Bicycle Mechanics - Crashed Nishiki -- need front fork

I have a Nishiki Sport late 70's early 80's w/ 27 inch wheels. Had a crash at speed and now the front fork is bent. Is there a place to get replacement parts, or do I have to buy a parts bike, or just sell this one for parts? Bryon

Additional: This bike rides on 27" tires; aside from that, I hav'nt done any other measurements. When I was at the store in our little town, I believe some kids loosened the kwick-release tabs on the front wheel for fun, and on the way back home, going around a corner, the front wheel came off. As I rolled onto the ground, the bike came up on top of me. ( SAVE THE BIKE AT ALL COST !! ) Both legs of the fork are bent, one bad, one not so bad. The Nishiki badge on the front has one side knocked loose, and one side of the pedals and crank are bent oh-so-slightly. The front wheel will need 3 spokes replaced. I am 6'3" 250lbs and going 12-15 mph, so damage could have been a lot worse than it was. Everything can be fixed or replaced easily except the fork. Been looking for about 2 years. Took it to an auto body shop to see if they could straighten it; they were reluctant and thought the worst-bent side would stress fracture at the top. They also said they had no idea how far to bend it back to make it straight / stock. This bike is ( was ) very speedy, and like an old friend; I would very much like to revive it. It gets a lot of comments. Thanks to all for your collective input -- Bryon

The local bike shop has a bunch of kids working there, and none of them look like they are old enough to need to shave. Several of them looked at my fork and it was their collective opinion that it was 'fried'. They brought me a fork they thought would fit, but when I held it up to the bent fork, the legs were too short and the threaded neck was also too short.

You should be able to just go with any generic 1" threaded road fork. Your calipers *should* have enough upward adjust to make it work (I think you need ~4mm).

Any bike shop should either have in stock or be able to get a replacement fork. It will be chrome, not painted, so it'll look replaced, but the bike will be rideable. If you want to buy one online, here's one: http://www.bikepartsusa.com/bikeparts/item/01-103983

If the bike was crashed at speed, is the frame OK? It might be intact, but it could have been bent also. The usual places to look are on the top and bottom tubes, just behind the headtube.

What is the frame size of the bike? Should be fairly easy to find a similar bike at a thrift store to get another fork.

When I crashed my Nishiki, I bent the fork, buckled the downtube and stretched the top tube enough that the paint came off. At the time it was my only bike and I rode it for another 6 months with the bent frame. To straighten the fork, I took the wheels off the bike, then braced the front fork against the rungs of an aluminum paint ladder and pulled on the back end of the bicycle frame until the front fork was straight. (By leaving the fork attached to the frame you get all kinds of leverage which helps you do a very controlled bend.)

It was hard to tell it was ever bent and like I said I rode it for another 6 months before getting another bike.

I have a Nishiki Sport late 70's early 80's w/ 27 inch wheels. Had a crash at speed and now the front fork is bent. Is there a place to get replacement parts, or do I have to buy a parts bike, or just sell this one for parts? Bryon

Find a bike builder and have him straighten the fork with the correct alignment tools. They can cold set the fork so it is a good as new or can "feel" when the correction is too much and will tell you if it is a tosser. You could send the fork to a steel frame builder and they still exist. Try Bilenky in the Phila area.

A bike builder will charge more than the bike is worth.