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#1
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Advice sought on fork repair
I have a broken fork which I would like to get repaired.
http://tinyurl.com/coljg The left hand fork has the steerer tube come away from the crown. The threaded insert for mudguard/brakes/reflector bracket is all that is holding the steerer in place. The fork is from a 26" wheel touring bike with 1" unthreaded steerer. The main frame is Renolds 631 tubing, the fork isn't marked so I don't know the exact materials, though it is the original for that bike. I would just go ahead and get it fixed, but there are two things that concern me: 1. Looking from below (http://tinyurl.com/88vxd) the end of the steerer tube is now distinctly flattened at one side and has deformed the hole in the crown. It is no longer a snug fit in the crown, but wobbles freely. (I had difficulty getting my camera to focus on the right bit here so the photo isn't as clear as it might be). 2. No matter what I do the steerer will never sit straight, this is about the best I can do (http://tinyurl.com/dtvc7). The only thing I can think of is that the crown itself may be somewhat twisted (though I can see no sign of damage even to the paintwork). So, at last getting to the point. Should I: 1. Get a new steerer fixed to the damaged fork, letting the framebuilder work out how to get it straight and fill in any gaps round the hole. 2. On the right of the pictures you will see an old 531 fork. Can I simply have the threaded steerer replaced with a longer, unthreaded one and use this? (lack of disk and low-rider mounts are not and issue)? Advice sought. Andrew |
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#2
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Advice sought on fork repair
Maybe cheaper to get a new fork.
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#3
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Advice sought on fork repair
wrote:
Maybe cheaper to get a new fork. This is the ONLY way to go in the described situation, unless the original fork is part of a historically significant and valuable frame. Otherwise, it will be MUCH cheaper (and safer!) to replace the fork. Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame |
#4
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Advice sought on fork repair
On Sun, 24 Jul 2005 05:40:08 -0400, wrote:
Maybe cheaper to get a new fork. I'd feel a lot better if I were the one riding it. Ron |
#5
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Advice sought on fork repair
On 24 Jul 2005 02:26:26 -0700, "Andrew W"
wrote: So, at last getting to the point. Should I: 1. Get a new steerer fixed to the damaged fork, letting the framebuilder work out how to get it straight and fill in any gaps round the hole. It would probably be much cheaper to get a new fork, and would certainly be cheaper to get a used fork that's in good condition. If money wasn't a concern, I'd still scrap that fork due to the deformation in the crown stamping. The support for the end of the tube looks like it was significantly less than I'd have liked to begin with; why try to preserve something that seems to have had shortcomings that produced a failure? 2. On the right of the pictures you will see an old 531 fork. Can I simply have the threaded steerer replaced with a longer, unthreaded one and use this? (lack of disk and low-rider mounts are not and issue)? Although this is technically possible, once again it's likely that a new fork would be considerably cheaper, and a used one with an appropriate steerer (which is what you're talking about expensively making from that old fork) would be less far costly than the mod. It may take a bit of shopping, though; one inch threadless forks for that wheel size aren't exactly common...but I see them turn up on eBay often enough. As an alternate, I might consider using a threaded fork and a threaded-to-threadless conversion stem; used threaded forks are much more plentiful. -- Typoes are a feature, not a bug. Some gardening required to reply via email. Words processed in a facility that contains nuts. |
#6
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Advice sought on fork repair
Andrew W wrote:
I have a broken fork which I would like to get repaired. http://tinyurl.com/coljg The left hand fork has the steerer tube come away from the crown. Dude. There's this radical concept called "spending a little money". BUY *TWO* NEW FORKS (that green one's gotta go, too). What kind of bikes were these attcahed to? Maybe time to replace them as well? Life's too short... BS |
#7
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Advice sought on fork repair
Bill Sornson wrote:
Andrew W wrote: I have a broken fork which I would like to get repaired. http://tinyurl.com/coljg The left hand fork has the steerer tube come away from the crown. Dude. There's this radical concept called "spending a little money". BUY *TWO* NEW FORKS (that green one's gotta go, too). OK, I re-read post. Still... |
#8
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Advice sought on fork repair
If I could easily source a decent fork of appropriate dimensions then I
would buy one, but none of five bike shops I visited yesterday had ANY forks of this size, never mind some that would be a good match for my frame. A good bit of internet seaching has failed to come up with anything either. Surprising for a 3-year old bike, but that's life. So the only choices I seem to have are using these or spending a significant amount having one custom made. I'm not averse to spending a little money - after all, I reckon a replacement steerer will be fifty to sixty pounds by the time I've got it re-painted etc. My problem is that stock forks of this dimension just don't seem to be available at any price. Andrew |
#9
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Advice sought on fork repair
Thanks for your comments.
I think the failure of the fork had more to do with my collision with an oncoming vehicle than any design problems. However, the consensus seems to be that damage to the crown such as this rules out repair - I think I will have to resign myself to this view. I have had a good look on e-bay in the UK with no luck. Maybe I should hold off for a while and keep looking. The problem is that not only is it 1", but the steerer length in 260mm, which seems to be longer than the average, and rules out most second-hand forks. It is my inability to source a new fork that leads me to contemplate other options in the first place. It seems odd that I can easily source spares for bikes dating back to the 70s and 80s, but not ones from this century. Your idea of looking for a threaded fork and using an adaptor seems a good one. After all it doubles my chances of a successful search. I will be replacing the headset in any case, so that isn't an issue. Thanks for the advice Andrew |
#10
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Advice sought on fork repair
Andrew W wrote: If I could easily source a decent fork of appropriate dimensions then I would buy one, but none of five bike shops I visited yesterday had ANY forks of this size, never mind some that would be a good match for my frame. A good bit of internet seaching has failed to come up with anything either. Surprising for a 3-year old bike, but that's life. So the only choices I seem to have are using these or spending a significant amount having one custom made. I'm not averse to spending a little money - after all, I reckon a replacement steerer will be fifty to sixty pounds by the time I've got it re-painted etc. My problem is that stock forks of this dimension just don't seem to be available at any price. Andrew |
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