Fork!

I decided I wanted the piece of shit plastic fork off of my steel-framed bike: 2006 Lemond Croix de Fer Triple (not my bike in the picture).  Thank god for the Internet, and the solution I found.


This was so that I could clear more than a 28mm tire in the front once in a while, and the 28mms I do run wouldn't make so much noise when they pick up dirt and try to clear it through the 2mm space remaining.  Look, I am not racing, just running 100km+ days and planning to join brevets.


To do that I had to find a steel fork with similar geometry.  Thank you All City for the Mr. Pink fork.

In a simpler world, I would get this through my local shop and they would install it.  Well, besides the fact that every city has maybe one shop that is competent, this part is not carried in Japan: so I ordered it from the States.  To install it the shops gave me BS: pay us double installation since you did not order through us (you don't carry steel forks, fuckhead), and bring us your bike to look at before we commit to doing it (bag and it and schlep it across Tokyo twice?  And you might do it?  Fuck you.)


So this means I have to install it myself.  This is not so simple.


First thing is that the original front-brake on the Lemond was short-reach, but I will need medium/long-reach with the new fork.  I thought I was lucky that my Kona Paddy Wagon has medium-reach brakes, that I could switch over for the brakes from the Lemond, and the Lemond's shouldl just reach on the Kona...  No: the Lemond's brakes fit on the Kona, but the Kona's did not on the All City Fork.  Ordered some long-reach Shimanos.


Next I need to cut the fork steerer to the right length myself, without the proper cutting guide, as another $50 starts to make this cost much more than it should.  Read somewhere to use two hose-clamps as a guide.  Sweet idea.

So those are bought, and so is a 30tpi metal handsaw, and a metal file for the finish.  Also bought a soft-headed mallet to pop the fork out, and the star-nut.  Luckily I have a dowel I can use for pushing the star nut into place.

Now nothing is left but the swearing...  (Part II).