Getting the runaround from shops?
I've been to three different shops that didn't seem interested in working on my bike.
It's an 80s Schwinn Super Le Tour. Was riding great til I got hit by a car. (I am okay!) The car contacted the handlebars and probably the front wheel which got tacoed.
After replacing the wheel the bike handles funny. If you let go, it wants to turn left and dump you over to the right. So it requires constant corrections.
I suspect it needs a fork. (surely the stem and bars don't influence how it behaves with no hands?) The steerer tube is tilted a bit left off the center line of the fork crown and tines.
Is there a reason mechanics don't want to touch this?
My guess is that it's not falsifiable: you can tell if a wheel is true or if a derailer can hold a gear or if a tire holds air. But "bike handles funny" -- who can say if it's fixed? So maybe they're nervous that I won't be satisfied with any repair.
Or are all the shops as busy as they say ("service is booked months out")?
Why not fix it myself. Maybe I could. I'm no mechanic. My first fear is it's not the fork. My second fear is I'll try to buy a fork online and it won't fit on some dimension.
Maybe I could ask a shop for an upgraded fork, instead of phrasing it as a repair for a mystery ailment? At least that makes the job bounded and safer for them to accept.