I'm sure that somebody has been hurt this way , in the past , somewhere , sometime .
Personally , this does not seem a grave , nor an imminent , danger to me .
The idea is that something ( a stick , trash from the side of the road , etc. ) . . . Something will find itself trapped between the front tire , and the front fender . This will prevent the wheel from turning . There will be an instant full skid of the front tire . If all of this stress bends and buckles the front fender enough to interfere with the down-tube of the bicycle frame , then the rider will only be able to steer to one side , and not to the other .
Result ; an accident , followed immediately by reaching for the cell-phone and "speed-dialing" the favorite class-action-lawsuit attorney-lawyer .
So , take a close look at an SKS / ESGE front fender . Visiting the Rivendell web site is a quick way to take a close look at one , if you don't have one lying around somewhere .
http://www.rivendellbicycles.com
http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/
See the black plastic things which connect the stainless steel stays , to the front fenders ??
Those black plastic things are actually a sort of "quick-release" . If too much force is applied , the stays simply pop out of those little black plastic things , and the fenders flop around loose !!
Of course , even with the fender popped loose from the stays , you COULD still actually fall down .
Fall down while riding a bicycle ? Horrors ! Who ever heard of such a thing ?
Quick Henry , the class-action lawsuit !!
( no , I'm not old enough to remember ads for "Flit!" , but I always did like Theodore Seuss Geisel , "Dr. Seuss"
http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/
Raoul Delmare
Marysville Kansas U.S.A.
> In the recent Riv e-mail update, a refence is made to the fenders that
were
> to be used with the new Quickbeam single-speed bike that Riv is planning
to
> produce. (Keeper of the flame?) Grant says that he had to change the
> supplier because the mudguards he wanted to use had no "quick-release"
> feature. I have used Bluemel in the past (wish those red ones didn't get
> sent to the Salvation Army in '85) and have Planet Bike ones on the
Woodrup
> and the tandem...but I can't see any quick release feature that would
> supposedly reduce the chance of serious injury. Since I do plan to use
> Bluemels in a restoration, what should I be aware/afraid of? Is the
> original hardware dangerous and if so, how?
> thanks!
> Doug Wagner
> Richmond,KY,where Indian Summer is over and the wool will come out this
> week-end.
>
>
> --Statement of Confidentiality--
> This message (and any attachment) is intended only for the recipient and
may contain confidential and/or privileged
> material. If you have received this in error, please contact the sender
and delete this message immediately. Thank you.