Bent fork dropout

[Fred]

My wife droped her bike with the front wheel off. One of the fork dropouts
was bent so that the front axle would no longer fit in. I took a large
screwdriver and bent it back to match the spacing of the other side.

Everything seems fine functionally now. Is this safe?

 

[Bill Sornson]

Fred wrote:
> My wife droped her bike with the front wheel off. One of the fork
> dropouts was bent so that the front axle would no longer fit in. I
> took a large screwdriver and bent it back to match the spacing of the
> other side.
>
> Everything seems fine functionally now. Is this safe?

How much do you love your wife? Got dental insurance?? Do-it-yourself nose
job???

At the very least, have a competent bike shop evaluate it...now.

Bill "good news is, the screwdriver's probably still sound" S.

 

[Qui si parla Campagnolo]

Fred wrote:
> My wife droped her bike with the front wheel off. One of the fork dropouts
> was bent so that the front axle would no longer fit in. I took a large
> screwdriver and bent it back to match the spacing of the other side.
>
> Everything seems fine functionally now. Is this safe?

Steel? I would still have a competent bike shop look at it. Aluminum? I
would replace the fork...

 

[Fred]

"Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>
> Fred wrote:
> > My wife droped her bike with the front wheel off. One of the fork
dropouts
> > was bent so that the front axle would no longer fit in. I took a large
> > screwdriver and bent it back to match the spacing of the other side.
> >
> > Everything seems fine functionally now. Is this safe?
>
> Steel? I would still have a competent bike shop look at it. Aluminum? I
> would replace the fork...
>

It's steel. What would they look for? Looking at it you can't see that
anything ever happened.

 

[Zog The Undeniable]

Fred wrote:

> It's steel. What would they look for? Looking at it you can't see that
> anything ever happened.

I also doubt even a competent bike shop would be able to assess how
work-hardened the steel was. Either get a new fork or get new dropouts
brazed on (they usually have to be done as a pair to get a perfect
match). This would cost 45UKP over here, plus something for the respray
unless you do that bit yourself. New carbon forks are a similar price.

 

[Qui si parla Campagnolo]

Fred wrote:
> "Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> >
> > Fred wrote:
> > > My wife droped her bike with the front wheel off. One of the fork
> dropouts
> > > was bent so that the front axle would no longer fit in. I took a large
> > > screwdriver and bent it back to match the spacing of the other side.
> > >
> > > Everything seems fine functionally now. Is this safe?
> >
> > Steel? I would still have a competent bike shop look at it. Aluminum? I
> > would replace the fork...
> >
>
> It's steel. What would they look for? Looking at it you can't see that
> anything ever happened.

I'd have them put the alignment tools onto it to make sure the ends are
aligned, other than that, no cracks, etc. I have straightened many
steel dropouts w/o any problems at all.

 

[Qui si parla Campagnolo]

Zog The Undeniable wrote:
> Fred wrote:
>
> > It's steel. What would they look for? Looking at it you can't see that
> > anything ever happened.
>
> I also doubt even a competent bike shop would be able to assess how
> work-hardened the steel was. Either get a new fork or get new dropouts
> brazed on (they usually have to be done as a pair to get a perfect
> match). This would cost 45UKP over here, plus something for the respray
> unless you do that bit yourself. New carbon forks are a similar price.

Disagree. For such a small bend, I would just straighten and ride. No
need to weld in any new dropouts. Steel is wonderful in this regard.

 

[John Thompson]

On 2005-07-15, Fred <[email protected]> wrote:

> My wife droped her bike with the front wheel off. One of the fork dropouts
> was bent so that the front axle would no longer fit in. I took a large
> screwdriver and bent it back to match the spacing of the other side.
>
> Everything seems fine functionally now. Is this safe?

Steel forks, or something else? Steel is very forgiving; the dropouts are
deliberately made from a soft, malleable alloy to allow this type of
repair. You may want to have a shop look at the alignment, however, as
misaligned dropouts can be tough on hub bearings.

If it's not steel, all bets are off. Take it to a shop for them to
evaluate and probably replace.

--

John ([email protected])