Varun's Bikes, Stayer, Cotic, that singlespeed Rockhopper....

some rene herse would look great under those gb a e r o 'fenders' 😳

Shhhhhh, you know it but I’d also like to buy a house and afford dates with an attractive woman 🫠

Good stuff. You’ll enjoy the Berthouds. Plan to replace the WTB with the same?

I’ve temporarily just whacked on the Pirellis I had on previously - very good tires but they’ve been heavily patched since, so we’ll see how that holds together.

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First day riding this bike sans-guards in a while. Dry-ish conditions, leaves that don’t get stuck in mudflaps, zippy tires, noticeably lighter and more agile handling - it felt pretty great, tbh. I’ve half a mind to just get some Velcro-on Mudhuggers and call it a day.

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But are they not alu?

They were, that’s what confuses me. The Berthouds due to replace are stainless. Still I think it’s largely in my head.

I must admit I've not read every post. Just wanted to say that I find my stainless mudguards generally out perform alu.

That's the hope! I suspect I will also be a lot less precious with them both because the black paint will not constantly chip (because there won't be any!) and because I probably couldn't damage them as easily.

I haven't taken any photographs worth noting this week. Fixing that later tomorrow during my weekly walk up the hill.
It has been an eventful week though! Here is a totally unasked for summary:

• Had my date. She's pretty special. Because we are 30-something adults we are taking it slow and just enjoying the moments as they come, but determined to put the work in and make a thing of it.
  
• Struggled loads with work, but every day my colleagues and I had a lovely, cathartic, revelatory and joyous conversation about how shit it all is and how we can survive it.
  
• Had a great ride out from Cardiff to Bristol after a cool talk last evening. Met friends, had chats, didn't love south Wales but the company made up for it.
  
• A good post day today; Berthouds and a T-shirt from Bikes and Bird Hides I've been waiting for. Trying the Berthouds out 'dry' for the weekend, just to see if I like how they look. So far, how they look is very shiny, lower than the VOs (so no mudflaps?) and actually pretty cool.
  

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Did you take the Long version of the Berthouds? Are you adding an extra stay in front of the fork?

As always, keep up the good content!

Yes! And should I? I personally find it looks a tad ungainly, and have never needed it for my VOs. But perhaps, if I had an extra stay on my rear it wouldn't have snapped....

keep up the good content!

Thanks! I knew I'd eventually become a content creator, can now be at peace.

Berties look great! Alas, if your ride had been today we could’ve met in Bristol! Good updates as always.

Wait, you were there today???? I was too!!! I rode back from Cardiff this morning!
Dammit, I should’ve checked as we’ve basically done identical rides too, just from different anglesz

Yuppp! Arrived in Bristol at around 3pm? Late lunch at Bakehouse BS2 then jumped on the train at Temple Meads. Cold but dry today and zero wind!

And should I?

Looking at the berhoudcycles.fr website, the official guide says the following:

We have declined our mudguard models in 2 lengths. Namely, the short or long front fenders.

The long front models have been designed for easy fitting to a carrier and protection of the luggage while riding.

Short front fenders will be more appropriate for bikes that do not have a rack.

If the long version will still turn out fine without additional hardware, it'll be a win-win!

I was on the train home at 1440. Dammit, we could have caught up. Next time!!!

I’ll try it out!!! There is a lot of guard but who knows, maybe it’ll all work out in the end. It feels reassuringly rigid compared to the alu VOs for sure.

Knew this was all working out too perfectly. Dw, Elly and I are still talking loads, I went for a great long walk and to a friend's house for a long chat, and I do like how the Berthouds look after a night sat on my bike, so that's fine. The stays are however too narrow! They sit proud as you can see here, and when measured the gap in the curve of the stays is closer to 50mm, whereas the guards themselves are c. 60-65mm. A lot wider than expected - is this normal?

Of course I could squeeze the guards back down to 55mmish but reradiusing, and plus I shouldn't have to when I did buy the correct part.

I have contacted Velo Duo anyway so hopefully they'll get back to me en rapido with a replacement.

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This has got to be the most rapid customer service response time ever.

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Really easy to open them up a bit, no? I feel like I did that on some guards I had

Mike's usually great. So, wrong stay was it?

Also just took delivery of Berthouds from them, but in short version. Did yours come un-drilled too?

Seconded on how low the guards wrap at the back of the front wheel. Bit gutted as I'd just made some flaps. Thinking I might drill a new hole for the bridge and mount wrapped further forward so theres less chance catching and picking up sticks, leaves etc. and opt for flap instead.

Mainly:

I shouldn't have to when I did buy the correct part

Also they feel like very soft alloy and it's not just opening them up, but making them curve to match the shape of the guards, which you could probably tell are a lot more shallow.

So mine are drilled for the fork crown and stays too, which is contrary to belief online. The rear is drilled for stays and the BB bolt, but not the seatstay bridge for obvious reasons. I think I'd like to keep it this way and have the flaps kicking around anyway as backup, in case I change my mind in the future. I don't think I will, though.

Yeah, I was expecting mine to come drilled too. Oh well ...

Don't think I'll drill for the flaps, just do the lazy / clever thing: