Head On collision on beach cruiser. Replace fork?
 

Ok bear with me as I do not have a picture of the damage, but I need to go back into this situation with a plan....because my girlfriend is currently very mad at me for crashing her cruiser.
I had a head on collision with a steel gate arm, and while I was thrown over the gate, the bike just slammed into it with the front tire. Because I had been drinking I couldn't quite assess the damage, but from what I recall, it seems like the fork was bent back. The fender on the front tire now rubs against the frame. Below is a picture of what her bike looks like (not her actual one, but same model).

So two questions: Is it likely or possible that the only thing I'll have to replace is the fork? And how can I find the specs for this fork!? Huffy of course doesn't have them on their site because I'm sure they'd rather you just order a new replacement from them. I want to find a cheap used fork to replace it. This is a 26" Huffy Nel Lusso Women's Cruiser Bike, btw.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b3fc257e75.jpg

i collected a front end damaged ladies bike which was good for parts, the fork was bent back. what i found was the head tube wasn't right, the bottom cup [racers] just slide in and out freely, i grabbed another one of it's size, same thing.. so the tube opened up, expanded

something to look at
but you might be lucky there

The first thing I would do is truly access the damage. Especially the frame, that fork is pretty stiff and the frame being a step through has less stiffness/strength to best survive a frontal impact. If the frame is bent then the bike's pretty much a write off by most peoples' standards.

Fork replacement involves a few critical dimensions and some that are less so critical but should be paid attention to. Steerer/headset dimensions are first, otherwise the fork won't even fit the frame. Axle to fork crown seat length will insure the OEM fender and tire will play nice and make sure the new fork has the mounting holes for the fender. Make sure the old stem will fit snuggly in the new fork. All this is easiest done if you can hold the new and OEM forks next to each other. Are there local bike shops there?

Again, check the damage first. No sense spending $30+ only to find a second issue you didn't catch first. Andy

I see that's a $129 bike. Might be best to just buy a whole new bike, especially if the wheel is damaged along with the fork.

Hi Le Mans,

I volunteered and then got hired on at my local bike co-op. Have seen a lot of "department" store bikes or Walmart level bicycle shaped objects. Actually found that a lot of those low end BSOs had headset cups that were weird proprietary sized along with the headtube. They weren't 1" or 1 1/8" sized. Something in between, their headset cups won't fit into a 1" system headtube, but a 1 1/8" headset cup is too large to be pressed in either.

Another thing that we noticed, was that most of those odd ball sized headset cups on those BSOs, would just drop right in, you could lift them out with just your fingers. If the customer is lucky, it is tight enough that a pop can shim could work. Other times the tolerances are so loose that there is no real fix.

+1

Well that's got me thinking, i should grab that frame from the back where i got my other rejects, and measure it out
[again] just out of curiosity coz the paint is pretty shabby not worth building it up to flip anyhow

it's a indi 500 btw, i thought they weren't that bad, the ones i've come across...they weren't high end either


I see you have a Tange roadie, i completed one recently... has dropout adjustment screws, chain hanger, with shimino exage group set 14 speed. after riding it i have second thought's about selling it now :-)

Just buy her a new bike and save yourself a lot of grief. :bike:

I get the sentiment, but I'd get even more grief from her for buying something new and wasting this bike. Besides, "just buying" another bike is not a possibility right now

I looked at the bike and as far as I can tell, it's only the fork that was bent. There's no wiggling in the handlebars nor when I move the fork around. I took off the front fender and took the bike for a spin. Everything is pretty much fine except the handling is a little different, I'm assuming because the rake has been set back like 10mm! She rode it and said it's fine. But she said it in that way that girls do when they say "everything is fine" but things are not fine.

I'm going to look around online for a cruiser fork. I know it's 22.2 diameter and 30mm rake.

I found this possible donor bike. I offered them 5 bucks for just the fork. They don't know any of the measurements, though, and I can't find any info online about this particular fork. It's a Mango Roxy cruiser frame. Would it be a longshot to think these two forks for cruisers would be the same?

[QUOTE=mtb_addict;20390593]I see brand new fork for $20 plus shipping. And learn how about fork and fix it ...instead of treating objects like disposable junk./QUOTE]

So, buy a donor bike for the fork, and do what with the remainder?

So you were right. I bought the fork and it's too long. I'm going to cut it this weekend. There appears to be enough threading that I can cut it to the same length as the original fork and it will still work.

Another solution
 

You were riding this bike while drunk? Did you get it on video? That's got to be worth at least a few hundred dollars on funniest home videos?

How on earth do they make any money on these things? The amount of steel, rubber and human labor to put it together is not small. We are talking about 49.7 pounds of matetrial (see https://www.walmart.com/ip/Huffy-26-...Blue/811069387) plus hte labor to put it together (a good hour or two I'm guessing) and yet Walmart can sell them at a profit.

I wish I had video! She said I did an awesome tuck and roll.

so anyway, I replaced the fork and everything was fitting and looking fine.... time to our the handle bars back on and dangittt, I can't find the stem cap(?) It's lost. Now have to find one of those! Ugh.