The '71 Super Sport I recently bought is the gift that keeps on giving. After getting out a seized seatpost AND stem, I've now discovered the fork is out of alignment.

The drive side appears to be a several mm ahead of the non-drive side. Drive side's dropout also appears misaligned (vears to the left rather than straight on). Both appear straight so I cannot tell which is the culprit here. Also, there is 96mm from forkend to forkend (ie hubspace). I thought it was supposed to be 100mm- though maybe old schwinns are different?

Any guesses which fork side is the one out of alignment? What are my options? Id rather fix it myself with home made tools if possible. I've tried different photo angles but they don't come out well, so hopefully these give you a good idea.

If your work bench is flat, I'd say it looks like your non drive side leg is bent back a bit. Or it could be the other way, drive side bent forward? I've got a fork on one bike that looks very slightly bent back, but evenly so on both sides; and it rides like its on rails , even with no hands, so I'm just leaving it the way it is.

Using strategically placed blocks under the dropout on the NDS side and padded clamp about mid-leg, you can probably bring it back into the same shape as the drive side leg. Or flip it and do it the the other way. As far a twist in the dropout is concerned, I've never run into that one before.

Is there a frame builder or LBS in your town that does frame straightening?

I like to say, "90% of any job is having the right tool":



Of course, buying a fork alignment tool for a couple hundred bucks or more is not a reasonable option, and I wouldn't expect most bike shops to have one either. Do you have any frame builders around you? If so, I'd start there and see if you can convince a local frame builder to align the fork for you.

If you really want to do it on a DIY budget I would devise a strategy similar to what was is used by the VAR tool--i.e. a vice-mounted brace for the steerer tube (wood blocks?) combined with a slow graduated force on the fork ends in a fixed plane (hub mounted to a threaded torquing device?).

I'm sure you could fudge it with a 2x4 and a"close enough" attitude, but do you really want to when bike handling characteristics are at stake?

Just for sheets and giggles: Someone is soon going to be in the same situation: Vintage Schwinn Stingray Bicycle Frame Crankset Fork | eBay

Edit: As far as the dropouts are concerned, there is a Park dropout and fork alignment tool which any LBS worth going to should have.

Fortunately, it's still recognizable.

Bending back would seem like the most common fault. However, shouldn't the fork arms (bent style) be in line with the steer tube? At least the middle of the arms. That should give you a good reference point.

The old standby was a piece of plate glass, but any flat square surface can do. Place the fork so the crown touches the edge squarely with the tips down on the surface. Now it's basically the same issue as leveling a table with one short leg. That solves the twist.

Next you can check for side to side by laying the fork flat sideways on one blade and measuring the height at the end of the steerer. Flip and measure the other side and compare. Use a square (like a book) to make sure the crown is squared up both times.

Lastly the height of the dropouts can be matched using a front wheel and adjusting until it centers.

Finish by rechecking that you haven't twisted the fork by going back to the table test.

Having watched [MENTION=191270]ftwelder[/MENTION] align a tandem fork for [MENTION=190941]jimmuller[/MENTION], I'd highly encourage you to find a frame builder. They could widen the dropouts to 100mm at the same time and the fork should be perfect. Even though you are only talking about a few mm, it is a precise procedure which really needs precise tools and a very large, very heavy, and very flat table/bench.

Best of luck on your project! Too bad you've run into these hiccups! Not unusual.

This is a gross exaggeration of the requirements. All that's needed is some basic stuff, ie. just about any table or the kitchen counter, some understanding of the principles of measurement, a good eye, and some hand skill.

I bought my VAR fork gauge off eBay for a modest sum a while ago, might have been lucky. Yes, with one of those it would be pretty easy to tell where to go to correct the fork. Basically you want to observe how the blades diverge in relationship to the crown, my hunch is the right hand (drive side) is the culprit. In my view from here, totally repairable.

I fixed a similarly bent fork on one of my first vintage bike resto projects. It was a Motobecane. As bought, the bike was impossible to ride no-hands. I used my reasonably flat workbench, a bench vise, and a long pipe. My work was not perfect but when done, the bike rode easily no-hands, and that is, I think, a practical test of fork alignment.

While a table or kitchen counter may suffice to gauge misalignment, in my experience it takes a sturdily mounted bench vise and good leverage to correct any misalignment.

Something like this might work. The key, as repechage says, is to coldset the blades so that the dropouts have the same correct offset relative to the crown.

I did probably overstate things a bit. My apologies.

I should have quantified what I said by stating; "If it were me, since I don't have great measuring skills and even though I have a fairly sturdy work bench, clamps, vise, etc., having watched Frank the Welder align forks and frames, I don't feel confident in my own skills to adequately align a bent fork."

BTW, I'm an ardent fan of Chain-L lubricant.

That is a great set-up. Unfortunately I don't have a C-clamp that big, but I do have the Park fork alignment gauge which allows you to freehand it a bit. I straightened a pretty badly bent Masi fork a while ago and it was a real pain to bend. It was also impossible to make both blades a perfect match again. The important thing is to have the dropouts in the right place relative to the crown. When the wheel is on you won't notice any visual difference in the blades as long as the drop outs are aligned and the wheel sits straight.

I vote for a fully equipped framebuilder to do the work, since they'll have all of the needed tools at hand to get the job done precisely and with as little trauma as possible to the structure.

I foot-straighten forks and stays all the time on fully assembled bikes, in order to restore left/right wheel positioning, make a bike steer straight and adjust dropout spacing.

But with a collision fork like this one, I've watched as a skilled framesmith (or even an experienced shop tech) use correct tools to simply do the job properly.

I would shop around for a quote on what looks like a 15-minute job. I've managed to get such work done for a good six-pack when showing up at the right after-hours moment.

I've currently got five precious vintage forks here in need of straightening, so currently trying to line up an appointment. No, I don't crash that often, these all came off of crashed bikes from Craigslist.

The case for bypassing the pro is based on simple economics. The price a builder would charge to even look at it would be more than th fork is worth. If the OP is going to spend dough, a new fork is a cheaper/better option.

Of course, if one has a frienly relationship with someone with the resources, and can get the job done during converstaion over a few beers, that's the best option. But if that were the case here I doubt the OP would have posted here.

In general, I think it's kind of sad that we've elevated bicycles, which historically have been fixed with hand and eye skill to exotic precision machinery that requires specialized technicians with sophisticated tools.

IMO- there's too much "you can't get there from here" on this forum.

The reason I recommend the well-equipped, experienced tech doing the job is that it gets the job done more directly on the first go-round. And since anyone experienced in metal bending is more likely to arrive at a final alignment using a stress-relieving final reverse correction, the fork is more likely to not go out of alignment with any first encounter of force while in service.

Having to go back and use iterative corrections doesn't seem good for a fork's cantilevered fork tubes, so the added experience of one who is familiar with the bending of high-strength steel tubing is worth some added cost imo.

There still are bike shops with fork-bending tools and techs experienced to use them. It shouldn't cost a fortune but one should always shop around if there is more than one to choose from.

You're right though since the OP's fork looks to need only minor correction, might be able to competently do a very good job at home, especially if the "right" sort of shop isn't nearby.

I've used crude methods to straighten many bent forks as installed, but these asymmetric frontal impact cases require a bit more in the way of fixturing. I was impressed how quickly that a proper fork-straightening jig allowed my fork to be put exactly straight with what seemed like an absolute minimum of trauma.

...that's not beyond all recall, and it's an easy fix......with a fork jig.

I know this sounds counter intuitive, but as has been stated above, all you're really interested in is where the fork ends are in relation to the crown,
and then having them parallel and the correct distance apart for your hub, which might very well be 96mm, you ought to measure the hub OLD on your wheel.

Sadly, it is not at all unusual to find forks where the legs curve a little differently, or where the ends have not been set properly for alignment.
I'm working on an 80's Bianchi right now that undoubtedly had faulty alignment when sold new, and even after using a Park fork alignment jig, I'm still gonna have to file a dropout.

I am fortunate in that someone gave us this useful tool at the co-op. It really would be worth your while to call around and see if you can find someone who has one.

Without your fork in the jig, here in front of me, I'm hesitant to tell you to do anything, because I'm not 100% convinced it's misaligned.

I can't believe you just said this!

Of the 18 posts, 12 either directly or indirectly relate to DIY. 2 suggest a professional. That's less then 20%. Ultimately it's up to the OP. He/she reads the opinions, evaluates his/her own skill level, then makes a decision. There's nothing wrong with the OP hearing both sides of the "how to fix it" coin.

It's purely a personal opinion, and I said forum, so it was a general statement. It relates not only to "go to a pro" but also includes "you need to shell out for a shop tool"

Many problems can be fixed very well DIY with some basic tool, and some skill and knowledge. The second two are basically free requiring only an investment in time, and once acquired last for a lifetime, or until things change.

Sometimes "go to a pro" is the best advice, or a matter of safety, but I always prefer "here's how" to "you can't do it", but maybe that's just how I'm wired.

Thank you all for the info.

as @FBinNY has suggested I mostly wanted to go the DIY route not for monetary reasons, but because I enjoy the learning process. I also wanted to gauge everyone's opinions and see if my expectations were too unreasonable.

@Scooper as always, you are a wealth of knowledge. I am going to try this approach tomorrow and see how it'll work out. there's a youtuber by the name of shyflirt1 who also shows how to make a homemade forkend alignment gauge for a few $. I will also measure the hub OLD for proper width as @3alarmer suggested (which I hadnt thought of, d'oh).

I wouldn't call that fork FUBAR'd at all. Just out of alignment. When I received my Mercian, the seller had forgotten to properly protect the front fork, and it got whacked out way more badly than yours. Since I'm close to several frame builders, I brought it to Peter Mooney, who charged me $55 to correct it. It is now perfect, and he didn't even scratch the paint. I'm sure I could have gotten it straightened for less, but being a fork of some provenance, I wanted to take it to one of the 'masters'.