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Kids Huffy bike fork issue

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Kids Huffy bike fork issue

Old 05-01-22, 03:24 PM
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jplee3
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Kids Huffy bike fork issue

Hey all
just got our daughter a 16" huffy bike and am trying to get the front wheel into the fork. Problem is that the fork is compressed so theres no way its just going to drop onto the wheel axle/bolt. Is there a quick fix to spread the bars easily?

Last edited by jplee3; 05-01-22 at 10:05 PM.
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Old 05-06-22, 08:19 AM
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brianinc-ville
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Spreading a fork is a somewhat dicey operation -- you really, really don't want that thing to fail while your kid is riding it. If the bike is aluminum, don't try it. If it's steel, you can do it very carefully; some bike shops will have a jig for that purpose, but here's a more accessible way to do it, from HillRider in a 17-year-old thread:

"A slightly more elegant way then the 2x4 is to get a piece of 3/8" all-thread rod, two washers and two nuts. Thread the nuts onto the rod, put the washers on the outside of the nuts and adjust the distance between them until the washers will just fit inside the fork dropouts. Back out one of the nuts slowly to spread the fork blades. Stop often and check your progress. Continue until the new hub will just fit. This gives you the best chance of spreading the blades symetrically."
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Old 05-06-22, 11:44 AM
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Trakhak
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If the fork is visibly bent - i.e., damaged - and you bought the bike new, return it to the store for a new one.

If the fork blades seem to be only around a centimeter too close together, look closely at the fork ends and the wheel axle. To ensure that the wheel will stay in place in the fork even if the axle nuts come loose, some fork end/axle combinations are designed to require the ends to be spread apart a small amount before the exle nuts can fit into corresponding cutouts or depressions in the fork ends.
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