Do I give up on my bike?

incog24

Just had a bit of a crash. I was buzzing through a village in North Herts enjoying the sun and the countryside, came over the brow of a hill at 30ish and saw a horse 200m in front, so touched the front break so I could pass it slowly. Next thing I knew I was skidding backwards down the middle of the road. My fork had completely failed, one side had opened by about 45degrees leading to a bit of improvised unicycling. I'm ok if a bit grazed, thankfully nothing was following me/came over the blind summit whilst I was lying in the road, and quite a few people were really friendly and helped me out.

The question is though, do I repair the bike (new front wheel and fork) or do I just call it a day and upgrade? The bike only cost £45 (although its already had £40 of repairs and a weld repair on the back fork) so to spend a reasonable amount of money might be a bit silly, especially as I was looking to upgrade soon anyway. Is there a chance I might be able to pick up the parts cheap at a LBS in Cambridge? Bit gutted, the bike has really got me into cycling, although I've only clocked about 1500miles on it, so its sad to see it in such a state.

john74

if you have caught the cycling bug. look at buying something better you say it cost £35 i take it thats second hand. i dont know your budget but if it was me i would fix the bike your on if its your main mode of transport and save my hardest for a decent machine probably around the £500 mark. you say the frame has already been welded that says to me its a bit of a naff frame a decent well built frame should last decades. ive got an old raliegh road bike from the early 80s and its still going strong used daily as my work horse.

meanwhile

Do a search on ebay. There's a company that sells bankrupt bike stock there. Type "bankrupt fork" and you should get a fair few cheap forks. As for whether to keep the bike, it depends how much faith you have in the rest of it! Cheap wheels are easy to find on the bay, especially if you buy used. Make sure that you get one that is alloy, and preferably one that is double walled.

Otoh, you might want to see what secondhand bikes are available instead..

incog24

Thanks for the fork tip, they're pretty cheap, I've just got to see how much it'll be to get a new wheel now. I think the quality of the bike is probably just shocking. I had to get it welded because the weld between the rear drop out and bottom stay of the rear fork sheared off when I had a chain snap which jammed the back wheel. I'm hoping to upgrade to something around the £800-900 mark, but it would be nice to keep this bike on for just getting around, and I'm not sure how soon the upgrade will be either. Will any fork be compatible? Sorry for the slightly rookie question...

Stuck on a Giant

You do need to be carefull about fork compatability - there are 2 main sizes, 1 inch, and one bigger, I think 1 & 1/8th. The bigger size the the more common, current sizing. Also,is your fork threaded or threadless. If the latter, there will be a couple of bolts clamping the top of the steering (apologoes if you know all this!). The threadless is more common.

Given the history of the bike frame falling apart, I'd think about looking for a really cheap secondhand bike if all you want is something to get down to the shops on - try the local papers and you'll probably find something for less than you'd need to spend fixing what you've got.

meanwhile

incog24 wrote:

. Will any fork be compatible?

No. You need one for the right wheel size (700c?) and of the right steerer radius. Oh, and having a long enough steerer, although this usually isn't a problem unless you're buying a used fork that's been cut down. You might want a copy of Zinns Road Bike Maintenance and/or to look at Park Tools site, where they a how-to for virtually everything. Look at Sheldon Brown's site too, if there's something relevant there it will be good.

alfablue

I wouldn't have any faith in the bike after that incident, if two parts of the frame/fork have failed, expect more. Your life is worth more than this. You could have been badly hurt in that accident, I had a simple fall (unaided) and broke my pelvis, 8 weeks in hospital, 3 months on crutches, possible long term consequences too - not nice, I wouldn't take any unnecessary risks now!

incog24

I think what I'm going to do is take it into a decent shop in Cambridge and get an opinion on the frame. If they then tell me its going to kill me in the next few months I'll ditch it, and if they don't see any problems I'll get a new front fork and wheel asap. Cheers for all the help (I really am that clueless) I'll make sure I get it done properly. Next time I'll remember to get out of the road quicker as well, rather than just lying there like a total numpty...

alfablue

incog24 wrote:

I think what I'm going to do is take it into a decent shop in Cambridge and get an opinion on the frame. If they then tell me its going to kill me in the next few months I'll ditch it, and if they don't see any problems I'll get a new front fork and wheel asap. Cheers for all the help (I really am that clueless) I'll make sure I get it done properly. Next time I'll remember to get out of the road quicker as well, rather than just lying there like a total numpty...

That's a good idea, though it is probably a steel frame (seeing as it has been welded) and there could be hidden rust on the inside, particularly around the bottom bracket shell, where moisture is likely to collect - it could look sound on the outside but be corroding from within. I am not sure anyone will be able to give any guarantees.

bigjim

Take anything decent off it for use as future spares and dump the rest. You will never relax on it. Not worth the risk.
I have picked up 2 almost new, mint condition, quality framed raleigh bikes off e-bay that are light,fast and most of all safe for the £50 + mark each.

Jim