Crash-damaged steel frame / bent steerer / dinged tube / dead forks

Right, my 531c forks are (and always have been since I got the frame second hand) bent ever so slightly to one side. It is only noticeably when I take my hands off the bars (infrequently) and it pulls to the left. It is very very slight and is not getting worse but it still bugs me.

I have a plan, I just need someone knowledgeable to tell me whether it is ridiculous or not.

Plan, the first:

Obtain a long, straight, stiff bar or tube with an outside diameter as close to the inside diameter of the steerer as possible. Mount this vertically (somehow).

Use an axle or spare front hub and mark the half way point between the locknuts and fit this to the forks.

Place the steerer over the bar/tube with the forks pointing up.

'Persuade' the forks to one side until the middle point on the hub lines up with the bar/tube.

Would this work? What are the alternatives in keeping with the DIY mantra?

k,thx,bi xxx

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?PartnerID=79&ModelID=32221

I'm not saying buy one, but you may be able to borrow one - or get someone with the knowledges to help you out? I borrowed one from smallbrownbike ages ago, but he's in lovely Brighton now.

Jim said he possessed the power but has since not replied to my PMs :(

cheers though Mark, I shall investigate

also, i think the bend is more at the crown than in the legs

twist your stem a couple of degrees clockwise

maybe your saddle too

I'm going to say something contentious here, and say take it to a shop that has all the bits for testing frame alignment.

It's very easy to persuade yourself that something is right (or wrong). A good shop shouldn't want too much money to do it and will be able to tell you if it's safe (always an issue with very lightweight stuff like 531c).

Get it checked out. Last time someone on here had alignment issues, this happened:
https://www.lfgss.com/thread40070-2.html#post1355686

do these forks look alright? To my (untrained) eye they look bent (more than they should be? Any thoughts?


Do you have any better photographs?
If the two fork legs have the same curve and the top part of the legs are in line with the steerer tube then the forks are not bent. Also, have a feel of the paintwork for any ripples that indicated bent metal post-painting.

Some forks are made with a very odd looking rake, but that's design rather than damage.

it is impossible to tell from that photograph.

i think the main problem is the colour lol

Hi, new poster here.

I crashed into a car a couple of days ago, and now my fork steerer is bent.
Unfortunately, it's from a Peugeot PY10 (Reynolds 531 Professional), and the threading is French. I would like, if possible, to keep the origimal fork as it matches the frame.

Does anyone know if it is ever possible to straighten steerer tubes, or is it generally a no-no? I can post a photo of the bend if this helps.

Cheers,

Roddy

i wouldn't recommend doing it yourself, better to get a framebuilder to have a look unless you can foot the bill for new teeth and/or jaw.

Cheers. I just spoke to Mario Vaz who says he can give it a shot.

He did suggest fitting a standard threaded fork, but I don't fancy also coughing up for another stem and shimming my handlebars. Hopefully he can help.

Just for the record, Mario had the forks straightened as best possible, and didn't even charge a penny. He seems like a really sound guy.

Crashed my On-One Pompino a couple of months back and managed to damage the frame slightly. Got a new frame and forks now (same again) but I still have the old one and was wondering if it could be repaired.

The damage comes from an impact to the front (concrete island in middle of road), so the top tube has bent ever so slightly downwards from about 2 inches away from where it meets the head tube. There is also a tiny crack at the welding point there.

I didn't notice at first so it can't be that bad, only when my toes hit the front wheel when I was stationary and turned the handlebars did I see it.

So can anything be done to rectify it, or is the frame totally screwed? Can post up some photos too if that helps, but it's just like I described above.

I found someone else had a similar problem here: http://www.lfgss.com/thread11448.html

Should I just throw some cheap parts on it and keep as a beater? It still rides, just not as well as before...

Thanks.

i vote beater. you'll probably end up paying half the cost of the frame to get it fixed, not worth it IMO.

Cool. Here are some photos. I thought maybe getting a fork with a larger Rake would help out a little (as my toes hit the wheels sometimes).

Both tubes into the headtube are cracked at the top of their welds, the headtube joints are seriously weakened and with another impact could tear out, err on safety

Duct tape. Done.

it'll cost alot more than the frame is worth

Ok, so say I don't bother getting it repaired, but still want to ride it, will it be ok? It doesn't look that bad to me, but if it's going to fall apart I'd rather not risk it, having had one nasty crash already this year. Steel will bend rather than snap like aluminium, right?

If you really want to ride it.

get it welded again and add extra plate of metal on the top tube (like the bit on the downtube near the head tube.

and use it as a polo bike only, at own's risk of course.

its called a gussett.

yup, either gusset it and get it welded, then will likely be OK enough.

or talk to Brent @ on-one, he's a very friendly bloke that just wants to see people riding bikes, chances are he might crack you a deal on a crash replacement or even be able to do a decent gusset job on it? who knows... ring him :)