SKS Equipment X3 Tra-Dry Fender Long Term Test

Five or six years ago in college I wanted a bicycle mudguard that was detachable, lightweight, suitable for a very tall rider with a large bicycle frame, kept my butt dry, and looked better than the cardboard bits and 2-liter plastic bottle pieces my old roommate used to use. The SKS Equipment X3 Tra-Dry fender fit the bill. After putting a lot of dirty, slushy city miles on it, here's my take.

I used this on an enormous Schwinn Impact frame over a big, fat Schwinn Slickrock tire with a tread pattern that truly excelled at grabbing sand and dirt (not to mention moisture) and vomiting it all over my butt. Now, instead of freaking out when it rains, I just attach the SKS Equipment X3 and let it get dirty. I'm saving my butt one puddle at a time, plus it's saving my roomies from complaining about the sand in the washing machine.

The photo above is with a different tire, since the Schwinn Slickrock tires gave up the ghost when the gumwalls rotted out. The X3 does a very nice job of catching the crap that gets launched by this tire. When used with the big mountain bike tires and the deep tread pattern, though, it was a little too short to catch all the debris. Sometimes I would still get a wet spot and some sand up near the top of my backpack, but to me that was way better than having a wet spot on the back of your pants!

Anyway, having a fender that was durable was important to me. I routinely rode through snowbanks, over curbs, across railroad tracks and down stairs (until one less-than-graceful endo). The X3 didn't disappoint. Here's a look at the back side, where you can see there is some serious cross-bracing under the plastic shell that makes it plenty durable without adding too much weight.

I also wanted a bicycle fender that would be detachable so I could remove it on nice days. Here's a look at the all-important seatpost mounting mechanism on the SKS Equipment X3 Tra-Dry fender. A pair of rubberized pads mounted in a curved plastic piece grip the back of your seatpost, and a nylon strap with rubber woven in inside lets it hold fast even when it's soaking wet.

The strap and fender are secured by a cam-like plastic piece that fits into grooves on the back plastic piece. You fit the pieces together and then flip the plastic tab back to snap the strap tight. It's a brilliant system that has a minimum amount of parts. The little plastic tabs near the strap in the above photo look like a weak spot, but as much as I've reefed on that part, they haven't broken. It's made of some tough plastic! The rubber stitching inside the strap isn't doing so well, it is pulling out of the strap a little at time, but it's still gripping the seatpost fine. Given the number of wet/dry cycles and temperature extremes is has seen I would say it's holding up great.

On the flip side, since it is so easy to remove, I was always paranoid about someone stealing my SKS Equipment X3 Tra-Dry because they wanted to put it on their bicycle. I know no normal cyclist would do that since they are always polite people, but once a thief figured out just how simple it is to take off, they're just a craigslist post away from scoring ten or twenty bucks. To the untrained eye it looks like a pretty permanent setup, but it would really only take 15 seconds for it to disappear.

There's an adjustment Allen screw that you can use to adjust the angle of the fender. I find that I could leave it pretty tight and there's enough friction to prevent the fender from sagging even after bouncing over the worst potholes, but I can still move it up and down as needed without worrying about breaking it. As you can see in the above image, my Allen screw has started to rust from riding in the salty brine of the Madison city winter, but it is still working like a champ.

That's my take on the SKS EquipmentX3 Tra-Dry fender. While it's designed to be used on a full-suspension mountain bike, it is pretty good on an unsprung mountain bike as well. The coverage isn't as good as a fully enclosed city fender but it's not as heavy, doesn't rattle over the bumps, has fewer parts, and is removable in about ten seconds. It's an ideal compromise! And as an added bonus the angle of the arm holding the fender means it will clear a light or reflector attached to your seatpost with ease.

But wait, what is this Tra-Dry thing all about?
I think the Tra-Dry is simply a fancy name for the texture of the flap. Maybe the crud is supposed to hit that matte surface and drip off in a controlled way instead of falling back into your tire? I've used this fender for a long time and the texture doesn't really seem to be anything too special. Just forget that it has that fancy branding on it and enjoy a dry butt.

Planet Bike Superflash Long-Term Test Review: PB Gets Everything Right

I've had the Planet Bike Superflash blinking taillight for over 5 years. It still works. If you need more convincing that this is the best bike taillight available, keep reading and I'll tell you why I wouldn't want any other light between a car and my bicycle.

Why I like this light:
It's a space-saver. The dimensions are about 2.75" tall x 1.5" across x 1.5 inches deep. You can carry it in your bag when your bike is locked up. And trust me, you'll want to because this light is worth its weight in gold, but it just snaps in and out of the mounting bracket, so I always worried that someone would steal it.

Also, the mounting system (picture above) is absolutely rock solid. I've ridden down countless curbs and bounced my way across the railroad tracks on University Avenue in Madison, WI more times than I can count, and it's always still back there when I get home.

Here's the light detached. You can see it also has a clip so you could attach it to your bag. But since it's an LED, the light output to the side is tiny compared to the light output to the back, so I recommend only mounting this to your bike frame. That way cars are always getting 100% of the LED in line with the bike frame, instead of 5% when your bag slips to the side going uphill or if you are leaning through a turn. For the same reason, I wouldn't put this light on a helmet, although it's small enough to do so. I guess if I was going for a jog the clip could be handy, but it's first and foremost a bike light.

In fact, that's about the only con I can think of with this light. Since it uses a directional LED light, it doesn't shed much light or flash very brightly when viewed from the side. Of course, it's marketed as a taillight, not a side light. And that same technology means that none of the light energy is wasted by being sent to the side. Just be sure your wheel reflectors (or better yet, reflective rims or sidewalls) are clean and you'll be fine.

It's super light. Most urban commuters don't care what their gear weighs anyway but Planet Bike says it weighs only 75 grams with batteries. Trust me, you won't even know it's back there.

It's water resistant and weatherproof. I used this light on my bicycle during thunderstorms and snowstorms in Madison, WI for three years. I'm not on campus anymore, but during that time I beat my bicycle pretty hard and a lot my other components and gear failed, but not this light. It just keeps on blinking!

It has amazing battery life. I've never changed the batteries since I bought it, which is more than 5 years of use. Just the other week I left this thing on blinky mode all day long at work. That's more than 8 hours straight. When I came out it was still blinking away and it's still bright enough to hurt your retinas if viewed head on. Planet Bike rates this thing at 100 hours of runtime and I have no reason to doubt that claim.

And finally, the most important point: the Planet Bike Superflash light is flippin' bright. Don't turn it on and look right at it because you will see spots for a few minutes. Apparently the main light is a 2-watt LED. When you have it in blinky mode there are also two smaller kicker LEDs that are plenty bright.

My Planet Bike Superflash light has 2 options: the main LED can be constantly on, or there is an eye-popping blinky mode that flashes the 2-watt LED every few seconds and the two smaller kicker LEDs in between. I assume you might want to use the constant on mode if you were riding in a group and didn't want to totally blind the cyclist behind you, but for all other purposes you might as well use the blinky mode.

I noticed a dramatic difference in the way cars reacted with this thing mounted high on my seatpost - they slow down and give you space. It's impossible to ignore this little light. It's so bright that it attracts attention during the day. If you're planning to do any kind of city riding near dark or after dark, you need to go out and get this light. It will save your butt from those nasty close calls!