The Club Specials are a lot more fragile than the Populars, in my experience. Never had any trouble with the Populars -- had one pair since 1980 or 81 -- and I have a NOS white pair on my light-blue Rivendell. But the Club Specials are biodegradable!
Dennis Ryan
Louisville, KY
> Brandon , so far I've agreed with your wisdom on everything I've seen
from
> you .
>
> And , enjoyed your humor .
>
> But , don't you start talkin' about my fenders !
>
> : - )
>
> I really like the only pair of Bluemels I have long term experience with .
> And , after some 20 years , they're still just fine .
>
> They're on a sort of utility bicycle , so historical accuracy was not a
> factor . I skipped the middle stay / rod . I just left them off .
Leaving
> the ends of the fenders supported , but the middle can take care of
itself
> . Looking at it engineering wise , I can see how this could easily
> increase the stresses , or how it could easily prevent stresses from
> building .
>
> When the rear fender began to develop a crack , at the point where
there's
> a clip attaching the fender to the chainstay bridge , I carefully applied
a
> blob of epoxy resin and left it alone for about 3 days .
>
> They have not been bashed about in a big city bicycle rack . But , they
> are on a utility sort of bicycle . Twenty years later , they have been
> leaned against , and bumped against , and banged against a whole lot of
> walls , tree trunks , etc .
>
> Is the fact that they are made of black plastic significant ? As we all
> know , the pigments in black plastic , and black rubber , make the
> material more durable . White plastic is almost always the first one to
> "photo-degrade" , from exposure to sunlight .
>
> Raoul Delmare
> Marysville Kansas
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Brandon Ives" <monkeylad@mac.com>
> To: "Raoul Delmare" <R.Delmare@Charter.net>
> Cc: "C.R. List" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 29, 2002 4:14 PM
> Subject: Re: [CR]Bluemels Fender Sets On eBay
>
>
> > On Tuesday, Oct 29, 2002, at 02:04PM, Raoul Delmare
> <R.Delmare@Charter.net> wrote:
> > >These fenders are spectacular .
> >
> > Ok, I'll just have to ask the list why everyone seems to like Bluemel
> fenders? I've used them and regretted it each time. I can understand it
> for the looks or period restorations, but as actual fenders they are way
too
> fragile. Leave them in the sun and they crack, lean them against a
lamppost
> and they crack, look or breathe on them wrong and they crack.
> > thanks,
> > Brandon"monkeyman"Ives
> > SB, CA