Saturday 18 May 2013

Proou Wooden Mudguards/Fenders for Brompton Bikes

Owning a Brompton is nothing but a pleasure. It is a handmade bicycle build with the care and attention that in this modern age is almost a thing of the past. Many Brompton riders opt to change the standard saddle for a leather Brooks saddle for much the same reason. They seem to go hand in hand. A company called Proou (please click on the link below) makes quite beautiful handmade mudguards/fenders and they very kindly sent me a couple of pairs to test out.

The first thing I noticed when I excitedly opened the box from Proou was the smell of wood. Next the colours. My photographs really don't do the colours justice. The uniform grain in the wood is stunning as is the marquetry which adds ash or walnut stripes.



Light: Maple and Walnut



It was quite a hard choice between which colour I liked the best? For my Orange Brompton bikes the lighter colour definitely worked better for me but the dark walnut and ash was so lovely that it was this that I fitted to my bike.


The Proou moniker


The people behind Proou have a long track record in wood marquetry. They started designing/ manufacturing furniture and eventually found their way in to making these mudguards/fenders. They have proved to be extremely popular and now export to a growing list of countries.



Dark: Walnut and ash






The mudguards/fenders from Proou come with additional bolts and washers although I found that I could reuse those from my existing mudguards/fenders.

The overall fit is extremely good and they have positioned the holes very accurately so that the metal stays, front flap and the wheel that lives on top of the rear mudguard/fender all fit perfectly. The only thing they don't include is a hole on the rear mudguard/fender for the small rubber flap. If you really wanted this it wouldn't be much of a problem to carefully drill a hole and do it yourself.



Fitted to my Original Orange Brompton


I had these mudguards/fenders all last week and was caught in fairly heavy rain one morning on my daily commute. I have to say that these wooden mudguards/fenders performed really well and were as functional as they were gorgeous to look at!




All the holes are there for the stays, flap etc


Proou also sell bottles of a wood protector called 'lasur.' This is a water based wood protector that only needs to be used once and a while. Proou say that lasur can be applied once a season or every time you feel like it after washing the mudguards/fenders down with a sponge and mild soap.

I have to say that I really liked both the colours and they certainly enhance the Brompton and just seem to work well. On my commute to work I share the road with lots of other cyclists. I cannot count the number of times this week when someone has asked me where I got them from and whether they make mudguards/fenders for full sized bicycles - which they do by the way.

One set of mudguards/fenders costs 130 Euros with shipping on top of this. For what you are getting this is great value and will only make your Brompton that bit more bespoke. You can order via their website but if you have any queries you can send them an email and you will receive a quick and friendly reply.

7 comments:

  1. Hmmm, that wee rubber thing on the back mudguard really is quite important. Perhaps it rains less in Proou.

    Now that reminds me I need to fit a scavenged rubber bit on the back of my S2L-X so I can use it this week.

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    1. The rear wooden mudguard / fender is a little longer than the stock Brompton one and I encountered no issues when cycling in rain (and with a bright orange rain jacket I would have noticed the stripe)!

      As I wrote, very easy to drill a hole if required.

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  2. Sure I got a wooden ones in my Broomie.
    I asked befor purchasing, but tail is longer so there´s no need to add a ruber, but I also had seen peple with wood fender and rubber strap.

    Also rear racked bromptons use rubber strap, but if you loose it, thre is no need to replace as rear rack fender is longuer and keeps rain stream under control.

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  3. Since the fender is longer does it affect folding the bike?

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  4. Do you know how much these fenders weigh? I am having no luck getting in touch with the manufacturer. Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Hello. It was quite a while ago now but I do remember at the time that they weren't actually that much heavier than the standard plastic ones. There was very little in it apart from probably slightly less than 100g added. Hope that it helps and that you can get a pair.

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