New fork for my Fuji?
 

Hi All,

I've obtained a vintage Fuji that I would like to refurbish. I believe it is a '75 or '76 S10-S Special Road Racer. Does anybody know the measurements of the front fork and where I can buy a suitable new one? I believe the fork is slightly bent toward the down tube. I can't seem to upload pictures at the moment :foo:

Before you proceed you should check the top and down tubes at the head tube joint. If you see any indication of damage there, the fork question is moot. Look for cracked paint or slight bulges near the lug.

On the brighter side, if the tubes are OK the fork may be able to be straightened.

[MENTION=478565]jtroszak[/MENTION] - Welcome!
The other thing to check is the steerer tube. If it is bent, the fork is toast.

An example of a bent top tube.

[IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5573/...60edf5be_z.jpgP6010925, on Flickr[/IMG]

Bent down tube:
[IMG]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/428/3...13cf3117_z.jpgP9051176, on Flickr[/IMG]

Bent steerer:
[IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5675/...c4356164_z.jpgP1030228, on Flickr[/IMG]

Sometimes accompanied by body impact:
[IMG]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3836/...b18c10b6_z.jpgP9081221, on Flickr[/IMG]

Thanks for the advice. I inspected both where the top tube and down tube meet the head tube. As far as I can tell there are no apparent cracks or bulges that may have been caused by an impact. There ARE areas where the paint has chipped and some rust has formed. There is also a hairline gap between the down tube and lug (I think that's what it's called), but I think that's because the paint has worn thin.

Yikes! thanks for sharing, SJX, that looks like a bad spill! I had another old Fuji that I took a spill on and ended up with five stitches in my face, luckily no breaks. That bike now has very obvious bends and bulges like yours. I picked up this other vintage Fuji because I loved my original, but want to make sure the front end is in solid shape so I don't hit a pothole and have the thing collapse on me.

[MENTION=478565]jtroszak[/MENTION] If you have the fork just get the measurements yourself. It's easy to remove the fork from the frame, no special tools are required. Once it's out, measure the steerer tube including the crown race. I'd also measure the threaded portion. That's all you really need.

1" threaded lugged forks aren't really made much anymore, but Sunlite still makes a cheap one.

[MENTION=124730]SJX426[/MENTION] That nasty fracture makes me nervous. I planned on straightening a bent steerer tube on a prewar Schwinn... now i'm having seconds thoughts.

Cool to see an x-ray on film... it's all digital now.

[MENTION=478565]jtroszak[/MENTION] ,

What size frame, and color do you need??? Fuji S-10S of this era were only offered in 19, 21, 23 and 25". (see catalogs at Classicfuji.com ) Mine is a '75 model blue 23", built in Sept '74 that I bought new as a scratched floor model in Oct '76.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/u...psa71ecfa4.jpg

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/u...psbd07d1e8.jpg

I have an '84 Schwinn World Sport that had a badly damaged fork when I got it:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4529/...ea2932cf_h.jpg

I replaced the fork with what I believe to be a mid-70s Fuji fork I scored off eBay:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4531/...23bc9bfd_h.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4525/...1b895c8c_h.jpg

Let me know if this fork is like the one you need and I'll take any measurement you'd like.

Post frame size. Chances are, depending on the size, someone here might have one. I know a guy......

The challenge is always being able to get it straight, once bent. Preference is to replace the steerer.

It was a nasty fracture as a nerve bundle prevented the ends to meet so after 6 weeks, the doc had to go in and fix it.
[IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5565/...95ce0447_z.jpgP9081219, on Flickr[/IMG]

If the bicycle is mid to upper level, steel, or one you're keeping for the memories, it can be straightened/aligned. A benefit of steel bikes. Check out your bike with a local shop that does vintage or frame builder. Pics of my Peugeot PKN-10 before, during, and after repair. Don

Perhaps I left out support for bending the fork legs to the original location! I did that too. Bought a Trek 760 that was a project which included a Giant unicrown fork ILO the stock. Checked out the TT and DT which were straight and started hunting for a stock fork.

Several months later I just happened to do a search on the 'bay and found one. Turned out it was local. Met the seller and found out it was bent. This is the unique fork that has the "Sword" lugs on the crown besides having a 38 offset (most forks are 40+). He gave me a 50% discount with option to refund. Took it home and measured the steerer, it was straight.

I didn't have the tools but used a trashed front hub to lock the DO and placed the steerer in a vice. Used a 10Ft long 2x4 to bend it back. A friend who builds his own frames loaned me his DYI fork gauge that I used to find tune the bend.

Turns out the steerer was the right length too as it was on a bike the same size as mine! What luck!

[IMG]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8866/...1182a638_z.jpgWP_20150430_008, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7714/...3714ff22_z.jpgP1020996, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7749/...9db46227_z.jpgP1030002, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5334/...ddc90c65_z.jpgP1030007, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/401/1...c2b70af0_z.jpgFork Jig 2 wfork, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8809/...93d5cfcc_z.jpgP1020998, on Flickr[/IMG]

Thanks for all this great advice and informative stories! My frame size is 25" and it is green. The head tube is 9" including the races.

Yes, Hokie, that does look like the style of fork I need.

After looking at all these pictures of bent forks I'm beginning to think that my mind is playing tricks on me and that my fork might be just fine. I really need to get some pictures onto this thread. Do I need to be premium member to upload pictures? I can't copy/paste into the text I'm typing and I get an error message when I try to upload the pictures as attachments. Any advice?

+1 If you can get there stearer length basically top of crown to top of tube I actually have a couple of chro-mo full chrome stock Fuji 70's forks.

too bad it's too big: I have a Fuji fork I'd sell you cheeeep, but the steerer is too short plus it's metallic blue, not green' Oh well.

That's definitely a big frame with a long head tube. My particular fork is 7.5" to the top of the steerer from the crown shoulder. And then about 15.5" from the crown shoulder down to the center of the axle. It was a hair long for my particular frame, but I was able to space the lock nut enough for it to fit. It sounds like you need a standard 27" road bike fork (if that is your bike's original tire size) with a 9.5" or so steerer tube. If you can't find one here, you have the right measurements to be able to find one locally or online.

zukahn1, my steerer length is 9.5"

I've determined that there is very slight bend in the steerer and I would regret it if I put this bike back together with a bent fork. I'd rather just "fork" over the $20-$30 for a new one so I can rest assured when I'm riding this thing. I'll try sunlite as mentioned earlier.

Thanks All!