Bent Fork Dropouts?

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  • This week I got given a late 60s Carlton that was otherwise headed for the tip/skip.
    When I first saw it, it looked pretty good, but the front wheel was bent beyond all salvation (basically, some spokes went, and the wheel collapsed). This didn't bother me, as I figured it would be a great frame to build up as a fixed-gear/single-speed hack bike.
    The only thing is, on putting a wheel in to set the bars and stem straight, it became pretty obvious that the forks are bent- the right hand side is about 1/2 an inch back. I want a second opinion on whether it's worth the risk to cold set them back to true. I've got access to a full workshop of bike tools, so the actual truing won't be an issue.
    The only reasons I'm not just chucking the forks are that as far as I know, they're 531 (and I'm poor!), and they're nicely half-chromed, not too pitted.

  • I had something very similar repaired by Mercian recently. It was fine. Obviously if you have evidence that it has been in a smash then go over the frame and forks in detail to check for any more serious damage.

  • Here are some pictures to show the forks. There seems to be some paint brushed on just below the lamp braze-on, suspicious?


    2 Attachments

    • Top View.jpg
    • Side View.jpg
  • Obviously if you have evidence that it has been in a smash then go over the frame and forks in detail to check for any more serious damage.

    Already done. Apart from the forks, there's no creasing or cracking on the tubes, and the rest of the frame is nice and straight. As far as I know, the only thing the forks hit was the road as the wheel buckled.

  • Your pictures show an almost identical situation. I had, 531 forks too. I'd say give it a go, especially if you have the tools. However it is a risk and down to your own peace of mind, for the cost of a set of used 531 forks. For what it is worth, Mercian turned it around with no bother.

  • Okay, I'll have a go at cold setting them, and see how it goes. I guess in the worst case scenario, I'll go buy new forks, or just hang the frame up for a rainy-day project when I'm less skint.
    As a purely hypothetical question, what sort of price did Mercian charge compared to new forks i.e. does a professional frame builder consider it worthwhile to do this?

  • It was around £20 from memory, I had a few things done at once. They aren't the cheapest, of course. I had no clear sign on my forks that they had been in a smash though, so I was a bit more comfortable with sorting them out.

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Bent Fork Dropouts?

Posted by Avatar for oxpoleon @oxpoleon

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