can someone explain the small drillings on the fork where the crown race sits?
Someone dimpled it with a punch or nail because the crown race they were using was loose. It’s a hack job but it can work.
cool thanks. so by deforming it raises a small lip around the indentation and allows the race to stay seated, yeah?
sounds a bit hack
Very much so … but when it’s been milled (or more accurately filed by klutzes) too much often it’s the only trick to enable using the fork (instead of buying a new one).
Thanks Spirito oh knowledgeable one. I was guessing around that time but based on nothing in particular. That fork crown situation seems odd (possibly annoying) but kinda nice too. I like the idea that you can read something and understand parts of its history by the marks left on it (even if they were done by a punch weilding thug)
You’ll be fine. I’ve seen a few like that and each of them was a matter of trying a few different crown races to find one that fit snugly. I’ve also seen some that were shimmed. Freckl also had an Italian frame where the owner used a Japanese standard 27.0mm fork crown race, shimmed to fit the standard Italian 26.5mm fork crown. There’s that too. I wouldn’t sweat it.
Cheers, I’ll wait and see how it is when it arrives. Long term project so plenty of time to find the right parts for the job.