Maddox

I picked up this Marinoni because it was in my size, had a serviceable Shimano Tricolor group with 6400 brifters, and was priced at only $40. Seller said the front wheel "needed a truing", but I could tell at first glance that the fork was badly bent and the wheel is was out of round :-( But for $40, I was still interested...

Apparently it's a powdercoat over the original finish -- the Original yellow paint is only visible in a few spots where they must have masked (?) and PC'd around it. I was immediately suspicious, but I believe it's a powdercoat based on (1) the word of the seller, and on (2) the fact that I went at the frame with heavy duty paint stripper, attempting to get down to the original finish. Nothing happened, and the black finish didn't come off at all, even after several minutes soaking and buffing with the stripper. It has the trademark "M" cutout of the BB, the headtube lug (pictured), and the seatstays, and rear dropouts are stamped "Marinoni."

I asked the seller what happened to the fork, and he said he'd gone into a storm grate on the way home from the pub and trashed the fork & wheel (probably pulled a move similar to this: https://bloomingtonbicycleclub.org/gr...e_RonBrown.jpg). Anyways, I checked the underside of the downtube, and around the steerer for paint ripples/flaking and signs of the tube being torqued or damaged, and couldn't find anything to suggest the frame was toast. So, I dropped the cash and decided to throw it in the queue.

I'm trying to figure out how badly the fork is damaged and whether or not it's salvageable...The fork looks to be straight from the side (isn't bent backward), and it appears to be only bent/swayed to the side. Is it safe to bend the fork back into it's original shape? Would this be a job I could take on myself, or should I talk to a framebuilder, or should I just begin a search for a replacement?

Any advice is appreciated.

Here are a couple shots. It's rough, so please don't be expecting a pretty, finished bike:

miamijim

Its hard to say....I think the front triangle is twisted.

WNG

+1, the head tube looks out of plane with the seat tube in one photo.
Also, is this a straight blade fork? The 1st photo made me think it was, then the last doesn't.
The fork crown looks twisted.

lotek 

I agree with Jim. when I look at the next to last photo it seems like the
whole thing is torqued.
Maddox, I'm not sure where you're located other than in a Who song,
but I'd talk to a framebuilder about straightening the frame and maybe
the fork, I've seen some pretty bad frames brought back from the brink.

No comment on the Powder Coat, be interesting to see what's underneath
it.

Marty

GrayJay

Check for frame twist by sighting from behind along one edge of the seattube against a slight gap to opposite side of the headtube. If the two tubes are not parallel then the line of light at gap will not be even, very accurate method with a carefull eye.

From the side bend on the fork, probably a decent chance that the frame escaped brunt of the crash. There is some possibility that the forks could be straightened by you for your personal use if you are willing to chance it but it would be severly neglegent to ever sell or let someone else ride the frame. I doubt a framebuilder would touch the fork for liability reasons though perhaps you could find someone willing to replace the forkblades if the crown is not bent?? Much better idea to just replace the fork.

That said, it you still want to mess with it, take the fork out and hold the steer tube in a vice with 1" frame blocks and try gradually pulling the legs back over one at a time, they move suprizingly easy. This is probably an even worse idea if the fork has been pushed back instead of sideways. Measure and adjust dropout spacing to 100mm. Keep gradually adjusting until the rim of a know good wheel with perfect dish lines up again with center of the fork. Only ever do this with steel forks, not other materials and check often for cracks, ripples or sudden odd handling warning of impending doom.

zazenzach

a crash strong enough to bend that fork is more than likely gonna have done damage to the frame as well. hence the reason they probably repainted it, there were scratches probably everywhere

i think the fork is toast and i would have a pro inspect the frame just to be sure

GrayJay

I am pretty sure that bike was unrideable post-crash. They wouldt have spent $100 on a powdercoat job for a crashed bike being sold for $40,

Bianchigirll 

$40 nice. I agree toss the fork (or recycle the blades as cheater bars) and have a pro or person witht he correct tools checkout the frame. if the frame is in good shape or could easily be made straight put a new fork in it. a Soma straight blade fork would look perfect for about $150

cudak888 

If the steerer tube is not bent, I wouldn't write the fork off. Neither would I do so about the frame, even if it is twisted - nothing a trip to a frame table can't fix.

-Kurt

Sixty Fiver

This frame needs to be looked at by a professional frame builder or experienced mechanic... that fork is toast and the alignment of the frame is suspect and it will not take long for someone who knows what they are doing to tell if that frame is ok and the fee should be nominal.

The force required to do that is enough to cause issues throughout the entire frame.

On the bright side... even if the frame is a write off the parts are worth more than the $40.00 you paid.

zukahn1

Even from just the pics I can tell the frame and fork are both bent pretty badly. I for one wouldn't ride this frame even after the fork and other bent parts are replaced. I would say strip the good components and look for another frame set bike to build them onto. You still got a good deal the components and tires are worth 3 or four times what you paid for the bike maybe more.

Sixty Fiver

You guys have better eyes than I do... and I do this for a living.

The bike needs to be checked over in person... a bent fork is easy to spot, especially in this case but the frame needs a professional assessment.

Unlikely that anyone would go through the trouble of powder coating or painting after this kind of damage happened.

busdriver1959

The frame doesn't look twisted. It appears twisted because the left seatstay is showing between the head tube and seat tube making the light in the gap look crooked. Zoom in and look closely and you'll see what I mean.

ultraman6970

Frame hard to say from the pictures, but IMO the fork is dead. The main problem is that the fork bent from the crownfork not only from the blades, Blades are easy fizable but this one has a nasty curve just around the crown race area. U cant fix that w/o heating it and probably wont get good ever.

fuji86

OK, start with the wheels. Hopefully you have another bike that accomodates the wheels. The purpose here is to check for lateral & radial trueness of front & rear wheels. Hopefully that can be done with just a wheel truing. On the other bike with a straight fork, the clearance as you rotate the wheel slowly should be equi-distant on both sides and even as the wheel revolves relative to the curve of the fork. May not be exact, but you'll be able to detect out of round by the friction the tire/wheel makes with your pointer finger as it turns.

As for the frame, that'll need to be stripped of all components. Do you have a tile floor and straight edge (yardstick) ? Tiles are generally straight and the straight edge yardstick will ensure the grout lines are straight. Then you can align the frame over the floor on that line. The lines of the tubes and tiles should be laterally straight from head tube to back end of the bike. That should determine how straight the frame is. Whatever that is off at the end of this, that'll determine whether you're going to tear up the hubs of your wheels and your bottom bracket too. A bike that is constantly trying to turn left or right, chasing it's tail is going to wear the hubs and bearings out prematurely. One method I've seen used before to straighten a frame (if you are going to DIY), use a chain to attach the steering tube to a tree. Use a bolt in the rear wheel stays and a come along winch & chain attached to another tree far enough away and ratchet up the tension and let it pull the frame straight. You might have to leave it there for a day or two to keep the tension to pull and train the frame to stay in position. The chain and bolt will need to be covered to keep from damaging the paint too badly. By the way, it's pretty dangerous too, but certainly an option. This might even be used to pull the steerer tube back in place if it's been pushed back ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Comealong.jpg
https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?p=12395757
https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=203680

The fork, that's going to need a pipe bender and a pro to get that back to alignment. Whether that guy can do it, it's an issue of cost effectiveness vs how important it is to have the original fork and the bike stay together.

JReade

Is Marioni a hot search topic? I don't recognize half this thread.

fuji86

LOL, what did the seller look like ? Get a pic of that one, you can usually spot a ****** a mile away. Pub = drunk, drinking and just about anything isn't smart in 2011. Next time, put him on a Wal-Mart cruiser if he can't beat his alcohol abuse ? That way the worst he can do is destroy an $ 80 Huffy Cranbrook next time ?

Maddox

Thanks for the opinions. I'm going to have to check the frame's alignment and maybe have it sent to a framebuilder for an assessment. I appreciate the opinions on whether the entire bike is toast, but I'm not sure how much you can actually make out from my piss poor cell phone shots...

No, not straight. It's got your typical road-rake to the fork. Nothing too unique.

and
The powdercoat was performed before the crash. The seller said the man he bought it from had ordered the PC job, and it came to him that way. The bike was (and is) essentially unrideable after the crash, due to the fact that the front wheel rubs up against the fork.

Thanks, and that's basically exactly what I was thinking. If the frame is toast, I'll keep the parts and use them on the Bianchi I have in the shed out back. Not really a loss anyway it works out.

Thanks all, I'll see if I can come back with some news on the state of the frame and how far-gone the fork is.

cudak888 

If the steerer tube on that fork is not warped and the OP is willing to pay shipping to-and-from, I'd be willing to attempt re-alignment of that fork on my Park fork jig - gratis - just to prove it can be done.

-Kurt

Sixty Fiver

No doubt that it could be straightened, if the crown lug and blade don't separate or crack in the process... and then you'd have a straight but completely unreliable fork.

But it might be a good test project.

Would almost guarantee that with that much fork damage at the crown that the steerer is also bent... unless the fork was somehow defective and came up a little short when it was brazed which would not be typical for a Marinoni which are very well made bicycles.

If the frame was straight and clear of frame damage one could contact Marinoni to see if they might have a replacement... they are a rather excellent company to deal with and may have a supply of spare forks collecting dust.

jet sanchEz

I have personally dealt with Marinoni in the past and they are very quick to respond to emails, why not see what they have to say about it? They are not too expensive either, they quoted me $180 for a re-paint of my Marinoni and that included decals (but not shipping).