I've bent my forks, haven't I?

[Westie]

Just a quick question to put me out of my misery; I've been looking at my Manitou Skareb Comp forks
today. The wheel should be centred in the fork, shouldn't it? I'm looking at mine and the tyre and
rim are not centred and it gets worse when I put my weight on it. Looking at it from a riding
position, the top of the wheel moves to the left when I put my weight on it and the knobbies on the
tyre are almost rubbing the (Manitou reverse) arch. There's only a 1/4" clearance on that side
versus the 3/4" on the righthand side. And none when I hit any half decent bump - the tyre rubs
against the arch. The quick release is mounted and tightened correctly. And while the wheel isn't
100% true (it's got maybe a couple of mm wobble), it does appear to be dished OK. The disc rotor is
not rubbing on the pads.
--
Westie

 

[Squid-In-Traini]

"Westie" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Just a quick question to put me out of my misery; I've been looking at my Manitou Skareb Comp
> forks today. The wheel should be centred in the fork,

Um. You want to eBay that piece ASAP. State the problem. You'll get at least $100 for it.

My Skareb Comp seems to flex quite a bit. My rim brakes rub against the rim during turns. No
damage ever.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

 

[Mark Hickey]

"Westie" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Just a quick question to put me out of my misery; I've been looking at my Manitou Skareb Comp forks
>today. The wheel should be centred in the fork, shouldn't it? I'm looking at mine and the tyre and
>rim are not centred and it gets worse when I put my weight on it. Looking at it from a riding
>position, the top of the wheel moves to the left when I put my weight on it and the knobbies on the
>tyre are almost rubbing the (Manitou reverse) arch. There's only a 1/4" clearance on that side
>versus the 3/4" on the righthand side. And none when I hit any half decent bump - the tyre rubs
>against the arch. The quick release is mounted and tightened correctly. And while the wheel isn't
>100% true (it's got maybe a couple of mm wobble), it does appear to be dished OK. The disc rotor is
>not rubbing on the pads.

I would suggest NOT riding that fork any more. There aren't many things on modern forks that can
bend without being nearly ready to break (since they're all made out of "brittle" materials like
aluminum or magnesium instead of steel or ti).

Even if a catastrophic failure isn't in the cards, if the fork is flexing enough to cause
tire-to-fork interference, what happens when you're really flying and land a big jump, and the front
tire grabs enough fork to send you over the bars? Not a good thing.

Life is too short to ride a broken fork (especially if you do).

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame

 

[Westie]

"Mark Hickey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Westie" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Just a quick question to put me out of my misery; I've been looking at my Manitou Skareb Comp
> >forks today. The wheel should be centred in the
fork,
> >shouldn't it? I'm looking at mine and the tyre and rim are not centred
and
> >it gets worse when I put my weight on it. Looking at it from a riding position, the top of the
> >wheel moves to the left when I put my weight on
it
> >and the knobbies on the tyre are almost rubbing the (Manitou reverse)
arch.
> >There's only a 1/4" clearance on that side versus the 3/4" on the
righthand
> >side. And none when I hit any half decent bump - the tyre rubs against
the
> >arch. The quick release is mounted and tightened correctly. And while the wheel isn't 100% true
> >(it's got maybe a couple of mm
wobble),
> >it does appear to be dished OK. The disc rotor is not rubbing on the
pads.
>
> I would suggest NOT riding that fork any more. There aren't many things on modern forks that can
> bend without being nearly ready to break (since they're all made out of "brittle" materials like
> aluminum or magnesium instead of steel or ti).
>
> Even if a catastrophic failure isn't in the cards, if the fork is flexing enough to cause
> tire-to-fork interference, what happens when you're really flying and land a big jump, and the
> front tire grabs enough fork to send you over the bars? Not a good thing.

True enough. I've been over the bars before and I've done my AC collarbone joint. I don't care to
repeat that.

> Life is too short to ride a broken fork (especially if you do).

I'm not riding it (now) until I get the problem sorted. The bike is visiting the Bike Doctor today.
Thanks for the input!
--
Westie

 

[Westie]

"Westie" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> "Mark Hickey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > "Westie" <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > >Just a quick question to put me out of my misery; I've been looking at
my
> > >Manitou Skareb Comp forks today. The wheel should be centred in the
> fork,
> > >shouldn't it? I'm looking at mine and the tyre and rim are not centred
> and
> > >it gets worse when I put my weight on it. Looking at it from a riding position, the top of the
> > >wheel moves to the left when I put my weight
on
> it
> > >and the knobbies on the tyre are almost rubbing the (Manitou reverse)
> arch.
> > >There's only a 1/4" clearance on that side versus the 3/4" on the
> righthand
> > >side. And none when I hit any half decent bump - the tyre rubs against
> the
> > >arch. The quick release is mounted and tightened correctly. And while the wheel isn't 100% true
> > >(it's got maybe a couple of mm
> wobble),
> > >it does appear to be dished OK. The disc rotor is not rubbing on the

Phew! I feel a lot better today. Good thing that I didn't keep riding it... Sent bike off to not-so
Local Bike Shop. They've examined things. And they've found a beautiful crack in the arch, hidden
under a ziptie near the seals. The mechanic reckons that I must have done the tie up too tight ;-)
It's a warranty job apparently. We're all happy.
--
Westie