Chariot Cougar Front Fender DIY

Chariot Cougar 

We've had a Chariot Cougar 1 running stroller for a while now. We scored it off eBay for about $120! It was about 8 years old but had very little use. When the little one was born I scoured eBay for one of these and when we finally got it I felt she was a bit small for going out in it. I've used it a handful of times but ran into one problem, even on dry days the front tire throws grit and dirt all over my daughter! She doesn't seem to mind but I figured there was as solution out there.

Well there wasn't! Surprisingly the only fender or mudguard for the Chariot is included in the handbrake kit and it's pretty much a tiny piece of plastic that appears to do no good, plus it only works on the 2 kid version. I figured I could cobble together a fender out of soda bottles or a milk jug, no beer cans like college! I began my project and then realized that is was pretty shitty looking and wasn't going to last. Besides that I was having trouble connecting it to the Chariot considering the construction of the front wheel and it's arms to the main Chariot.

maybe in college this would have flown

So the front wheel being 16" I considered kid's bike fenders but they were all the clip on style for mountain bikes. They would look nice but I still wasn't 100% on the attachment to the Chariot. Then I came across a set of SKS fenders for a Dahon folding bike. They are essentially a miniature version of the kick ass SKS full commuter fenders with mudflaps! PERFECT! I even found them online at a discounted price, Dahon's a fairly common brand here on the UK where folding bikes are popular however the Brompton rules the lands (and rightfully so!). The kit obviously comes with front, rear and all mounting hardware for bike, I'd only need the front fender and maybe the hardware.

from Dahon's website

So why was I so excited? Well these bad boys not only have mad coverage but connect via a stainless steel "wire" that bolts on near the wheel axle (normally to the end of the fork blade of the bike). Then they connect to the top of the fork via a bolt also just under the crown.

So with no crown or normal fork to connect to I took the steel "wires" from the rear fender and connected them to the front fender giving it two points on each side to connect to the Chariot since there is no way to actually bolt the fender to the Chariot as you would under the fork of a bike. The rear also has two points of contact that the wires slide into (clips) that were easily moved from the rear to the front fender. These were connected to the fender via a screw that did go through two holes drilled in the fender. I just screwed it onto the front fender without drilling any holes and the clips seem to bite enough with only the screws. Being a lightweight fender the two wires appear to be ample support to hold it up away from the tire.

clip from rear fender

Next thing I needed to do was figure out how to attach the wires to the Chariot arms near the axle. I wanted to avoid drilling and modifying the frame if I could since it could promote a structural flaw (sounds official!) but after looking at different options mainly involving zip ties the drill came out anyway. Looking at the whole thing and considering that it's pretty low impact anyway I opted to drill a small hole right through the frame. I found a good central location (measure twice cut once!) and drilled a 5mm hole through both sides of the frame. Very easy job being aluminum.

drilled hole for bolts

 I had already visited the local UK version of Home Depot and gotten the wrong length screws so went back and not only got a longer version (5mm x 40mm pan head slotted machine screws) but also some wing nuts (M5). I figured that out on a run if it loosens I can then tighten without tools.

wing nut on the outside

bolt holding the wires

I threaded them through with the wires and arms, spun on the wing nuts, and we're ready to roll! Well, for now. The wires NEED to be cut down a bit and I need to put some lock tight on the wing nuts (maybe just use some electrical tape) to prevent them from spinning off.

wires NEED to be cut down

It looks kind of half ass with the longer wires and less clearance gives better protection. I have yet to decide how I'm going to cut them down. When I was working in a bike shop installing these things to bikes was a bitch and we'd cut them down with a bolt cutter! I've got a nice Park Tools cable cutter but I'd hate to ruin it on a fender install. This may warrant a trip to the Home Depot equivalent to purchase a new tool! Sounds like side cutters can work too.

Not only a solid fix with solid protection for the little one but a clean looking fit, well when I cut them down!

The Goods:

2 pan head slotted machine screws - 5 x 40mm (3/16" x 1 1/2")
2 wing nuts - M5 (3/16")
2 flat washers - M5 (3/16")
SKS Mini 16 Mudguards - mine were for a Dahon 

5mm drill bit suitable for aluminum and drill (duh!)
locktite
bolt cutters/side cutters

Obviously the screws could be slotted, hex, or philips. All personal preference. I believe in the bicycle world the M5 size is an industry standard for fenders so they can screw directly into pre-threaded braze-ons on the bike frame/fork. I added a couple washers as well to prevent wear and tear on the Chariot arms, not sure if they are even necessary but maybe even a locking washer could aid the whole set up?

Last minute thought: I may try to get the wires cut down at my old bike shop job today!

UPDATE: Yep I got into my old job, got my hands on a bolt cutter and chopped them boys down! Looks much better: