mitchiefulfer

Sooo i recently had an accident where my wald basket quick release attachment became unscrewed off and went into the spokes of my front wheel, causing the tire to lock and causing me to flip over my handlebars.. the resulting in a bent fork and a minor bend in one of the spokes.

I don't really know where to go from here.. i want to save it somehow.. because it is in great shape for an 80s bike (also tall frame which i need). do i buy a new fork or try to bend it back?

Anything is helpful.. thank you

52telecaster

Pics are needed but mainly it's good you are ok.

mitchiefulfer

new here and it wont let me post picture haha

52telecaster

Look around the forum and ask a few questions. You'll get ten posts soon.

thook

i think you can put pictures in your album and link to that somehow. or get another forum member to run a pic assist. i don't know to do it myself, but i'll see if i can draw some attention here

machinist42 ????

oh, also...it just depends on the extent of damage. i did a bone brained move years ago and went through an older bank drive through that had real low clearance. had my bike on the roof rack and caught the saddle on the eve. fortunately, i was going pretty slow, but it did bend the fork backwards. it fixed just fine, though. so, just sayin'....maybe yours can be fixed

machinist42

OP's Album.

52telecaster

That's brutal. So glad you survived!

Hondo6

Same sentiment here. Metal (and carbon) can be replaced or repaired; flesh and bone sometimes are never the same afterwards.

No expert on frame/fork repair here - but that fork looks pretty badly bent backwards. Might be best to replace it. At the very least, I'd have it looked over by a pro before repair/replace decision.

Same for the headset and head tube - those took some significant sudden stress as well. Might be a good idea to have those checked also.

Ditto the wheel - the sudden stresses could have cracked a flange or the rim. I'd guess not, but I really don't think you want to find out the hard way the front rim is cracked.

Again: good you're (apparently) OK. Hopefully it's economically feasible to repair the bike.

bark_eater 

Also not an expert witness, but it seems like most folks want to have there forks straightened to avoid replacement with chrome or mismatched paint. Looking at this fork I would think that even if you got someone with the skill to straighten it out to make it safe again, there's a good chance you going to loose some paint and need to re-paint the fork anyway. Again speculating, that's probably going to put the fork repair budget well over $100 without considering any additional damage to the wheels, frame or headset. Once you commit on your "how much you love the bike" budget there are a lot of options.

SJX426 

@mitchiefulfer - It may be a candidate for bending it back. My concern is the new bend is fairly concentrated. Ask @gugie. Don't know where you are located, but he can give advise and service. @Doug Fattic will be able to give really good advice too. He probably cringes at the following pictures!
I bent this one back
WP_20150430_008 on Flickr

P1020998 on Flickr

The key is the steerer tube. If it is bent then the cost of replacing the steerer and bending the fork may not have the ROI you can accept. The other part about bending it back is to ensure you get back to the right off set and the forks are aligned as well as the drop outs.
Mine was straight.
P1020996 on Flickr
P1030002 on Flickr
P1030007 on Flickr
Alignment jig.
Fork Jig 2 wfork on Flickr

It worked for me. Hands free riding
P1040475 on Flickr

Cibi42

wow, that's a brutal bend! glad you're ok.
You should also check the down tube and top tube for any consequences, check there's not paint chips or small bump that would indicate a bend in the tube

shoota 

wow that's a bad one, not sure I'd trust a fork that bent. What size is your bike?

WGB 

mitchiefulfer Would help to include where you are located.

You might be near a co-op with a great selection of forks. Also, you might be near a frame builder who could assess the damage and give you an honest assessment. Perhaps you can ask the moderators to move this to the frame builders thread?
There are specific tools that work quite well, assuming that the damage is repairable to begin with.....

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Econops

That's a really extreme bend, glad you seem to be ok. I'm not an expert, but I would be surprised if that could be bent back. It's certainly the worst bend I've seen! Definitely a good idea to check the frame for damage too.

francophile 

All I can say is, count your blessings. An accident like that could've left you with a hospital bill easily many times over the cost of the bike if you're in the US, where healthcare is what it is.

The fork can technically be straightened, with the right tools. I have the right tools but my confidence in that fork after would be a bit low. You should replace the spoke on the front wheel also, especially if it was knicked, not a difficult process given it's the front wheel, and easy to remove/measure/pick up a replacement spoke, thread, tighten, true.

It appears the fork took the brunt of the damage here, whereas with a front-ender, impact would've distributed into the top tube and downtube by way of the head tube. Still, I would carefully check your head tube, both head lugs, make sure you don't see any bulges or downturn ("off" angles or angle discrepancy) on either the top tube or down tube within 2-3" of the head tube. Inspect closely for cracks in the lugs.

Three options: Repair, replace used, replace new..

On the first, maybe find someone local that works with frames and has the necessary tools to straighten the fork out. Or maybe someone like a @gugie would be willing to help if you pay shipping to/fro and promise not to hold him liable for future failure, because that's always a risk with a repair like this. But ideally, you'd want to replace the fork with something appropriate, either from a comparable model, or an aftermarket one, Pyramid made (and I believe still makes) replacement forks, though most are chrome and a tad heavy.

You could also consider having a framebuilder make you a suitable replacement, or shopping eBay for a used replacement, or posting a WTT/WTB ad here in the ISO or sales forum hunting a fork with XX steerer length.. It'd be a shame for such a gorgeous vintage steel bike go to waste over a rack! But I appreciate you posting this, if for no other reason than showing how important it is to use nylon-locking hardware or blue threadlock on things that can come loose.

I've bought a handful of bikes from people who've had front racks come loose like this, sending them over the handlebars. Last one I bought was a Peugeot mixte, and the owner didn't fare so well - she was just getting back to walking after the wreck left her with a fractured pelvis. Needless to say, I don't put anything on the front of my bike these days if such a risk exists.

52telecaster

I have an old Bridgestone 400 in a smaller size and while it's a nice frame set other then for sentimental reasons I couldn't see putting a ton of money in it. The size of your frame is really what makes it special but straight guage chromolly frames are not uncommon on the used marketplace. Later Schwinn world sports would fit the bill. 86,87,88,89 I think we're all chromolly triangles and often available in large sizes.

tricky 

I am not a framebuilder, just another some random bike nerd on the internet, but my instinct is to not trust that fork. I don't take chances with the front end of the bike. That said, if Doug F, Gugie, or another trustworthy framebuilder say it's ok then I defer to them.

Like everyone else here, I am curious on the condition of the top and down tubes right behind the head lug. Any paint cracking, bends (hard to tell without a straight on side view), etc indicate that the frame is also damaged. If the frame is still in good shape, I would go with a replacement fork. Here are a few options: Universal Cycles -- Dimension 700c Road Forks [8127FD1-170, 8127FD1-200, 8127FD1-230, 8127FD1-300, 8227FD1-300]

Also, that Nitto Technomic stem is super high. Does this bike fit you? Another factor to consider when deciding on how much time, money, and effort to invest in this bike.