Originally Posted by
Andrew R Stewart
In photo 1 is the shinny surface of the steerer, just behind where the broken off shoulder would have been, a worn spot? The reflections that this worn area seems to show are curved, suggesting that either the surface it is reflecting is curved or that the steerer is curved.
I ask because I have seen more then a few forks with a groove or valley worn into the steerer, usually from the headset cup's skirt end (we see this in rear hub axles more frequently too). Placing a straight edge along the steerer's surface and seeing if there's any gaps between them is a quick and easy test.
If the steerer has been worn to the amount of a reduction of wall thickness/diameter right where it sees the greatest stress, and when there's no back up system, is not a smart choice. Andy (who knows that every other tube in a bike frame is connected at both ends but the steerer isn't)
No curvature there. I used buffing wheel on dremel to clean it up and resulted in shiny surface that looks curved in the picture. The straight edge against steerer tube shows no light coming through.
I appreciate everyone for contributing to this thread. I am glad that I asked about this. I also have another aluminum bike from this era, Trek 1200 (1989) which came with a cro-mo fork - this makes sense now. I will look for a replacement fork and update. It would be hard to replicate the aesthetic of the original fork, though.