Replacing my front fork

[Haakon Studebaker]

I have an GT Avanlanche 2.0. My front fork was stolen back in January and I
want to start riding it again. I have the tools and the patience but I'm
unsure about the parts I need to buy.

I know I need a front fork, a disc brake caliper, a new front brake cable
but I'm unsure if I'll need anything else. Right now I have a baggie full
of three washer-like things, a small conical spring and the cap which goes
in the middle of the handlebars.

How or where do I find out the parts that are needed? Just that I want to
do this myself rather than pay someone else for the labor in addition to
shopping around to get the best price for the best parts.

 

[Werehatrack]

On Sat, 29 Apr 2006 10:22:56 -0500, Haakon Studebaker
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I have an GT Avanlanche 2.0. My front fork was stolen back in January and I
>want to start riding it again. I have the tools and the patience but I'm
>unsure about the parts I need to buy.

Tools: Hacksaw and steerer cutting guide (unless you can cut really
straight) or big tubing cutter, and 5mm allen wrench. If you are
really insistent about doing the whole job yourself, you will also
want to buy or fabricate a setter for the starfangled nut. From
personal experience, unless you have installed a few of those, I'd say
you're better off having someone else do it. This is a job that looks
incredibly easy...and isn't, unless you have the right tool.

Parts, assuming that the bars, levers and stem remain present: Fork,
front wheel with tire, caliper, brake disc, bolts for disc and
caliper, starfangled nut (have the bike shop knock this into place
after you cut the tube; see note above), brake cable and housing,
skewer, headset (the bottom bearing and crown race are pretty much
guaranteed to have been stolen with the fork) and spacers as needed to
achieve the correct stem height.

>I know I need a front fork, a disc brake caliper, a new front brake cable
>but I'm unsure if I'll need anything else. Right now I have a baggie full
>of three washer-like things, a small conical spring

Maybe from the wheel skewer?

>and the cap which goes
>in the middle of the handlebars.
>
>How or where do I find out the parts that are needed?

See above.

>Just that I want to
>do this myself rather than pay someone else for the labor in addition to
>shopping around to get the best price for the best parts.

Good luck in your search. Bargains can often be had, but sometimes
the search has to be carried on for quite a while before the good
stuff is located. In particular, don't settle for just any fork; this
is the one area where spending more than you feel is reasonable would
be better than buying a cheap substitute. In my opinion, the RST Gila
was no prize; I'd shop for a RockShox or a Marzocchi instead.

I'd also give strong consideration to carrying a second U-lock to use
just for locking the fork to the frame.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Dane Buson]

Werehatrack <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Sat, 29 Apr 2006 10:22:56 -0500, Haakon Studebaker
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>I have an GT Avanlanche 2.0. My front fork was stolen back in January and I
>>want to start riding it again. I have the tools and the patience but I'm
>>unsure about the parts I need to buy.
>
> Tools: Hacksaw and steerer cutting guide (unless you can cut really
> straight) or big tubing cutter, and 5mm allen wrench.

Pffffttt, holy shite! I went and looked for a "steerer cutting guide"
and it's $75! Last time I cut a steer tube, I used a $10 miter box I
had picked up from the HW store for woodworking projects. I strapped
the fork to the miter box with some zip ties and had it cut in no time
at all. Is the steerer cutter really worth the $65 difference? [1]

> If you are
> really insistent about doing the whole job yourself, you will also
> want to buy or fabricate a setter for the starfangled nut. From
> personal experience, unless you have installed a few of those, I'd say
> you're better off having someone else do it. This is a job that looks
> incredibly easy...and isn't, unless you have the right tool.

Good thing I didn't know that when I did it. ;-) I whacked it in and
managed to do a perfectly adequate job with my improvised method. I did
pick up the *correct* tool for the next time I have to do it.

[1] Not being a smart-****, I'm truly curious.

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
"I had an IQ test. The results came back negative."

 

[Peter Cole]

Dane Buson wrote:
> Werehatrack <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On Sat, 29 Apr 2006 10:22:56 -0500, Haakon Studebaker
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> I have an GT Avanlanche 2.0. My front fork was stolen back in January and I
>>> want to start riding it again. I have the tools and the patience but I'm
>>> unsure about the parts I need to buy.
>> Tools: Hacksaw and steerer cutting guide (unless you can cut really
>> straight) or big tubing cutter, and 5mm allen wrench.
>
> Pffffttt, holy shite! I went and looked for a "steerer cutting guide"
> and it's $75! Last time I cut a steer tube, I used a $10 miter box I
> had picked up from the HW store for woodworking projects. I strapped
> the fork to the miter box with some zip ties and had it cut in no time
> at all. Is the steerer cutter really worth the $65 difference? [1]
>
>> If you are
>> really insistent about doing the whole job yourself, you will also
>> want to buy or fabricate a setter for the starfangled nut. From
>> personal experience, unless you have installed a few of those, I'd say
>> you're better off having someone else do it. This is a job that looks
>> incredibly easy...and isn't, unless you have the right tool.
>
> Good thing I didn't know that when I did it. ;-) I whacked it in and
> managed to do a perfectly adequate job with my improvised method. I did
> pick up the *correct* tool for the next time I have to do it.
>
> [1] Not being a smart-****, I'm truly curious.
>

I don't see why a steerer tube even has to particularly square. I've set
a bunch of star nuts with a long bolt and hammer, didn't seem too tricky.

 

[Dane Buson]

Peter Cole <[email protected]> wrote:
> Dane Buson wrote:
>> Werehatrack <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> If you are really insistent about doing the whole job yourself, you
>>> will also want to buy or fabricate a setter for the starfangled nut.
>>> From personal experience, unless you have installed a few of those,
>>> I'd say you're better off having someone else do it. This is a job
>>> that looks incredibly easy...and isn't, unless you have the right
>>> tool.
>>
>> Good thing I didn't know that when I did it. ;-) I whacked it in
>> and managed to do a perfectly adequate job with my improvised method.
>> I did pick up the *correct* tool for the next time I have to do it.
>
> I don't see why a steerer tube even has to particularly square. I've
> set a bunch of star nuts with a long bolt and hammer, didn't seem too
> tricky.

That was my solution as well. Not really elegant, but I needed to ride
into work the next day, and my only bike looked like this:

http://members.arstechnica.com/x/zuvembi/surly_parted.jpg

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
XML is like violence -- if its not solving your problem, use more.