BD Windsor The Hour issue
 

Hey there.
First post and first foray into fixed gear.
My WTH just arrived today and as I am putting it together I find that the front left drop out is bent and will not accept the wheel. I will attach a picture, but it was hard to capture on camera. I have put in an email to BD customer service and am awaiting their reply as to how to proceed. While waiting for their response, I thought that I would check in here.
One question I have is should I proceed with putting the rest of the bike together? I am wondering if anyone has dealt with a similar issue and do they just replace the fork or the whole bike? If it is going to be the whole bike then there is no need to finish putting it together.
My other question would be, if they are going to just replace the fork, would it be a horrible idea to try and bend the drop out back into reasonable shape?
I sure would like to ride my new bike....

TIA for the responses!

If it were my bike, I'd fix it. It's really simple. Use an adjustable wrench set to the thickness of the dropout and just twist it back into shape. Tape the dropout first, or pad the wrench jaws, to avoid damaging the paint.

Use two 3/8" bolts, about 2" long, to check your accuracy. Fasten them to the dropouts with nuts, pointing their ends toward each other. You'll see if they align properly. If not, take them out and tweak some more with the wrench.

You'll be on the road much sooner this way.

Thanks for the reply. I am obviously "new bike" over thinking it. BD said the same thing and offered to credit me $35 if I was okay with fixing it. Fixed.
So, hey all! New to the forum. Just got a WTH...

Nice! A win-win.

+1 to what [MENTION=406276]habilis[/MENTION] said. Also, nice explanation.
[MENTION=341985]D Rock[/MENTION], enjoy your new bike.

I'm not sure if the fork has spun around and you just sat the handlebars on top or if you're installing them that way...if you're installing them that way, the fork is backwards. Just an FYI.

Yes. That was a great tip about using the bolts! And I took the $35 refund and upgraded the pedals to cheap $35 M520 SPDs.
I am really loving the bike! Albeit, still getting a hang of the nuances. It is really sparking a renewed passion for riding. 52 years old with decades of riding different disciplines. However, for the last five years or so I have mainly just commuted and did some fair weather back road rides. Finding fixed-gear has me back to thinking about riding all the time. Very exciting!
Thanks for the looking out, but, yeah, in that pic the handle bars had yet to be installed and the headset was just flopping about.

Attaching a picture(s) of what she looks like now, although I have since switched the cog to a Surely 17t...

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=480469http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=480468
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=480466http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=480467

Nice looking bike, but it does look like you've got the seat clamp reversed, though.

I figured as much, but wanted to make sure.

This was the bike to get me back into riding as well. Same color and everything.