimmed the remaining fender into a half fender and
this is how I use it today.
--
Cletus Lee
RANS Stratus
Lightning Voyager
Bellaire, TX
alex wetmore
<fc30f254.01052...@posting.google.com>:
> Anyone with Rans fenders have the same experience ? It seems strange
> to me that both brackets did brake at exact the same place! I checked
> the rear fender bracket after my front bracket broke off, but could
> not find anything wrong with it !
Do these fenders have a single rivet, or two rivets, where the bracket joins
the fender? A lot of fenders on the market have a single rivet and break
easily. Did the fender itself break, or just the bracket?
When setting up fenders it is important to make sure that there is no stress
on the fender stays. They shouldn't need to be sprung into position, you
should bend them so that they naturally stay in the correct position.
Otherwise they will fatigue (just like bicycle spokes).
alex
Denis Rivest
> Anyone with Rans fenders have the same experience ? It seems strange
> to me that both brackets did brake at exact the same place! I checked
> the rear fender bracket after my front bracket broke off, but could
> not find anything wrong with it !
> Tihamér - Ravels (Belgium)
I've had my RANS Stratus since late February and had installed the fenders for
the bad conditions we face up here in March and April. Since then, I've ridden
1100 miles, and just last Monday, the same thing happened with my front fender
bracket at exactly the same place. When I got home, I removed both fenders, and
checked the bracket on the rear fender, it seems OK, but I will replace them both
soon.
Please note that the 20 mile circuit that I do my training runs on have some
very rough sections that may have contributed to the bracket failure. I've
had to tighten my kickstand on a few occasions before I finally applied Locktite
on the bolt. It hasn't gotten loose since.
Take Care,
Denis
Tihamér
> trik...@pandora.be (Tihamér) wrote in
> <fc30f254.01052...@posting.google.com>:
>
> > Anyone with Rans fenders have the same experience ? It seems strange
> > to me that both brackets did brake at exact the same place! I checked
> > the rear fender bracket after my front bracket broke off, but could
> > not find anything wrong with it !
>
> Do these fenders have a single rivet, or two rivets, where the bracket joins
> the fender? A lot of fenders on the market have a single rivet and break
> easily. Did the fender itself break, or just the bracket?
>
fenders only have one single rivet, both the front and the rear.
However, the rivet does not seems to be the problem !
alex wetmore
<fc30f254.0105...@posting.google.com>:
>al...@phred.org (alex wetmore) wrote in message
>news:<9f3200$kae$5...@216.39.149.189>...
>> trik...@pandora.be (Tihamér) wrote in
>> <fc30f254.01052...@posting.google.com>:
>>
>>> Anyone with Rans fenders have the same experience ? It seems strange
>>> to me that both brackets did brake at exact the same place! I checked
>>> the rear fender bracket after my front bracket broke off, but could
>>> not find anything wrong with it !
>>
>> Do these fenders have a single rivet, or two rivets, where the bracket
>> joins the fender? A lot of fenders on the market have a single rivet
>> and break easily. Did the fender itself break, or just the bracket?
>>
>It was just the brackets that broke off, not the fender itself. The
>fenders only have one single rivet, both the front and the rear.
>However, the rivet does not seems to be the problem !
A single rivet allows the bracket to rotate due to fender movement. This
causes it to fatigue and break.
Double rivets hold the bracket rigid and nothing in that area bends as
easily. The bracket should last a long longer.
My first upgrade on any fenders with a single rivet holding the bracket is
to add another one (or two). If you look at bicycles with broken brackets
on their fenders (often taped together) you'll often see that they have the
single rivet design.
alex