Hello all, I recently got a new (Old) bike from a friend. I just got it a tune up and when they were finished with the tune up they told me my front fork was broken, the piece completely was snapped off causing the front brakes not to hit right. The shop took off the whole front brake, and told me that I can do 2 different options through them.

Option 1: They order a $88 BLACK fork and after labor it would be around $120

Option 2: They order a $42 CHROME fork and after labor it would be around $80

Do you guys think I should go ahead and take my bike into the shop and let them fix it? Or should I try to do it myself with a fork I buy online... The details for the fork as he gave me.....

Threaded 1 1/8 Cantilever Brake, 250mm Steerer

Maybe you smart bike guys/gals on this site can help me figure this one out so I can get my front brake back! Thank you guys in advance.

Unless you're very mechanically inclined I'd have the shop replace whichever fork you choose. Working with headsets without the right tools and no experience would be difficult, imo.

Before spending any money, try putting a wrench onto the flats of the good canty stud and see if you can unscrew it. If you can, compare it to the bad side to figure out what you have to do. There's a good chance that all you really have to buy is a new canty stud. Try Niagara Bicycle. You might have to use an EZ-out to get the broken part out.

Is one of those two forks chromoly, while the other is (cheaper) hi-tensile steel? Is that the difference in price? Go with chromoly if that's the difference. Those sound like fair prices.

Either way, I'd let the shop do it. That 250mm head tube is going to need to be cut, and the crown race removed and reinstalled. They have the tools and experience. Some people will tell you (correctly) that you could try it yourself but I don't think this is a very good beginners project.

Those studs are brazed in, as is true for most steel frames. The ones that screw in are usually on aluminum frames. Plus there are no flats on the post, as seen in the first picture.

New fork is the way to go.

Personally, I would drill out the remains of the stud to a diameter so that it can be tapped (threaded) for a purchased brake stud, then tap it. Not difficult to do with a drill press, a good drill press vice, the appropriate size drills and a tap.

Good idea but beyond the scope of many enthusiasts' skills, and paying for that work will likely exceed the cost of the fork replacement. Is there some kind of "Problem Solvers" product out there that would work in this case? That company produced many little niche items to address similar problems. Shame, because the fork itself seems fine otherwise.

It's a shock sometimes when a new cyclist encounters a problem like this that seems like it should have a cheap and easy solution but the vicissitudes of the market and its products, the basic hardware and mechanics involved, and cost/benefit analyses radically influence the outcome as they do.

*edit after further thought*

How deep are the threads remaining in that cantilever boss? Can it be drilled and threaded further than it already is? I can see a way in which the existing broken-off boss might continue to be used if you could get a longer bolt in there to hold everything together, but this is the sort of thing I would do on my own bike and not necessarily a solution I would suggest a shop sell a customer. New fork would be safest. Also that is a Cro-Mo fork according to the sticker visible in the photo, so the OP should be aware that the replacement might not be as nice, or the shop could be selling him an even better one. Good luck!

Instead of replacing the fork they could always hang a sidepull or centerpull front brake on it from the hole in the crown, bypassing the need for cantis entirely.

Problem Solvers

It's looking like the bike shop is the way to go from the responses so far. My only concern is that I would probably go for the chrome fork because it is a little cheaper.

Edit -

I will check other bike shops in the area on estimates as well... However, I think it would be a rather large project for me at the moment.

Look at this:

Problem Solvers

there's a PDF on that page with the instructions. I think that would take me 25 minutes to fix.

If you do decide to buy the fork just go with the cheaper one then, if price is important. I doubt you would notice the difference if one is cromo and the other hi ten steel. Both forks will work fine should last the life of the bike.

As long as there are enough thread engagement (insert preferred number here) there might not even be any added risk to it. Assuming a brake arm that turns on a bushing - not on the boss - there's no extra risk at all if torque preload is big enough to blanket out any bending of the screw.

You were fortunate to get the bike for free. Then you put $140 into it and now another $80 for the fork (if you go with the cheaper one). Assuming the rest of the bike is now in good shape, you've got one helluva ride for only $220. Like others said over on the other forum, a Trek 730 is a very fine bicycle and WAY beyond anything you could get for that price in a store today. You lucked out big time and will love that bike.

I still say go with a chromoly fork if you can afford it. The original is.

If the thing is really just a stud screwed into the canti boss, get a left handed drill slightly undersized and see if the stud "screws out" when you use the drill. If so, then just replace the stud. But I suspect the LBS has already checked that.

If the thing is brazed, I'm with Nigel - I'd try to drill out the stud, chase the threads (or cut new ones) with a tap, and screw a new one in. If the stud itself is brazed in, one could rebraze it if you wanted, too.

But that's me. I'm a trained engineer (BS, MS, PhD, and PE) and grew up working in a machine shop and a bike shop. If you don't have the expertise and equipment to do this properly (I think the workholding setup for drilling the hole in the fork true would be pretty challenging), you'd want someone else to do it. And that would likely cost more than a new fork. Because remember: in addition to the machine work you'd want to repaint the canti boss area after re-brazing, too. Last, a shop that would do this might be rare, as the warranty and liability risk would be high.

I'm assuming both the black, painted fork and the chrome one are equivalent chrome-moly steel. So if the aesthetics are worth it, pay the extra 40 bucks to get a black fork. Or, if you like chrome ok, go for it and save the money. But either way, a 7.2 FX for a couple hundred is a sweet deal. Enjoy the ride.

I'd look on eBay for an orphaned fork from a 700 Series Trek bike. You might find one for as little as $10.

Looks to me like there is a joint and evidence of threads to indicate it's a threaded in stud. I'd try to remove it before I bought a fork. What do you have to lose? LBS likely doesn't want to mess with it as the labor cost over selling a new fork & installation.

I kind of thought the same thing as dedhed. A left handed drill could be used. If the thing is brazed or stuck, you just use it as a drill and then tap the hole to give you the proper threads. If not and the thing is threaded and not stuck or brazed, the drill might impart enough torque to unscrew and remove the broken stud.

The proper drill size will depend upon the size and pitch of the stud thread. You could probably wing it and buy a drill slightly larger than the hold through the stud center, but if you have to tap the thing, you will want the proper hole size.

Sheldon Brown covered brazing a new canti boss stud on here. You can buy a new brake stud that's threaded for M10x1 here (and other places, the one I showed was the first one on the google list for cantilevered brake studs"). But it's 4 bucks.

If the thing is threaded and is the (apparently) standard thread size of M10x1, then in steel you'd use a 9.40mm drill (closest US drill is a "U" size). You'd need an M10 x 1 (this is a fine thread for M10 - make sure you get M10x1 and not m10x1.25 or 1.5) tap.

Point is, for somewhere between 10 and 50 bucks, you might be able to fix the existing fork.

And here comes #18 of a series of replies.

Check for a bike co-op in your area. They frequently have a a bunch of older bikes to scrounge parts off of. You might even find the exact fork to replace yours with. Installation might also be had for a small fee since they are mostly non-profits.

Despite everyones well meaning that fork is NOT something to try and make a repair on.

-SP

Thanks for the info, how would I see if their is a co-op near me??

Where in Alabama are you? Googling this string, "bicycle co-ops in Alabama," gave me two in Birmingham, Bici and Peace Bicycles, and a couple more in other towns. Give it a try.

Sounds like a honest shop, I would see if you could negotiate either option down by 10-20 bucks. It comes down to what is your time worth and if you have the tools/skills to do the job right.

I see that this co-op shop can do work and they have very good prices.

https://www.redemptivecycles.com/

Do you think it would be worth checking out? Also looks like a good place to buy gear and accessories for my bike.

A co-op is a terrific resource in addition to a trusted LBS. However, you have to trust that what you are being told/sold is the best thing for your particular application and in many cases you have to know what you're looking for and how it best suits your needs. I've heard both shops and ops give customers wrong info and advice, and may have done so myself.

Of course they are worth checking out!

But I'm biased since I volunteer for one in OH.

-SP

Exactly. That is NOT a fixable fork. If this was a rare bike and the fork needed to be saved at all cost, you'd have to strip it, send it to a framebuilder and have a new post welded on (probably both sides so they match) and then the fork repainted as original. How much do you think all that would cost? It might be worth it for a valuable collectible bike. But you're in luck - yours is not a rare or collectible bike and you can replace that fork with a generic one, completely installed, for only $80.

There is also NO hack that has been mentioned that I would trust. Those are your brakes, man.

You might find a cheaper fork at a coop but consider how much you are really going to save and how long will it take to find just the right fork. Remember you need one that has the same or longer steerer tube length, so that limits your selection even more. The bike shop is going to cut that 250mm tube down to fit your bike exactly, so you need to find one that is at least as long as the one you have now. I have replaced forks on several bikes and sometimes they can be hard to find with a longer (or preferably uncut) steerer tube.

I honestly believe the best thing is to let your local bike shop install the new fork. They did the overhaul and already have an affinity with your bike. For $80 they can put you on the road with a new fork, installed properly and that has safe brakes. Seems obvious to me.