Mounting a broken fork for display

larkim

I've got the lowers of son's Reba (split at the brace) which he is keen to have mounted in his room as something of a shrine to the parts he's knackered over time.

Idea is to mount to a piece of ply as a backing board, but how would you attach the two pieces of the fork as discretely as possible so it looks neat? Just curious if anyone has done similar with hints / tips?

At the moment I can't really see past some thin translucent cable, a bit like fishing wire, but any other bright ideas?

Cheers!

cooldad

I would make it obvious they're broken so he looks rad and gnarly.

andy9964

Drill and screw/bolt from the rear (oo-er missus)

larkim

But how would you screw into the fork lowers without a nasty looking bolt head on the front side? That's the bit I can't get my head around.

And don't worry, as they are now a two piece (with being broken at the top) his intention was definitely to make him look good. I won't add a plaque underneath which reads "next time make sure your QR is done up properly"...

keef66

Drill and tap holes just into the back of the fork. No need to go right through! Bolts through the back of the board and into the tapped holes

Use longer bolts and short lengths of tube as spacers so it sits slightly proud of the backing board for more of a 3D effect

cooldad

Lashed to the board with barbed wire. Extra gnarly.

JGTR

Just self tapper into the forks, screw from the back of the board, job done.

arthur_scrimshaw

No more nails

Angus Young

cooldad wrote:

Lashed to the board with barbed wire. Extra gnarly.

^ Winner.

The Rookie

Get an old front hub, cut the flanges to a flag on the bottom, attach to plynth using exhaust U bolts and attach fork lowers using a QR?

larkim

Great suggestions all - thanks!

reformedfatty

Tis making me think of the various destroyed forks / frames / wheels where the uplift drops you off at revolutions bike park

muddytreker

Place your fork on the mounting board in the position to be fixed,
mark a suitable hole directly above the top of the steerer tube,
and another hole mark directly underneath the fork crown,

source a suitable string, para cord or similar,
drill your marks to the suitable hole diameter of the cordage or string
your going to use,

now feed the cordage through your mounting board, through one end of
the steerer and out the other and back through the mounting board,
pull tight and tie off.

You may have to flatten the tie off if you want to tightly fit your
mounting board to a wall,
but its an easy method to your needs.

robertpb

muddytreker wrote:

Place your fork on the mounting board in the position to be fixed,
mark a suitable hole directly above the top of the steerer tube,
and another hole mark directly underneath the fork crown,

source a suitable string, para cord or similar,
drill your marks to the suitable hole diameter of the cordage or string
your going to use,

now feed the cordage through your mounting board, through one end of
the steerer and out the other and back through the mounting board,
pull tight and tie off.

You may have to flatten the tie off if you want to tightly fit your
mounting board to a wall,
but its an easy method to your needs.

Only use this method if you have no man skills.

Giraffoto

Some sort of glue, so the finished product still has an element of danger about it.

thistle_

The brace on mine has an open back with ribs across it. You could fill two of the pockets with epoxy and cast in two threaded studs. Post the studs through the ply backing board and put a nut on the back.
I suspect they will hang in a horseshoe shape to exaggerate the "snap".

LimitedGarry

Well the left piece could probably be mounted by the brake mounts.
If you have a spare/broken hub lying around, use it to attach the lowers together (or just use anything to mount them together by the dropouts) and drill a small hole on the top of the right piece of the lowers and use it as an attaching point. Arrange it in a way that makes it clear the brace is broken. There should be enough play in the mounting for that. If not, just don't tighten it down as much.

Another idea... Use the dropouts as a soft mounting point in a way that allows the fork to be put on without screws. You'd have to get a little crafty but IMHO nothing too difficult. Just a matter of getting the right junk for it. A single rod attached to the board by two points near the centre is about the idea. Since the fork lowers are split, it doesn't really matter whether it had QR or a solid axle. Might get in touch with someone who can weld and make threaded holes. Probably easier, more straight forward and getting you a better result than jury rigging something from scraps.
Then use hooks to support both parts of the lowers up top. 7
Alternatively, if the forks have hollow space on the bottom, you could simply use hooks there as well instead.
This would be a similar method used for displaying guns. You can take it down and put it back up at will without having to unscrew anything.
Have some kind of a latch in place for extra crafting points and more secure attachment (in case of an earthquake or idiots running around, whichever is more likely).

muddytreker

"Only use this method if you have no man skills"

If you gonna use climbing rope perhaps,
but give it some thought and an almost invisible fixing can be
achieved. Bonded Nylon, braided fishing line, almost invisible
a few feet away.
Don't knock a suggestion

larkim

I do like that suggestion muddytreker - my man skills are lacking anyway! Would be trivial to achieve and hits the invisibility goal too. THanks!

Other suggestions here involving the steerer tube etc are off mark - its just the lowers I've got, snapped into two pieces.