A long front fender with mudflap provides considerable protection to a rider during rainy rides. However, bicycles with long front fenders usually cannot be carried on fork-mount, car-top bike carriers due to clearance issues. This shortcoming can turn into a real problem if the unforeseen happens, and it becomes necessary to give another rider a lift in a car or to get a lift yourself. A fork mount, roof-top rack can come to the rescue, but only if bikes will fit on it.

On my new Thompson randonneuring bike, I wanted long fenders, but I wanted to carry the bike on a fork-mount, car-top bike carrier. Inspired by the idea of the Rinko detachable rear fender (see Bicycle Quarterly, Winter, 2015, no. 54, pp. 68-73), I asked frame builder Corey Thompson of Olympia, Washington to fabricate a front fender with a detachable lower part.

Corey Thompson split the front fender so that the lower part can be removed, and then he added an underlapping piece of fender (that acts as a reinforced joint) and a Compass Rinko Nut. Now it only takes 30 seconds to convert from a long front fender to a short one. All that is required is the removal of a single 5 x 1.0mm allen socket head machine screw from the Compass Rinko Nut and a firm downward pull.

With the lower part of the fender detached, the bike can be placed on any car-top rack, including fork-mount carriers that have wheel trays. After removing the bike from the car-top rack and re-attaching the lower part, the fender has the same strength, stiffness, and rain protection as the original fender. Perhaps, it is even stronger. Remember to coat the joint with paste wax to prevent corrosion; this will allow the detachable part of the fender to continue to slide easily.

Although the Rinko system was originally designed to solve issues endemic to bicycle transportation in Japan (especially on their railways), it can be adapted to other uses in other parts of the world.

Figure 1. Carrying a long fendered bicycle on a fork-mount, car-top carrier is sometimes necessary, but is impossible due to the lack of room between the bottom of the fender and the wheel tray or the top of the car roof. Photo credit: Alan Woods (2016)

Figure 2. With the lower part of the Rinko fender detached, a randonneuring bike can be placed on any car-top rack, including fork-mount carriers that have wheel trays Photo credit: Alan Woods (2016)

Figure 3. Same bicycle as shown in Figure 2, but with its lower fender reattached. Photo credit: Alan Woods (2016)

Figure 4. Note slit in fender. Removing the screw takes only a few seconds. After that, the fender is ready to be separated. Photo credit: KRhea (FrzFrmFoto) (2016)

Figure 5. Fender without its fixing screw, ready for its lower part to be removed. Photo credit: KRhea (FrzFrmFoto) (2016)

Figure 6. Slide the lower part of the front fender downward out of its joint to remove it. Photo credit: KRhea (FrzFrmFoto) (2016)

Figure 7. Lower part of the fender removed. The bike can now be loaded onto any fork-mount, car-top rack. Photo credit: KRhea (FrzFrmFoto) (2016)

Figure 8. Lower part of the front fender. A Compass Rinko Nut has been inserted into underlapping piece of fender that has been riveted to the overlapping fender. The underlapping piece of fender slides into a joint in the upper fender. The joint and the 5 x 1.0mm screw in the Compass Rinko Nut secure the upper and lower fender pieces together. Photo credit: Alan Woods (2016)