Had a small run in with the back of a car the pulled out in front of me two days ago. Doesn’t appear to be any damage to the bike, and just a little sore shoulder for myself.
Looking at it now, I think my forks might be bent back ever so slightly.
What do you guys think? And if so, does it matter? It’s just my beater…
There are no ripples on the TT or DT near the HT.
Cheers
I’m no expert, but I thought it would be okay if it was just your beater…just tightening the geo brah!
…these guys with NJS beaters.
If you don’t mind stacking it again when it folds then dont worry about it. Me, I would swap it.
Maybe slightly bent? It’s kind of hard to tell. I’ve known plenty of people to run slightly bent forks on their beaters with no issues. try riding no hands to see how the steering feels.
Never steered straight in the first place… → http://www.fixed.org.au/forums/f9/headset-not-steering-straight-19191/
Maybe it’s been like this all along haha…
Snail and dead legs both raise good points, i’d see if it handled straight too and go from there
Take it to a shop for an insurance quote… they’ll tell you and make a call from there…
get your shoulder looked at too. That’s why 3rd Party Insurance is compulsary.
in most states except Victoria…
For steel forks only slightly bent it should just be a question of handling above the danger of failing, especially for a pub beater. Riding no hands is one thing, but also see how it performs under braking (if you run a front brake). When I bent my forks the bike pulled hard in one direction when I braked hard … completely reduced my confidence riding in traffic.
^ learn something new every day.
Feel sorry for you guys. 
Maybe he can bend it back?
Maybe look at some before and after shots if you have the same angle?
I wouldn’t feel confident on bent forks, surely it can’t be too hard to find another set?
I just replaced some cr-mo canti forks that looked similar…are they/ aren’t they kinda deal??? straight edge said it’s time to go. My replacements were from the scrap heap at LBS though. Didn’t see too many round bladed tarck forks in the dumpster though.
njs
I think you’re all missing the point.
Where is it bent? It’s not the fork legs, and it’s unusual for the crown to bend (but it can happen whether pressed steel or investment cast) so i’d say the bend is at the fork crown/steerer junction. Most steerer’s are butted at that area but if it’s compromised and you haven’t taken it out of the frame to inspect if it’s cracked or likely to fail then I hope you have dental insurance.
Within limits you can bend steel and it’s no issue, but if the brazed joint that holds the steerer to the fork crown is compromised then that’s not a good thing. Open it up and see.
Compulsory third party (CTP) insurance is Australia wide AFAIK. It’s just that in Victoria, it is included in the registration fee. CTP covers person, not property.
As for the fork. It doesn’t look too bad, but heed spirito’s advice, padawan.
I think you are being overly pessimistic about the characteristics of steel forks. How do you think fork blades get a bend in them and how does a framebuilder do the final alignment of a new fork? Bent cold and nobody worries about the possibilities of the blades breaking.
Check that the steerer isn’t bent and cold-set the blades back into alignment if they are bent.