I've now ridden my World Voyageur to work for about half the last 6 weeks, the other half being on a Raleigh Super Tourer. The one thing the World Voyageur lacks is mudguards. Now granted, it only rarely rains in West Texas, so mudguards are less essential than in places like England or Oregon, to name two. But still, a touring/commuting bike just doesn't seem complete without mudguards.
The problem of course, is what size mudguards and how to mount them. I believe Honjo mudguards as well a VeloOrange are available for 650B. What about classic mudguards like Bluemels? And will mudguards made for 26" tires work with 650B, or are the 650B tires too large?
If I go with 650B mudguards, there is the problem of how to mount them, as the frame was made for 27" wheels meaning there is a large gap between the tire and the fork crown, rear brake bridge and chainstay bridge. So it is doubtful the standard mounting hardware will work without modification. Of course, one can use 27" mudguards, but then there will be a large gap between the mudgaurds and the tires, which will probably look pretty bad.
I know at least a couple of other CR members have done 650B conversions. How did you solve the mudguard issue?
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Big Spring, Texas, USA