NYC Frame/Fork alignment
 

Any recs for ppl in nyc? Pref in the Brooklyn, manhattan, or queens. My Mercian fork or front dropouts are out of alignment (tried multiple wheels, reversed direction, took to an LBS to confirm too).

thanks!

Johnny Coast is in Brooklyn. He builds bikes that I love and has been doing so for decades. I can't say I know if he does repairs but it is worth a try.

Coast Cycles

Thanks for the excuse to look up Coast Cycles again and review his stuff. I met him at the Philly bike expo and he is a delight talk to.

yep johnny coast

there's also Sweet Tooth Fab in north brooklyn

https://www.sweettoothfab.net/

A good, competent, more-than-retail-and-basic-tune-up bike shop should be able to do it easily. There's a couple in Philly (I work for one of them), though you did say NYC preferred. There shouldn't be any need to go to a custom frame builder for this.
Phil

As a pro framebuilder, I disagree. Let me explain. Not only should this job be done with the right tools but even with the right tools it isn't that easy to do well. There are 5 adjustments to align a fork. 1st, the rake has to be checked so they are exactly the same on both blades. And correct to the head angle of the frame. It is not uncommon for a bike sometime in its life to do a header into something solid and as a result the forks blades get bent back a bit. The guy dong the alignment should know how much rake the non-yet-aligned-fork presently has and how much it needs to be bent more to agree with the original build. 2nd the front dropouts have to be equidistant on each side of the steerer's centerline. Most commonly these checks are determined accurately with an expensive fixture only framebuilders are likely to have. These two data points can be checked in other ways with a surface plate and V blocks if the shop has them for some reason. The 3rd check is that both dropouts are parallel to each other. This is done with what framebuilders refer to as "H" tools. These are cups on a long handle that have to match up when inserted into each dropout. Park makes a set that work okay on cheaper bikes but not accurate enough (for me at least) for a good steel frame like a Mercian. The 4th check is make sure both blades/dropouts are exactly the same length so the wheel centers in the fork. This is out more often than what might be expected. I use an accurately trued and dished wheel for this. If they are not the same, then the offending dropout slot needs to be filed shorter. It is easy to mess that up not only in slot length but also width. I would never turn my good frame/fork over to a guy not experienced with a file and also he must have the right file to do that job.

In the old days upper end shops may bave bought these tools but when steel frames were replaced with other materials, a shop would no longer spend serious money for occasional use tools. They will refer their customer to one of us.

I absolutely agree Doug, I guess I was holding what I see as competent repair shops up to a higher standard.
Phil

Yep, I've been dealing with a problem with the one front fork on my Olmo. But I can't find anyone local with the proper fixtures to make sure it's right. I'm planning on reaching out to Andy Gilmour about shipping the fork to him. I want it done right because the bike rides so sweetly otherwise.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...79bed38671.jpg

I was also going to suggest Johnny Coast.

even the name is cool somehow :D

Is it really his name?

We used to straighten forks at the shop I worked at in the '70s. We even had a frame jack. I straightened a lot of forks. I think shops nowadays are afraid of liability. You have to find a shop where the owner has no assets to lose.

Most bike shops are now used to working on carbon forks for road and gravel bikes and suspension forks for mountain bikes. I'd bet it's pretty rare that someone walks in the door and wants their steel fork checked for its alignment. But, yeah, liability of probably another point as well.

Even 50 years ago the shop I worked for abandoned the frame jack. Forks? Yes if the bend was not too abrupt. Fork out.
Peugeot UO8 forks? No. The blades were brazed along the trailing edge, one did open up. Peugeot USA did keep forks in stock, one may not get the color wanted but it would be fresh.

Johnny Coast
 

It seems to be the name he goes by, at least professionally. What his friends call him may be different.

Check out his bikes. Those are cool too. He tends toward a more classic look. I would love my wife to ride more to justly a more serious conversation with Johnny Coast.

I have had several complicated repairs done by Rafael Vazquez, the owner of Chelsea Bikes in Union City, NJ. The Hudson is a wide river, but they're very near the Lincoln Tunnel, 1st or 2nd stop from NYC Port Authority Bus Station if one doesn't have a car. I got to know them because they had a shop a block away from where I worked in Chelsea (doh), but had to move out when the next door building was about to collapse. Mr Vazquez and his right-hand guy Victor Galvan were always friendly and straightforward, and have done really exemplary work for me. Also, on their (pretty plain) website, they advertise fork alignment specifically, under Services, with in-store estimate. They're also well-equipped to do refinishing; have done 3 frames for me over the years, with some customization and even chrome.
https://rafael-vazquez-8ppg.squarespace.com/ and use the hamburger menu. Phone is 201 325 8881.

PATH to Exchange Place then Light Rail up to Tonnelle will get you close-ish.
Phil

Thx everyone. Waiting to hear back from Coast and sweet tooth. Hope to take to coast since his shop is a 5 min bike ride from my apt.

johnny and sweet tooth are both top notch. Sweet tooth just checked a frame for me earlier this week; got in touch with me within an hour of emailing. Johnny tends to be very busy as his frames are in high demand. They’re both super nice guys and a pleasure to work with.

In defense of Phil's comment about good bike shops having alignment abilities, some time back in the 80's the New England Cycle Academy (NECA) produced the Fit Kit for bike shops. Their kit came to include a cleat alignment system. What NECA discovered was that shoe cleats could not be adjusted properly unless the owner's steel frame was also properly aligned. And this was often not the case. Many frames were not accurately aligned. So they came out with an alignment system based on a beam instead of a full sized table. Some shops did not have enough floor space or the money for a full sized table. This system was purchased by upper end bike shops. Of course steel frames eventually lost market share and floating cleats were introduced that didn't require such precise alignment. I've never searched eBay for them but I'm sure there are some of these systems gathering dust somewhere. One of my local shops in South Bend, Indiana has or at least had one.

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I know Rafael and Victor too and can attest to Rafael's frame building skills. He has built many, many frames and is an excellent welder too (incl Aluminum) and was one of the last (the last?) frame builders in Manhattan before the store re located to NJ.

A few years ago, Jamie Swan gave a lecture and demo of the NECA Fit Kit for the NYC Framebuilders club. I don't think he had the alignment beam, but then again he already has all the professional alignment equipment in his shop.