Can this fork be repaired?

On Apr 7, 9:44 pm, still just me wrote:
On Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:44:40 GMT, "Leo Lichtman"

wrote:
"Michael Press" wrote: Do not ride the bicycle.
Unsafe at any speed.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Right. Put on your helmet and sit on the couch. Do not answer the
door--there are all kinds of risks out there.

Michael could be right... Aluminum can easily crack after a bend. It's
a risk to ride it. If it was steel I wouldn't worry, but aluminum can
have issues.

Seems to me that only the front part of the dropout has seen any bend
at all. It's not going to get any further significant stress. Axle
loads are upwards into the dropout slot, placing the top of the slot
in compression, so there won't be any worries about generating a
crack. Clamping loads are minor and well supported. IOW, I can't
visualize a likely cause of any failure of consequence.

Even if I had to "unbend" it a little bit to get clearance for the QR
nut, I wouldn't worry as long as it didn't crack during the unbending
process. But my first choice would be to just file and ride.

- Frank Krygowski

Leo Lichtman wrote:
"Michael Press" wrote: Do not ride the bicycle.
Unsafe at any speed.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Right. Put on your helmet and sit on the couch. Do not answer the
door--there are all kinds of risks out there.



indeed. better add using google to that risk list too.

Dave Smith wrote:
My wife's brand new Klein.

A well meaning friend tried to help her load it on her car and dropped
it on the front dropout. The dropout's bent and the axle won't fit. I
think it might be possible to bend it back into shape or maybe even
file it because the axle almost fits, but I'm worried that the
aluminum might be weakened and I don't really like the prospect of the
dropout failing and her front wheel falling off on a fast descent. I
uploaded a picture comparing the damaged dropout to the undamaged one
at: http://www.westiesd.com/posting/Fork.jpg I think it illustrates
the damage pretty well. Does it look like it can be repaired? I'd
rather be safe than sorry.

Thanks very much for any help.

just use a file and make the slot wide enough to fit the axle again -
you'll be fine. try not to make any gouges on the inside of the slot
though.

Dave Smith wrote:
My wife's brand new Klein.

A well meaning friend tried to help her load it on her car and dropped
it on the front dropout. The dropout's bent and the axle won't fit. I
think it might be possible to bend it back into shape or maybe even
file it because the axle almost fits, but I'm worried that the
aluminum might be weakened and I don't really like the prospect of the
dropout failing and her front wheel falling off on a fast descent. I
uploaded a picture comparing the damaged dropout to the undamaged one
at: http://www.westiesd.com/posting/Fork.jpg I think it illustrates
the damage pretty well. Does it look like it can be repaired? I'd
rather be safe than sorry.

Thanks very much for any help.

Junk it.

If it was a STEEL fork, you could bend it back into shape or file it.

Not so with aluminum, which will crack when bent. You cannot see the
cracks, but they are there. You might even want to cut off one side of
one of the dropouts, so nobody else picks it out of the trash and tries
to use it.
~