Winter Fat Bike Project Part 4

My winter fat bike build continues with the Dave’s Mud Shovel™front and rear fenders from PDW. This bike has been a lot of fun so far, and I feel like I get a lot of bang for the buck (well, 499 bucks). After my first ride in sand, I placed an order for the front fender. I was not so sure that the rear would fit with my rack in place, so I contacted PDW, and they were kind enough to send me a rear fender, knowing that it may or may not work with my bike. It’s on there, but getting it to fit was not so fun.

Dave’s Mud Shovel fenders from PDW

Installing the front fender was a five minute job. Both come shipped flat, with all the necessary hardware. Pop it out of the plastic, fold, snap, attach. Done. It really is that simple. There are some snaps for the mount, and then you just wrap the stretch bands around your down tube. And it’s huge! This should give me the coverage I need to keep the sand, water, snow, dirt, and grime from being thrown up at me while riding. I don’t think it looks as elegant as a fender in the forks, but I will give it some time to see how it performs, which is what counts.

Dave’s Mud Shovel front fender, mounted

With that out of the way, I started on the rear fender. My last article covered the rear rack, and as I suspected, it’s made it difficult to fit the fender. To keep the price down, the PDW Dave’s Mud Shovel fenders are simple, with few moving parts. That means this one has one hinge to adjust the angle. Assembly of the fender is still as easy as popping it out of the sheet, folding a bit, and snapping the mount on. There is a single screw at the hinge, and a simple clamp for your seatpost or frame. My problem was getting it to fit between the bars on the rack. After trying a few ways, I finally reversed the bars and mounted them on top of the rack. Not ideal, and a bit messy, but it fits. I should note that if you don’t have a rear rack, this is also a five minute install. Since I really need to keep the rack, and I don’t want it getting splashed from below, I will probably mod the fender at some point. But first, I will test it as intended, so I can report back on how well it works.

Dave’s Mud Shovel rear fender, mounted

That’s all for this week. I’ll continue to ride, tinker, ponder, photograph, and ride some more, then report back. In the meantime, if you have any questions, that’s what the comment section is for. And check out the additional photos below. Oh, MSRP on the front fender is $20, and $28 on the rear. PDW offers free shipping on orders $48 and up, so that makes that simple. www.ridepdw.com

Cost breakdown so far:

2016 Gravity Bullseye Monster $499

Take-off bar and stem $20

Axiom Fatliner rack $60-ish

Dave’s Mud Shovel fenders from PDW (f/r)  $20/$28

– Brian

 

Both fenders, mounted

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Dave’s Mud Shovel, with some creative mounting