All hardware sucks
When I was on the way home from a trivially short loop this afternoon, I ran over some debris on the street, which got sucked up by the front wheel and wedged between it and the fender. Now, the fenders that I have are a set of SKS P45 fenders, which come with a pair of cheap plastic quick-release clips that the fender struts fit into, so that when some debris is sucked up by the wheel the “Secu-Clip security stay [will unclip] automatically when a foreign objects lodges against the tire and fender.”
Well, a foreign object did lodge against the tire and fender. But did the Secu-Clips™ unclip automatically? Oh hahaha, no. The Secu-Clips (replacement cost: US$1.50) remained firmly clipped together, but the metal bolts that fasten the stays to the fender (replacement cost: US$15) stripped right on off the stays, flung themselves onto the street, and were lost forever.
*sigh*