queenmildew

hi all --

I crashed my Bridgestone on a trail in May this year & initially thought it to be (luckily) entirely undamaged. however over the last few months, an issue has come to my attention with the steering & balance of the bike. The best I can explain it is that when the bars are centered/inline with the wheel, the bike feels unbalanced and has a tendency to lurch to the left, especially when turning at tighter angles or riding out of the saddle. initially i thought that the stem or handlebar must have been bent, but after replacing both parts I have found that the issue persists. For whatever reason, the bike steers the best when her bars are tilted about 5-7 degrees to the right of the front wheel!

So far I have replaced the stem, put on a new pair of drop bars, loosened the headset, TIGHTENED the headset, all to no avail. The wheel is centered in the fork and I am certain that it is seated in the dropouts. I have a short commute of 4mi round trip & refuse to pay for parking @ work, so I have just been toughing it out so far, but it's killing my drive to go on recreational rides with a bike that feels unstable and unpredictable. I am a decently experienced home mechanic, but have never encountered something like this before and don't understand how the bike could not steer straight even when the bars are in perfect alignment. I'm working on a frame-up build for another bike right now for other reasons, but I have room for only one and will need to diagnose/fix this issue before putting it up on Craigslist.

My suspects so far: a bent fork/steerer or crushed/worn ball bearings (original 1" headset, unsealed). Any ideas? Similar experiences?