Close Menu
    Biking

    :( sad

    Did an (unintentional) flip over the handlebars the other day when a strap cam loose and wrapped around my front wheel.

    Thought everything was fine with the bike and rode it home, but something felt odd. Taking it out again today, discovered that the force from the sudden stop has bent both of my front forks toward the frame, a lot.

    Pretty devastated on losing the og forks with their paint job. Can someone make me feel better and tell me this is fixable?

    by purplefourtyfour

    Share.
    View 31 Comments

    31 Comments

    2. jonmimi on

      This might be repairable, doesn’t look super bad. Hopefully someone that knows more than me can tell you for sure.

    3. AnalogueGeek on

      It’s steel. Take it to a shop that does fork alignment. You can probably get it reset at least pretty close to where it should be. May be dinged but usable so long as the unicrown welds arent damaged. I had a steel cinelli fork get absolutely cooked when I was hit by a car… its currently good as new and rides great.

    5. knoef13 on

      that’s a substantial bend. i would recommend, not riding with that fork again. get a new one in chrome or black. your teeth are not worth messing around with structurally compromised forks.

    6. JohnnyButtocks on

      I mean, as long as there’s no visible damage, if it was me I’d probably just stick it in a vise and try to bend it back to where it looks right. It’s a bent rake fork, so presumably the upper shoulders of the fork legs were in line with the steering tube originally?

      Disclaimer: not a mechanic, don’t take this comment as advice.

    8. bluegrassgrump on

      If you decide not to repair, a black fork would still look good with the paint job and frame bag.

    10. williamfanjr on

      I won’t risk my life for a stock fork. It’s better to find a replacement already.

    12. Oldbikesarecool on

      If I was in your position and I really wanted those forks I’d probably put them in a vice with soft jaws and bend them back then realign the drop outs. Not advisable but it looks like cromoly, out of all the fork materials that’s the material I’d be more inclined to bend. I suppose
      It depends on the type of riding you plan on doing afterwards

    14. crimsondiesel on

      Bend it back and send it. Yes it’s a fork, but cromos got a ton of elasticity before it fatigues, that partially why it’s such a great material for bikes. As long as the steerer is straight and round you can repair the fork

    15. Spirit-S65 on

      Shit, if you have the option I would take it to a framebuilder to see if the frame is still in alignment. Fork is toast. Frame may be bent too.

    16. christopher7t8 on

      I had a steel fork that was bent similarly in an accident. Some people told me to bend it back so I got it pretty straight. Just happened to try fine adjusting the dropout alignment by hand and the fork adjusted very easily. Ordered a used fork I liked off eBay. What happened was the metal tubes weren’t the exact same shape anymore so they weren’t as rigid as they were originally. Not fatigued like they’d break off, but if they misaligned while riding it would be very dangerous.

    17. VikApproved on

      That fork is dead. Take chances with the rear end of a bike…not the front. Dental work is too expensive.

    18. MichigaCur on

      Safety wise that fork is done. You could always get another and have fun with the paint. Might be hard to match perfectly, but could probably get close.

    19. Remarkable_Gene9898 on

      Welcome to the 90s.

      That would happen back then. That’s what made me get a Rock Shox mag 21!!

    20. Bermnerfs on

      That definitely sucks, but at least your headtube isn’t the part that got damaged. You can get a brand new hi-tensile steel fork for about $40 or a vintage chromoly fork for around $100 on eBay. I know it isn’t the original fork, but they’ll look nearly identical style wise, you’re just going to have to figure out whether you want to make your bike two-tone or try to color match it.

    22. benasyoulikeit on

      Sadly, you should check the frame too. If the paint is cracking near the steerer tube now then the frame might be toast.

    23. dancomputer on

      Folks saying to take it to the LBS are “close.” If OP has an old school LBS, then yes, otherwise the local Trek or Spesh concept store will probably be no help.

      OP needs someone with skills aligning steel framsets. These days LBS don’t do that or have the equipment. OP may need to find a frame builder (also scarce!) or maybe an overenthusiastic boomer with time and tools to do the job.

    25. AeonEDC on

      Sorry for your loss! I this were a particularly rare or valuable frame I’d suggest maybe having it fixed, but I’d say just find another frame and swap the components in this case. I think I paid all of 20 bucks for a complete Diamondback Ascent of similar vintage.

    26. Conscious_Yak_7303 on

      I wouldn’t ride that anywhere except to the coop to get a replacement fork

    27. 101Puppies on

      If the head tube isn’t gone, powder coating the bottom half of a fork isn’t that expensive. I’m guessing about $40-50. Cheaper than a new set of teeth.

      But you can probably get an entire steel frame for $50. I don’t think it’s worth continuing with that bike. Find another used one, transfer the better parts and call it a day.

    30. Kyro2354 on

      Just buy a replacement and spray paint it a similar or complimentary colour, ez pz

    Leave A Reply