The plinking of gravel bouncing off of the SKS Fatboard fenders is music to my ears. Being designed especially with fat bikes in mind, these fenders have no trouble providing great coverage for my 4” tires and they are good for up to 5” tires.
The Fatboards are made of reinforced plastic. They are very light with a combined weight of 353 grams (12.5oz). Both front and rear fenders measure about 19” in length and about 5.5” wide.
Installation was very quick and simple. The front fender, attaches to the downtube with a pair of heavy duty, coated velcro straps. SKS provides plenty of length in the straps to fit a variety of downtube sizes and shapes. My bike for example, has a more rectangular downtube and the front fender fit great. The rear fender features an adjustable quick release strap that was literally a snap to lock onto my seat post. With just a couple of turns of an allen key, I am able to customize the two hinge arms to fit my bike perfectly.
Find your Fatboard fender set on Amazon!
Being made in Germany, they have a sporty design like their cars do. These fenders look sweet. More important than the looks, these perform awesome. As I mentioned above, the Fatboards do a great job deflecting sand, gravel, mud and even small sticks. I especially appreciate the front Fatboard. After getting my tires packed with a thick layer of mud, it really keeps the chunks from flying into my face as I gain speed on harder ground. I‘ll admit that I was a little skeptical that these fenders would go the distance and am happy to say that I was dead wrong. The stability of the Fatboards is top notch. I expected to hear some rattle at least, but there was not a single chatter. Even after a few spills by my wife (because I never crash), they didn‘t budge.
In spite of my best efforts the Fatboards resisted caking from even heavy, clay mud. This makes clean up a simple process and helps to keep weight down. This would really be a bonus when weight is an issue or when putting in some serious miles.
Overall, the SKS Fatboard Fenders really make getting dirty fun. The install is super simple. They look great and perform even better. The best part is that my wife is happy to see me without the typical brown streaks everywhere. www.sks-germany.com
MSRP: $55
-Andy
A special thanks to SKS for providing their Fatboard fender set for this review. They’ve allowed me to play dirty, and stay clean. Sort of.