Bent steerer tube

Arthfael

Short story, is it safe to try straighten it somehow? (i doubt it but... I wont be able to afford a fork for a while now)
and do steerers bend that easily???
**pics bellow

How that happened???
Long detailed story bellow if you are not borred.

I dont even know where to begin... So, I recently got a trail bike (Commencal El camino), brand new, and that thing came with a Suntour XCR 120mm travel. After a fast decent in a steep trail at some mtb event there was a small drop (way too small, even an XC bike could make that) my fork bottomed (yeah coil was too soft for me but suntour never gave me an answer where I can get a stiffer one, they just told me to wait for an answer, and almost a month has been through) ending up in a front manual with my whole weight behind the saddle and in the end I launched my self hard over the bar and landed without the bike in some bushes and rocks (helmet saved most of my face)
Note that the bike didnt hit anything that could cause the steerer to bent, it stopped way back before the rocks and bushes, even the frame etc had no scratches. Im 100% sure it bent when it bottomed.

whyamihere

I wouldn't be riding that.

Arthfael

whyamihere wrote:

I wouldn't be riding that.

I aint man, missed the whole 3day event, that happened on the 2nd trail first day. Money down the drain

keef66

I can't see the pics cos I'm at work, but from your description I'd say you need a new fork, and you need to look very carefully at the frame especially around the head-tube...

oodboo

Warranty?

whyamihere

It might be worth trying a warranty claim. Unfortunately they're likely to suggest that the impact was a lot worse than you're saying and you'll be stuck. Worth talking to the shop you got it from at least.

Arthfael

Yeah, good luck with warranty, I also believe they will claim it was a bigger impact,, also right now im in Greece, and the shop I got it from is in france(probikeshop), and there will be a while before I go back to france.
Btw headsets, wheel, hub they are just fine... thats amazing. I have even done bigger drops, and jumps with shitty bikes with 80mm rst forks and I ve never seen that before

cooldad

Looks a bit dead. There is a company that replaces steerer tubes, costs about £50 I think. You have to Google them.

Arthfael

cooldad wrote:

Looks a bit dead. There is a company that replaces steerer tubes, costs about £50 I think. You have to Google them.

I ll check that out!

Arthfael

and just for the truth of it, there u go, some pics of the frame and headsets

cooldad

Can't find the company that does it in the UK - I'm sure there was a link in a fairly recent thread here.

This guy does it in Oz

http://gripsport.com.au/service/fork-st ... -extension

Not that that's much help.

Arthfael

Well I will try to find something like what those guys do, around here if its possible, but still after that I have no trust on that fork, If i manage to fix it, I will lock it and use it only for some road rides, until I manage to get a proper one

The Rookie

Get on eBay you can pick up some quite decent forks for around £60-70 with some patience.

Arthfael

The Rookie wrote:

Get on eBay you can pick up some quite decent forks for around £60-70 with some patience.

Already keeping an eye out there, but 140mm forks tend to be expensive.

cooldad

Why 140mm - your broken ones are 120mm?

Arthfael

cooldad wrote:

Why 140mm - your broken ones are 120mm?

Frame can handle 120 to 140mm. I prefer a bit more travel, the plan was to upgrade later on, but that happened.

bungalballs

http://www.rczbikeshop.co.uk/uk/manitou ... black.html

oodboo

Bungalballs wrote:

http://www.rczbikeshop.co.uk/uk/manitou-2014-fork-minute-pro-26-disc-140mm-qr9mm-tapered-black.html

The bike has 650b wheels.

bungalballs

Shame!

Arthfael

yeah I also keep finding cheap forks for 26 wheels :P 650b on the other hand, wayyyyy too much moneyzzz.

The Rookie

Fox forks have enough clearance on a 26" to manage the extra 1/2" of a 650B tyre, Some RS do but not all, Manitou not a chance.

Arthfael

Well I dont want to reopen a new thread so I ll just post that here, managed to sell one of my electric guitars so I can get a new fork, so there is the dilemma, my frames head tube is 44mm , If I m not mistaken, with the proper headsets I can run a tapered steerer right?

The Rookie

You're not mistaken, you can.

Arthfael

Aha!!! Thanks man, well now I ll just have to find a good fork some headsets and probably a hub too (most forks I saw have 15mm axle, and my hub is 10mm)

The Rookie

Probably cheaper to get a new wheel and hub and spokes and get them built....

Arthfael

The Rookie wrote:

Probably cheaper to get a new wheel and hub and spokes and get them built....

Depends, cause budget is a bit tight. Forks for 27.5 are a bit expensive after all (Im starting missing my 26 bike). 450 euros is a bit tight to get lower headsets (tapered for 44mm headtube are expensive), 120-140 fork and build also a wheel.

The Rookie

A rim and spokes and build will cost you about the same as an off the shelf wheel and you won't have the old one to sell on.....

Arthfael

The Rookie wrote:

A rim and spokes and build will cost you about the same as an off the shelf wheel and you won't have the old one to sell on.....

Oh thats not an issue, a close friend of mine is a motorbike mechanic, he had also build the set on my old Downhill bike.

Arthfael

Small Update on the bent steerer, I gave it a try to remove it, was way too easy actually, few small hits with the back end of my splinting axe and there you have it (pics). The rest of the fork is just fine, so I decided to try save it, keep it as backup or something, now next step is to try find a new steerer or maybe create one from some heavy steel tube.

cooldad

Making a tube is easy. Good luck getting it to stay in.

Arthfael

cooldad wrote:

Making a tube is easy. Good luck getting it to stay in.

Well got a few ideas about that, but there are also workshops that could press it in never to be removed again haha