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5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Great in theory, lousy in practiceDec 30, 2008
By Peter Elfman
The basic concept of this fender is simple and straightforward: right out of the package, it will easily attach to any seat pole without the use of tools for quick and easy installation. It uses friction applied by a leather-lined strip of nylon webbing (much like a seatbelt) tightened against the seat pole.
The failure is in the tightening mechanism. The webbing needs to be fed into the turn post, which you then tighten by hand before locking into place. The final tension comes from a latch attached to the end of the webbing; close that latch and the fender is supposed to hold. Except that each and every time I (and all my compatriots) tried, the turn post could not hold the webbing. Not enough friction there!
And that's if you can get the webbing properly threaded through! I managed that feat about 1 every 8 or 9 attempts. Those with nimbler fingers than I managed it a bit more often than I, but the results were always the same; attach to the seat post, close the latch for final tension, shake the bike to test and down went the fender.
Every. Blessed. Time.
And I might not have been as livid as I was if I had tested the tension properly first before I left my house with the thing on. I got about a block away before I felt and heard the fender collapse onto my rear tire while I was accelerating. No one wants to find a problem with their latest purchase while gaining speed on the road, let me tell you.
The salt in the wound on this poorly designed contraption is; while it's designed to attach to your bike without tools you still need an Allen wrench to tighten the screw that maintains the fender's angle. Which means you need a tool.
I'm returning this thing as fast as I can and I will be buying a fender that attaches with a nut/screw set.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Best/Coolest Bicycle Fender On The Market!Mar 07, 2010
By Kevin J. Filosi
"Draninja"
I love this fender! It looks like an off-road motorcycle fender, and works great! It's long enough to actually cover the whole top of the tire so that it does its job keeping the mud off your back, unlike some others. I read some reviews that mentioned that it would keep falling down onto the tire when they hit the smallest bumps, but I had no problem whatsoever. I also read that you had to "thread" something, I never had this problem either. Worth the money!
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Looks great and does it's job.Jan 10, 2007
By Nelson Lau
Can't really say much about a piece of plastic, other than the Topeak DeFender keeps the mud off of my back and looks great, like fenders on an off-road motorcycle. However, remember to carry a hex tool with you in case the fender shifts downwards against the tire after large bumps and drops.
 Great idea, poorly thought out designFeb 24, 2012
By Matthew Brown
"Thew"
This fender, if nothing else, looked really nice on my Mtn bike. But unfortunately, it doesn't offer much more than looks. There are a couple of decent ideas here, but I think Topeak forget to do any sort of quality control, prototype testing (or anything else for that matter) before shipping this to retailers. The adjustable front lip of this fender is great for extra splatter control, and the idea of making this a quickly removable piece is an idea that is great on paper. Sadly, that's about all the good I can say for this piece.
As stated, the quick release design needs some serious improvement. It consists of a strap threaded through a piece of plastic. When put on my bike, the fender would not stay in line with even the slightest of nudges. I ended up using both velcro and zip ties to hold it on, which completely negated the quick release use. Strike 1.
The design provides very limited placement and isn't very adjustable at all. The only two places that provide any sort of movement are the front lip of the fender (which is a huge plus!), and there is a pivot point right where the arm attaches to your seat post. So, once you put this on your seat, all you can really do is tilt the back end of the the fender up. Not entirely bad, but with a full suspension bike, you're pretty much guaranteed to get some wicked tire rubbing. Hopping a curb today slammed my tire into the fender~ ended up shattering the front lip and cracking the fender in several places. Strike 2.
I'd offer up a third strike, but as the fender shattered after a mere five miles of city riding, that sums up my experience with it.
So, as far as recommending this to others, that would be an absolute no. There are several other fenders on the market that are more adjustable, make of higher quality materials, and are just all around better.
mehFeb 21, 2012
By that guy
it looks cool and functions well, but the mount is impossible. the idea behind the terrible mount design is for it to be quick on/off but its such a pain in the arse to thread it through and get it tight that im never gonna take it off anyway.
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