Hey folks,
Looking for a second opinion from people with experience diagnosing fork / brake alignment issues.
I have a Surly Midnight Special (steel fork). I brought it to my local mechanic because the front rotor is rubbing. He told me the fork is slightly twisted or slanted, which is causing the rotor to sit too close to one fork leg and rub. His concern was that riding it like this will cause long-term damage to the rotor and brakes.
His proposed fix:
• Replace the fork ($300–$400)
• Labor ~$65
Total around $500
That feels like a big step for what looks (to my eye) like a relatively small misalignment, so I’m trying to sanity-check this before committing.
Some context:
• Rotor rub is noticeable, but braking feels fine
• Fork is steel (not carbon or aluminum)
• No obvious crash history
• I’ve attached photos showing rotor proximity to the fork leg
My questions:
• How common is it for a steel fork to be slightly out of alignment like this?
• Is full fork replacement the only responsible fix, or are there other things that should be ruled out first (wheel seating, rotor trueness, caliper alignment, cold-setting)?
• Is this more of a safety issue, or a wear/maintenance issue if ridden as-is?
• At what point does replacement actually become the right call?
Not trying to avoid doing the right thing — just trying to understand whether this is a case of “must fix now” vs “monitor/manage” or “try less invasive options first.”
Appreciate any insight 🙏
by PumpkinOk7733
13 Comments
Get a 2nd opinion, ideally from a surly dealer
Man if u were my fren I’d just help u order that fork from Surly and we’d cut down that steer tube…and brother we would bevel the top brother….and we’d slap that star fangled nut in there…by God. And we’d overhaul that headset. Fork problem ruled out. Then …as two bros…we’d true your rotor and make a brake adjustment. Type shih. Dead ass
hard to see from photos. Generally you can bend a fork back to true, yet that takes some experience, and a dropout alignment tool (expensive).
Chances are that it can be done, yet seeing ur fork being butted, and not seeing where the bend is is quite.. pointless to diagnose here.
edit: muffed, not butted fork. whoops. but you can always ask another mechanic, but i feel only in person diagnosis are the best, since the bend of the fork could be from anywhere.
You can bend a fork to align if its not too far out. You want to find someone with this tool or similar
https://www.parktool.com/en-us/product/frame-and-fork-end-alignment-gauge-set-ffg-2
3-400 bucks for that fork?
A Chinese carbon frame from a reputable brand can be bought for 500..
Have they faced the caliper mount using the correct tool?
If not find another mechanic
Professional mechanic here. Your man is talking bollocks.
Assuming the fork is good and not been pranged, as you say, then;
Step 1. Face the brake mounts correctly. This will ensure the plate is absolutely flat so the caliper will sit 90° to the rotor. This should have been done by the shop when the bike was built up, but hey.
Step 2. Realign the dropouts using the appropriately-named dropout aligning tool.
Step 3. Find another shop to go to in future.
Highly doubt the fork is “twisted”. The flat brake mounts likely just need to be faced
Are your hub’s end caps on correctly? Sometimes they’re different lengths, and if they are, mixing them up would cause the wheel to be spaced incorrectly in one direction.
Maybe worth dropping a line to Surly for their opinion. I’d imagine a nice steel fork like yours could be cold worked.
Assuming your mechanic is right (which I’m not, just to be clear), $500 is really steep for a fork replacement. A brand-new fork from surly costs $175.
That is extremely hard to believe. I would try a lot of damn things before i replaced my fork! Get a second opinion for sure, especially if he didn’t try or suggest facing the mounts. Especially from a surly dealer!