The_Joe

Hey guys,
You've all been very helpful through my last few dilemmas so I'm fielding you another one. I took my UO8 into the shop yesterday for new hub bearings and because it was pulling to the left. I thought they were related but it turned out the fork was bent (they fixed that) and the steerer tube was also bent (not fixed). It's tracking straighter and rideable but I'd like to get a new fork eventually. Heres my actual question...

When shopping for a replacement fork should I stay with a French part? Meaning, if I got something that wasn't French would it just mean I'd need a new headset and stem or would a non-French steerer tube not even fit the head tube?

Thanks,
Joe

dsbrantjr

There was a UO-8 bent fork discussion recently on this forum: https://www.bikeforums.net/archive/in.../t-849339.html

fietsbob

The 25.0 thing made the French stuff an Outlier eventually even they succumbed
to the rest of the world using inch based tubes.

a new fork and headset and stem are all going to be a package deal, as they have to fit together

But ! the stem choices are not as limited, heck you can even go to a 1" threadless fork & headset
and be on the verge of being up to date.

The_Joe

Yeah, the mechanic suggested a 1 inch. I think my problem here is that I don't have faith in the mechanics around town knowing old French bikes. Several have forgotten about BB threading already. So when a shop guy says "just put a 1 inch stem in it" I just assume he doesn't know that I'll also need a new headset and stem. Or he does and is trying to upsell. It's a poor personality trait on my end I know. Truth is, I don't mind having a non Peugeot fork but I'd really rather keep my bars and stem. I like it. And I like the look better than the new bulky headsets that are out there now. I have found some used Motobecane forks but I know they used some non French sizes so I'm not sure what will work.
Alternatively, lets say I found an old bike cheap or free to steal the fork from I could just also steal the headset, right? My worry there is that the OD of the steerer wouldn't fit inside my head tube.
Thanks for the help.

fietsbob

There is just 0.4mm larger OD of a 1 inch fork than a metric 25.0 one.
the ID is then 7/8" instead of 22,0 mm..

NB typically when the size is given as a decimal over a whole mm,
it is a Metric equivalency of a fractional size ,22.2, 25.4, 28.6 and so forth..

The_Joe

So that means a 1 inch fork will fit in my head tube without needing to sand?