Originally Posted by
Kimmo
That steerer's a mess!
It kinda looks like a ball or two has dropped out of the race and got caught...
You know, a couple of balls getting stuck there is the only plausible explanation for how a nice intent like that could have been formed right around the steerer tube, directly below the top adjustable cup. That makes more sense than my "drawn like a wire" explanation - although I suspect the drawn-like-a-wire stuff happened as well, but only
after the groove was already worn in there.
Originally Posted by
Kimmo
And I can't imagine how that bend could be in the direction it is by any other cause than a very hard landing... and the upper bend in the steerer kind of points to hard landings... I bet the crappy old stem is bent too, right?
I have no idea on the lower bend. The paint is cracked on the backside of the steerer tube at the point where the tube is bent forward (1/4 of the way above the crown), so the bend ain't original.
As for the upper bend, I suspect that happened because of asymmetrical forces (normal to the area) and the bending happened
after the groove had already been worn-in by the hypothesized stray ball bearings.
The stem isn't bent - it was a bit of work getting it out of the steerer tube, but that's only b/c I had to pull it past the indented section.
Originally Posted by
Grand Bois
You'll have to modify the Mafac hanger with a file to work with a standard slotted fork. It's no big deal.
Yes, you can keep the old cups when you replace the headset, but why would you want to?
By the looks of the fork crown, it's not a high end Mercier, but it may be worth more than you think. Some of us are crazy about French bikes.
I was just planning to use a hanger designed for whatever style is the replacement fork (likely slotted). I'm also planning to replace the headset cups, it's just nice to know that they're a normal size (30.2mm) to press into the head tube.
So is there a market where someone would be willing to pay for the main frame? It's in good shape other than some surface rust, and I've always been impressed by how light the bike is (for an old-road-bike-commuter, retrofitted with flat bars).