Wildwood 

I purchased a Pinarello fork - mid-late '80s.
Which the seller says has slight noise coming from the fork legs when you turn it upside down and or shake it to rattle.
Cosmetically shows no rust on exterior, but has faded paint with usual chips.
Sorry no pics with me, but I think I saw rifling in steerer, so maybe SLX.

The question (stated with my obvious bias) -
How could this fork not be compromised if there is rattling inside a fork leg? Not sure if both.
Even minor noise that never occurs (or is inaudible) when fork is oriented in riding position.


Package has not arrived, so no hands on inspection.
Will follow-up with pics on arrival, hopefully just a few days.
Low, low purchase price makes it a 'value-trial', with huge upside if usable on a low mileage rider, but not sunny Sunday sissy rides for this 185# guy.

Thanks for any ideas or reasoned possibilities.

oldbobcat

If the exterior looks OK, there's nothing inside those blades that could give you trouble. The main point of fork failure is where the steerer is brazed to the crown. This might be sand or a bit of surface rust that got loose. If it would give you some piece of mind, spray a shot of Frame saver into the vent holes.

drlogik 

It could be that after all these years some flash or metal bits from the original brazing could have sloughed off inside the fork blades. If there are no signs of rust, splitting, cracks, stress marks, crash marks, etc, it's probably safe to ride but I'd take it to a reputable bike shop that works on high-end bikes to get another opinion.

I have a mid 1980's Pinarello Montello that I still ride frequently. They are tough bikes.

Andrew R Stewart 

Not mentioned but assumed is the fork material, steel? Most likely a bit of flux of filler that finally came loose. Agree that if all looks good learn to live with it or try injecting some tubular tire rim glue into the vent holes to trap the loose bit. Andy

drlogik 

I'm going to dissent here and say it might not be a good idea to inject anything into the vent hole. That fork is 30+ years old and potentially still going strong. Why change the dynamics of the fork. If anything, I'd roll the fork around upside down and see if you can get the object(s) to roll past the vent hole. Maybe it will fall out or maybe you can see what it is.

Charliekeet

Yes, I’d think one could get it to fall out. But then, it’ll probably be harder than, say, getting a guitar pick out of a guitar (which is what this reminded me of)

JohnDThompson 

I agree with Andrew that it's likely to just be some spurious debris like flux causing the noise. Rather than tubular tire glue, I'd squirt a little grease into the vent and let that trap whatever is causing the noise.

JohnDThompson 

It's probably worth a try to get the object out through the vent, but there's a good possibility whatever it is may be too large to fit through the vent.

Injecting something to trap the object (Andrew suggests tubular tire cement; I'd use grease) isn't going to change the "dynamics of the fork" at all.

drlogik 

I beg to differ. Maybe we agree to disagree but injecting anything into the fork could cause other problems down the road that are unforeseen. Glue and grease can break down, attract more dirt, prevent moisture from escaping out of the vent hole, etc. That's what I mean by changing the dynamics. No, it won't change how the work rides if that's what you thought I meant.

If it were my Pinarello, and I do have an old Montello with a full C-Record group with Delta brakes, I wouldn't do anything to the fork.

HillRider

I agree on avoiding glue or grease but Frame Saver or Amsoil HDMP (exactly the same thing but cheaper) are excellent rust and corrosion preventatives that spray in as a thin liquid and dry to a waxy film. They will protect the interior and most likely silence the loose fragment that's rattling around.

Wildwood 

Thanks to all.
The answers I was looking for!

The bike story is this - as best I can tell from internet research.
1984 Pinarello Record Special, and has replacement fork, original could have been all chrome or just sox with paint.
Columbus SL, chrome rear stays, external cable route, chainstay bridge
painted in the Olympic Champ colors after 1st USA champ in road race '84 = A. Grewal
the 'official' version in same colorway shows in GitaUSA catalog as 1985 = the Montello with SLX, no stay bridge, internal routing, etc.
Therefore, it is assumed, this is an early version painted soon after the Olympics.
Or ........it could be an unsold leftover '84 Record Special frameset they repainted in '85/86 to sell faster?!? i'll never know and that's OK.

With these decals - no doubt that it is not a fake.

Has replacement Tange chrome fork that has characteristics of a track fork. Rides straight but extremely short front center makes it twitchy.

The replacement fork is authentic, era appropriate and - it is hoped - will offer greater offset for a longer front-center, resulting in a slightly less responsive front steering. More downhill stability than Mr. Twitchy, . One reason the bike has some attraction for me is that I was at the LA 84 Olympics. Not the cycling event won by Alexi, unfortunately.


As received

'85 Catalog
Will update the thread with a pic when the replacement Pinarello fork for the replacement Tange fork arrives.

drlogik 

Beautiful bike! Yeah the decals on mine were nearly gone also and I replaced them but did a bad job. Oh well, it's still a rider not a Shop Queen.

Funny that you called your bike Mr. Twitchy. Mine is his twin brother. Twitchy is being generous. If one isn't focused 100% of the time this bike will dump you quickly. It's made me a better more focused rider.


--

Andrew R Stewart 

OK, my sew up glue was a bit off, nearly a joke. The only place I've used it in a frame was the top tube to quiet some bit. But the vent holes into the ST and HT were on that bike larger then the typical stay/blade ones. Now I have used an industrial spray glue (came with a nozzle tube like WD40) to trap a carbon fork's loose bit. It did take a lot of glue to first capture then secure the bit (which I assumed was a stray bonding agent piece). Andy

gkamieneski

Quite a few of us are in that Pinarello decal club. Next to that, are the paint chips. Mine is a GaviaTSX in midnight with the white panels and nonexistent decals.

Wildwood 

bump for update w/ pics.
Inspected the fork, no rust or any deterioration on the outside. Here are the 2 vent holes exhibiting rust stains. The ‘rattling’ from inside the leg(s) is so slight that I would never have discovered it.

i have linseed oil to inject in a small amount. Maybe something else instead. Will re-read all suggestions. Not worried about ‘rattle’ at all. No glue to be squirted inside. Thinking 705gms is CroMo. What I thought was rifling was not. But let me get better pics to show visual confusion.


Pinarello dropouts, what year did that start?..- have to check models from mid-late '80s and the specs.
Hard (for me) to measure difference in fork offset between 42 or 43 or 44. Will be comparing front center measurements between installed forks.

Andrew R Stewart 

That will be a steel fork, a magnetic will confirm. Andy

CyclingFool95 

My early 80s Record fork also has something rattling inside one leg. I've been ignoring it. Whatever it is won't be coming out through the vent hole, and as was mentioned above, I wouldn't want to seal it up. I do spray D-40 into all the vent holes from time to time. Been doing that on my 87 Montello since I bought it in 92 - certainly hasn't done it any harm, and maybe is saving the steel.

My Record came to me painted in peeling rattle can black. It's now stripped down to the chrome. From the overspray of the original paint inside the tubes, you can see it was originally in the Alexi Grewal special fade.

Funny you describe it as twitchy. I've always found the Montello to handle like it's on rails but also be very stable. I haven't really ridden the Record - it's been a project for a year and a half now.

Reynolds 

Very nice bike OP! Love the spumoni paint scheme.

Geepig

Ah, parting out can be sad, but sometimes it is the only thing to do - but at least you have something better to hang on your wall than anything I have

Wildwood 

There was never any question about this transaction. @hazetguy was 100% upfront about everything.
fork was in better shape than he described, and pics showed..
a perfect fit to the frame with a perfect fork.
Logo on sloping crown and era appropriate.
Packed and shipped with exquisite care.
A rare offer from @hazetguy and a truly lucky opportunity from my perspective.
Clearly made my day in every possible way.
BF people - especially the more regular contributors -almost always deliver more than promised. That's my experience anyway. Especially has been true lately for me it seems.

not yet cleaned, paint still has good pearlesessence.




Fork replacement project on the Record will get in the queue. Pinarello is a road ready & tuned bike today. As it rolls today. Ugly padded blue bar tape will be replaced with fork and maybe more Italian vintage group.

Look at the tight front center, with a Tange replacement fork. Hence, replace w/ Pini fork.



In the waiting period I will inject evaporust, or something into the fork legs.
Some research of the above suggestions is in order. But no glue or grease.

edit: Maybe a small amount of evaporust inserted each vent hole, using a syringe to measure amount, then turning the fork every hour or so while sitting in the sun
Thanks to all.

sweeks

Shakespeare: "Parting is such sweet sorrow."

xiaoman1 

Wildwood,
Really nice looking bike with matching shoes no less and the ever "not" present PINA decals.
Best, Ben

ManekiNico

Maybe Pinarello just made them that way. My Treviso came with a rattle in the left/NDS fork leg pre-installed. After 35 years, I’ve accepted that it’s a feature, not a bug.