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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.
Perfect fender for your mountain bike!Oct 18, 2011
By Andrei
No problems with it at all so far. It arrived faster than I expected with standard free shipping. I bought this rear fender because I my old one failed big time after a couple of months! My old fender was the Topeak DeFender M2 Mountain Bike Fender (Rear). If you have to make a decision between the "Topeak DeFender M2 Mountain Bike Fender" and "Topeak DeFender RX" I say BUY THE TOPEAK DEFENDER RX because it's much more sturdy and a little bigger which helps block out more incoming dirt, water, etc. It looks way cooler too and I'm telling you people, it will look awesome on your bike. My bike is the Mongoose XR Comp, got it at walmart and added my own parts to it but the fender looks too good on it! As for the front fender I have the Topeak DeFender M1 which did fall off a couple times, but I made a few adjustments to it now it's not moving at all because I put a thick rubber band around it then inserted it into the fork. But anyways, in my opinion, the TOPEAK DEFENDER RX is the best fender out there yet. It adds a whole new look to your bike and really works when you're going through puddles, mud, and whatever else. A story that recently happened to me, I was riding my bike and without noticing and no signs to warn me, I ran my bike straight into fresh cement on the sidewalk! fender blocked it instead of all that going on my clothes. It came off easily with water about 1 hour later. So yea this is worth buying, it will last you longer than the Topeak DeFender M2. Can't really review other fenders since I only owned the two I mentioned. Thought I seen many fenders doing my research and also on the street, none look as cool as Topeak's fenders do.
 Just Good, Nothing Exciting About It.Jun 28, 2011
By J. Ohata
"Jeffo"
The mounting system, as everyone else mentioned is finicky. I found that the best way to install it is by pulling up the center pin out of the lower retainer in which will give you access to the split in the bottom of the pin, then you can easily slide the nylon strap between, instead of threading the needle as others have tried. Hint: Try to get it closer to the base of the angled cut in the strap as opposed to the tip, this will give you more friction and prevent slippage when you are tightening it. Make sure the latch is open and loose when you are twisting the center pin for the initial tension you will have to put the greatest amount of torque you can get with your fingers (I would not recommend using tools as they may destroy the teeth that holds the pin into the socket), then push the center pin down into the socket to lock into place. Once that feels pretty secure you can then apply the latch to get the final tension set. Luckily on my bike it can strap on right where the seat post goes into the frame so I don't get any vertical descent of the fender when riding.
Don't expect it to be horizontally rock solid, it is impossible. I kick this darn thing all the time when mounting my bike, and it also may shift out of position when you hit large bumps or when it gets whacked by something on the trail. You could probably get a better hold on the seat post if you put some 3M double stick foam tape between the strap/fender-mount and seat post, that is if you are not planning on removing it all the time. This fender works on my bike which is a mountain bike with full suspension, which basically means that it has a non standard bike frame, so the standard frame mounted fenders would have been a crapshoot as far as fit. This fender also requires two different Allen wrench sizes for the additional adjustments, so if you don't have a bike multi-tool or metric Allen (HEX) wrench set be sure to buy one. When it is properly adjusted and centered, I do not get back splash, or tire grinding, so that is the good part.
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based on 18 reviews
