Giant Seek 1 Tire Clearance & Schwalbe Marathon Winters Part II

The clearance issue continues...

Installing Fenders
I purchased a set of Cascadia Planet Bike Hybrid fenders over the weekend that I thought would work well with my bike. They are longer then most with a nice rubberized flap which offer improved coverage and prevent over spray from puddles and slush. I knew I would have some clearance issues with this bike, especially in the rear due to a strange protrusion at the top of the rear triangle. Since I had fitted my bike with larger studded tires (see 'Giant Seek 1 Tire Clearance & Schwalbe Marathon Winters') I wanted to maximize fender clearance in order to keep snow build up - not a problem at all on the front.

The Back is a different story altogether....

Due to the strange protrusion in the rear, the rear fender is forced into the tire making wheel rotation near impossible (remember this is a smaller tire then the front - 35mm rear, 42mm front). Not only that, the clearance where the tire meets the chain stay is literally ZERO! In order to get around this I had to cut the fender so that it would end at the top of the seat stay fork.

The plastic clip that would normally act as a guide for the fender is now acting as a clamp - however, after my first commute I quickly realized that this was insufficient. Before my next ride I plan on drilling a couple of holes through the fender and clamp in order to secure everything together with a zip tie. Regardless of this issue the tire clearance for the rest of the fender is equivalent to the front.

Another downside to this reduced fender is the spray that accumulates around the bottom bracket and the lower seat tube. To prevent this I may try to attach a spare front fender designed to attach to the down tube or figure out some use for the leftover rear fender trimmings. I'll post my solution once I find one...