Fall seems to have finally landed; that means fender season is upon us. The fender gurus over at Portland Design Works (PDW) have had a cool front fender designed just for fat bikes, but it looks great on MTBs as well. It’s called the Mud Shovel 6.5, and it’s ready for action.
The Mud Shovel 6.5 is not a new product, as we first saw it in 2013 at FrostBike. Back then, they featured a large high-contrast graphic of Dave Gray’s (former Surly product designer) Signature. Dave helped PDW in the development of the fender and was one of the OG plus-tire visionaries.
But the Mud Shovel 6.5 has recently received a few updates, and it’s still a great option for front tire fender coverage that won’t result in reduced tire clearance. The updated Mud Shovel 6.5 is now slightly wider and a little longer, adding to the amount of coverage it provides. But, if it’s a little too big, it can easily be cut down with a pair of scissors (there’s even a cut line printed on the front of the fender).
The graphics are way more subdued now, with a classy tone-on-tone topographic graphics. And as of this writing, the Camo colorway is on sale for only $12.
Instead of attaching to the fork as most front fenders do, the Mud Shovel 6.5 conveniently connects to the down tube using adjustable rubber straps. It’s extra long and wide for maximum protection from the muck, mud, snow, and sand. Will this fender help keep your feet dry? No, but it will greatly reduce any mud or spray flinging up at the top half of your body.
The Mud Shovel 6.5 will attach to most conventional down tubes. New for this iteration of the Mud Shovel is the ability to use Voile straps to fasten the fneder to big down tubes. So, if you want to use it on your eBike with a large diameter down tube, you can use these 25″ Voile straps to tackle the job for you. Additionally, if you’d like to obtain the matching rear fender, consider the Mud Shovel 6.5 rear fender.
If you’d like the same type of protection for your bikes, like your allroad or gravel bikes, check out the smaller Origami Front Fender.
Mud Shovel 6.5 Retail & Detail
Retail: $18
- Front fender is 203mm wide and 622mm long (8″x24.5″)
- Extra-long, wide design blocks snow, water, and sand
- The bracket keeps the fender super stable and is easy to install
- Built with lightweight, sturdy materials for durability
- Lifetime PD Warranty
