roseskunk

so i find this international, the guy says it's mint, hardly ever ridden, etc. so i bite, pay too much for it- i'm not gonna say how much, it's embarrassing... i take it to the lbs as it needs clinchers and i'm putting new bars on it for a better fit. the guys take a look at the front fork, and whoa, something is wrong... after a few weeks at the shop they're stumped, they said that it looks as though one side is 5mm longer than the other...it's off to the frame builder to see what he says... if he can repair it, fine, but if not? what do i do... are there old forks out there that would be a match? i'd hate like hell to put a different fork on it, the whole reason for buying it was to keep it fairly original... what would be a decent replacement?

the good news is that the lbs guy said that it looked as though it had hardly been ridden- probably 'cuz the fork is screwed... and that once it's set up it will be a sweet ride. ah, damn. i could have bought a much newer bike and had less heartache...

yellowjeep

That is very strange do you have any pictures? Of the bike as a whole or the fork?

stringbreaker

Look at it this way when you get it back you will have a really great vintage ride thats gonna be the envy of a lot of folks and you don't have to tell them how much you paid just that its a sweet ride.

luker

sure. I see Raleigh forks go on eBay off and on. The range of Raleigh forks is wide, though. What year?

btw, a near-new International is worth 4-500 dollars all day long. And a new fork is probably gonna be in the 50-60 dollar range, if you can find one in the correct color. You probably didn't get screwed too bad...

roseskunk

thanks guys. i don't have pics of it yet and it's at the shop right now, in pieces. i'll let you know the outcome and if i need to track down another fork.

Dr.Deltron

Find another frame builder!

I have Paul of Rock Lobster Cycles on my speeddial for just such a scenario.
(831) 429-8010 in Santa Cruz, California, U.S.A.
If he can't fix the original, he can make you a new one that looks just like the original!
After which, he sends it to me to match the paint.

(a recent Professional I painted, in case you missed that thread...)

stronglight

Excuse my cynicism, but I'm a bit suspicious about the competence of the bike shop guys. If it's been in their hands for any time at all and they can't tell you specifically what is wrong, whether the fork is perhaps not aligned laterally or if one blade is curved differently than the other, or whatever, ... I wonder if they actually gauged it in any way or if they simply eyeballed it and scratched their empty noggins and just shrugged their lazy shoulders.

The wheel was already on the bike, so what's the deal? They should have showed you exactly what was going on... and with the tools they were using to examine it. ~ Sorry, but I've worked on bikes too long and encountered too many idiot bike mechanics to trust anyone. There is only one mechanic in one local shop who I would ever trust with any of my bikes... and I would still do a more careful job than he could reasonably take shop time for.

So, don't despair yet... It might be something very minor... or nothing at all.

yellowjeep

^^^ thats why i was thinking it was so odd.

roseskunk

hi guys- okay, here's the deal. the word is that the fork is f**ked. i haven't back to the shop, but the guys sent it to a frame builder and that's the diagnosis. i don't know the frame builder, but i do trust the bike shop- trinity in dallas. they're good and now their stuff. so my first optio is to find another old international fork, but if i can't and i'm also not sure that i want to have a new one fabricated and painted- 'cuz then i'd want to repaint the entire bike and then we're off and running... what would be a decent replacement for the raleigh fork? this really bums me out, i wasn't going to have everything original on the bike anyway, but i do like the looks of the international fork... and then there's the extra $$$... what to do? thanks guys!

Otis

Excuse me but as Stronglight previously implied there has to be something more (or less) going on here. Can they give any more details beyond "it's f**ked"? A steel fork can usually be aligned with ease. And to get one on a Raleigh that is out of alignment would be very typical. I don't think I've ever had a 70's Raleigh frame or fork that was even close to aligned properly from the factory.

Unless it's cracked or the steerer is bent from a front end collision (which should have been obvious) I can't see why it could not be fixed? I'm curious to hear some real details.

roseskunk

hi otis- obviously i'm curious as well. i just got the cryptic email that i passed along. once i get to the shop- it's a good drive from me, i'll know more. and i'll ask for suggestions as to where to send it. rock lobster might be a good first choice... thanks dr.d!

bigbossman 

Maybe get a nice chrome fork and skip the paint-to-match step?

cudak888 

I've seen Raleigh forks before with oddities like this. See if there's enough material on the longer blade's dropout to file the dropout slot about 2mm deeper, then check to see if that makes any difference. Go slowly, for that 5mm out of adjustment may be less then anticipated. Enough filing will bring the wheel into place.

And if you don't want to do any of this, I'm an interested buyer if it is a 23"

Take care,

-Kurt

roseskunk

thanks kurt- i'll look into filing. and if i end up with that atlantis, i may need to sell the raleigh... i'll keep you posted!

it is a 23"!

spider-man

I think you need a second opinion from a competent shop. I've seen some badly bodged forks realigned safely.

repechage

Raleigh is not known for perfect workmanship, even with that in mind, if it is bent, it probably happened after delivery, some poor guy had to assemble it originally, way back when Raleigh goofed, we fixed it or got a warranty replacement.

You need a eyes on description of the problem, in a fork jig is best, I have had to massage a number of NOS forks that were off from day one, steel is quite tolerant of repair, the chrome might not. fork alignment is a dying art, you need a guy with grey hair, carbon or aluminum forks are a no go to straighten, the guys working on mod stuff just cannot relate to malleable material.

My assumption on frames way back was, I do not care if it is a Gios or a DeRosa, I am going to check the alignment before I wast my time building it up. I've boxed up both to return for alignment issues, the claim was always the same, "that can't be" then later, what other color do you want?

cudak888 

Incedentally, I forgot to mention a tale of a badly-manufactured Raleigh fork - it isn't a Nottingham piece though, rather, it is on my '84 Taiwanese-made Raleigh USA Alyeska.

Like your International, one of the blades was brazed in too long, but worse then that, the canti posts were brazed about 2/3mm offset on their Y-axis, while the blade and fork crown themselves are not strictly aligned right either.

The whole mess made the front wheel sit horridly offset, rubbing against one of the fork blades. Now, if both blades of the fork were bent in the direction of the wheel's lean, the canti posts and wheel would end up centered...except for the fact that the whole fork would be offset by about 1/4 inch from center.

Ultimately, I pulled the blades back to their center position, and ground the offending longer dropout. Took care of the wheel alignment issue. I can't do anything about the cantilever posts, but with judicious adjustment of the Mafac-style pad holders, they both contact the rim reasonably evenly. Nobody would notice unless you pointed it out.

Take care,

-Kurt

roseskunk

man, you know i thought i'd get an international because they're a decent bike. guess i was wrong. tell me at least that it'll be a decent ride once i throw more money at it... i think i should just stick with three-speeds...

redneckwes

I would not worry so much, once you get it back, take some pictures. Then we can help you figure out whats wrong, and fix the problem, or find a fork. I'd go with Chrome too.

luker

what year model is this International?

Rick@OCRR

If you're serious about that 3-Speed comment, then be sure to go here:

https://www.3speedtour.com/

Rick / OCRR
1957 Hercules S/A 3-Speed

evwxxx

Internationals are about the smoothest-riding bikes I have encountered!

cudak888 

What wheelset do you have on yours? IMHO, the wheelset and front fork generally have more contribution, percentage-wise, to ride smoothness then the frame.

-Kurt

markwebb

$400-$500 ????

I'll buy all the like-new vintage Internationals my AMEX can stand for $500.

Try close to $1,000 for a vintage all original like-new sample.

repechage

Depending on size, a time capsule or well cared for example on auction that ended beyond $1,000. would not surprise me.