Hello!
I bought a frame with a fork. Unfortunately the IS2000 attachment point on the fork is not aligned to be perpendicular to the hub axis, which makes it impossible to mount wheel and brake without very strong rubbing of the brake. It is like having the brake engaged all the time. The misalignment is in a direction which is impossible to correct with a hydraulic Shimano disc brake.
I have complained about this to the seller and got a new fork. This fork shows the exact same problem.
I would like to know what you would do in my position. Should I try to have this fork faced somewhere? Should one try to bend the IS attachment point? Any tips for bending?
Thank you!
by jonas328
3 Comments
it’s your drop outs. they are clearly out of alignment.
if the fork is steel you can just re-align them with a dropout tool
it’s very common for cheap forks to have misaligned dropouts. i see it all the time with State bikes. something like 50% of them I’ve ever seen had misaligned forks or frames out of the box.
Just realign no big. Things get damaged during shipping and handling not to mention precision isn’t always priority number one.
A full service shop can solve both issues – they can align the fork dropouts (using something like [the Park FFG-2](https://www.parktool.com/en-us/product/frame-and-fork-end-alignment-gauge-set-ffg-2)), and they can face the brake mount (using something like [the DT-5.2](https://www.parktool.com/en-us/product/disc-brake-mount-facing-set-dt-5-2)). This is the kind of thing that is generally beyond the scope of a home mechanic.
Only steel forks can be re-aligned, but generally speaking the brake mount can be faced on any fork these days. Forks that have molded carbon brake mounts are best done with specialty carbon facing tools, but it’s still possible.
For what it’s worth, this is the kind of thing a good brick and mortar shop would generally do for free when you buy a bike or frame from them, if there was a similar issue. These kind of alignment issues are common from the factory. But when you buy from low-price online shops, the cost of this kind of thing lands on you as the end consumer, because a website can’t face a dropout. Just something to keep in mind next time you are wondering why your local bike shop charges more than a discount website.