1) Filing them is bad. You have altered that particular surface and it will likely now be more likely to crack from where you have filed it.

2) You still do not appear to have found out what the original problem is, you’ve just hidden it by some bodging. Whatever was wrong with them will still be wrong with them and likely to be slightly worse here

3) Many people have suggested things to do, but it’s not clear whether you have done them or not. You seem to be obsessed with getting new lowers even though they may not be the issue

Why don’t you take them into a decent bike shop to have them give them a once over?

thequeenscheese – Member

in which case i will repair them, how difficult of a job is it to do myself if i got hold of some good lowers?

it’s an easy job, but you need the exact pair of lowers for that fork, and the right amount of oil, plus i think you might need a ground down socket to undo the footnuts

Is it worth taking the tyre of the wheel taking the wheel to a bikeshop and getting them checking the wheel dish? This would eliminate the wheel or prove it was the problem.

Taking the wheel out and putting it back in the wrong way round will show if it’s a dishing problem.

True but it can be difficult to tell if the spokes hit the disk caliper and I would have thought if the forks were bent they would not move nicely.

Is it worth taking the tyre of the wheel taking the wheel to a bikeshop and getting them checking the wheel dish? This would eliminate the wheel or prove it was the problem.
Posted 1 day ago # Report-Post
Dibbs – Member

Taking the wheel out and putting it back in the wrong way round will show if it’s a dishing problem.
Posted 1 day ago # Report-Post
Bruce – Member

True but it can be difficult to tell if the spokes hit the disk caliper and I would have thought if the forks were bent they would not move nicely.

Already done this and mentioned it in an earlier post, AND I PUT MY MATES WHEEL IN AND HIS WAS IN THE SMA PLACE SITTING TO THE RIGHT,
AND HIS WHEEL IS FINE IN HIS BIKE AND AS I HAVE SAID I WILL BE TAKING IT TO GET CHECKED WHEN I GET A MOMMENT TO DO SO.

1) Filing them is bad. You have altered that particular surface and it will likely now be more likely to crack from where you have filed it.

2) You still do not appear to have found out what the original problem is, you’ve just hidden it by some bodging. Whatever was wrong with them will still be wrong with them and likely to be slightly worse here

3) Many people have suggested things to do, but it’s not clear whether you have done them or not. You seem to be obsessed with getting new lowers even though they may not be the issue

Why don’t you take them into a decent bike shop to have them give them a once over?
OF COURSE FILING THEM ISNT IDEAL IF THEY WER’NT BENT I WOULDNT HAVE TO, THE DROPOUT HOWEVER ISNT DAMAGED, IF THERE BENT THEN, THERE BENT ON THE BRIDGE ITS THE ONLY POSSIBLE PLACE THEY CAN BE, AND FOR THE FILING IM TALKING 2MILL NOT AN INCH ITS A RUNNING REPAIR NOT A REDESIGN AND AS I HAVE SAID MOST OF IT WAS POWDER COATING, AND THE PROCCESS IS A SIMPLE ENGINEERING TASK THAT 2 YEAROLD COULD ACCOMPLISH, IM MNOT A NUMPTY I THINK I WOULD KNOW IF I WAS DOING SOMETHING CATASTOPHIC, YOUR ALL PUTTING TOO MUCH ENPHASISS ON THE FACT THAT IVE TOOK THE THICKNESS OF 2 FINGER NAILS OUT OF 1 DROPOUT-THAT ISNT GOING TO BREAK THEM…

I’ll ;look into changing the lowers if i can find some but prob end up letting a shop doit, and theres no point swapping these for some cheap forks that will break even easier..

LOL good rant

theres no point swapping these for some cheap forks that will break even easier

No, you stick with your bent, filed down, 10 year old forks. Far less likely to break. 😯

No, you stick with your bent, filed down, 10 year old forks. Far less likely to break.

Ahh I se ud ratyher take to the road in a brand new robin reliant than a 1960’s landrover with your kids and drive into a wall at high speed?…same principal

Yes, exactly the same principle. The old kids in a car crashing into a wall analogy.

Can’t believe didn’t I think of that.

I think uve missed the point – landrover tougher better stronger fixable – more expensive not CHEAP new and shiny.

You have bent your fork when crashing – put a sideways force thru it.

i wouldn’t ride it again

thats upto you its fine for me..

Actually the car analogy is incorrect, the Euro NCAP ratings on new cars far exceed the safety standards used for older vehicles.

I think it was Top Gear or Fifth Gear than ran a fairly unscientific test of ramming an old Volvo estate (which were built like a brick poo-house) into a new base model Yaris…. the Crash test dummy in the Yaris was essential fine, but the dummy in the Volvo was a mess.

Anyway, could the powder coat on the inside of the other dropout have actually worn down enough to cause the wheel to be mis-aligned? be interesting if you can get some decent callipers and measure the difference.

If they are bent, I’d be inclined to bin them and buy some new ones – if you have a crash on them again like you did recently they *could* break, and you *could* end up in A&E with a bit of fork stuck in you, or a break and bruises.

It’s all personal opinion – personally I wouldn’t like to risk it, but I’m risk adverse. If you’re happy to take the risk, then cool – I’m sure loads of folk have ridden wonky forks without any trouble too.

Actually the car analogy is incorrect, the Euro NCAP ratings on new cars far exceed the safety standards used for older vehicles.

I think it was Top Gear or Fifth Gear than ran a fairly unscientific test of ramming an old Volvo estate (which were built like a brick poo-house) into a new base model Yaris…. the Crash test dummy in the Yaris was essential fine, but the dummy in the Volvo was a mess.

for sure your right but i think with mtb forks you get what you pay for and if id have had those sudgested for £100 both i and they would be in a pretty worst state than we are now…, and i concur that lots of peeps most likely have oe do ride with less than perfect forks and or other parts of a bike for that matter, i do class myself as competent enough to judge wiether they beyond usalbe or not..

I do think the wheel also took a knock so this for sure ill get checked outand the forks if thier out are knackered ill just fix..

The £100 toras will be far better / stronger / safer that the ones you have that are bent.

Seriously if you have given them enough impact to bend them they are compromised for safety greatly

I think you guys are confusing bent with what ive actually done if they have gone im talking a couple of mill at the most, if these or any forks cant put up with sutch a small incident then they were not safe from the day they left the factory, get some metal/alloy whtever you fancy go and bend it be generous go for 1 hole cm see if it breaks…

peeps come on! stop telling me that they will kill me they wont, im not an office waller i work with my hands im a practical guy ive restored classic cars, i do all my own motor repairs, my pops was an engineer and mechanic i think i can tell if some basic engvineering and bearly (if any) bent forks are gonna kill me..

thequeenscheese

the point is its a cast part that will have been bent – bending castings weakens them considerably does it not.

Especially with a QR fork I simply would not trust them

yes of course it does doesnt mean they going to fall apart, there cast alloy not iron besides this i havnt said theyve not been affected my point was that thier either gonna be fine like this or they will knackered most rants have been about the 2mill of filing ive done which to this will cause a problem is ridiculous, im begging to get the impression that this generation is too easy to disguard instead of repair something that is perfectly usable, we arnt talking bent beyond all recognition, we’re talking about fractions out and as ive said already o strongly believe they have always been like this before/when i purchased them reconditioned..

My dad was an electrical engineer on frigates in the RN but it that does not qualify me to know how ships work.

Teeth will cost more than new forks.

In your first post you say you crashed sideways and bent the wheel- My bet is you bent the fork as well then

a casting that has been bent will be weakened I would have thought

anyway – you asked for advice and have been given it. Your choice

seems pretty silly to be riding around on bent 10 year old forks tho for the sake of £100 … not like they were top of the range even 10 years ago

no-one is going to stop you riding on them, but ****, i wouldn’t. not a chance, especially QR. broken forks = broken face! 🙂

all you need to do is crash in the opposite direction and theyll bend back to where they were 😀

I’m not entirely sure why I’m posting on this thread, I think it’s cos I’m confused.

The way I see it: 1) Guy crashes, notices fault with wheel. 2) Guy asks for advice re. fault on forum. 3) Forumistas diagnose that fault does not lie with wheel or axle, ergo fault must lie with fork. 4) Forumistas that guy asked for advice, advise guy that said faulty fork is dangerous and should be replaced. 5) Guy rejects replacement advice and bodges repair.

Does this cover it?

OP-I understand that you’re good with your hands and you and/or your father (I can’t be bothered going back to check who at this stage) have a background in engineering, but please, listen to the advice.

You may believe wholeheartedly in your tried and trusted Zokes, even after the bodged repair, but none of us are trying to sell you anything here, we just don’t want you to hurt yourself.

You can get a very very good set of forks that are better built and work better than your old bodged Zokes for a couple of hundred quid. Have a look at the SID’s or Reba’s on the buybikebits.co.uk website for instance. Whatever you do, stop riding structurally unsound kit.

pretty certain i aint bodged a repair cos according to you guys there is no repair only replacement – cant bodge something there isnt lol, but like ive said i will be getting them checkout 1 to absolutely determin the fault and 2 to makesure they aint gonna fall in half and end up like the guy in the pic, but even if there fubar all il do is swap the lowers for some more that are goodand may aswell do the seals etc in the proccess seems pointless “forking” out more than i need 2, they were brandnew refurbed when i got them and have only done 50miles at a push so ive had nothing like my money out of them and i think there actually 2006 not older so not quite the 10years old..

and all the advice has been 97% good my origional q&a’s have been answered and for this i say thanks, but i personally dont think they are particualy as dangerous as some folks believe especially for the use they get from me, but for sure if i had a spare £300 at the min i would buy some new ones, (i would have bought some new ones to begin with not recons)..

not sure about the technical term for the top tubes but does any1 know if these have varied in size over the years, ie does it matter if i pickup a 2002-2008 set of lowers?

thequeenscheese – Member

I think uve missed the point – landrover tougher better stronger fixable – more expensive not CHEAP new and shiny.

Aye, this makes total sense. Except you’ve already broken your old forks so apparently they’re not that strong. And what’s been suggested as a replacement is a set of Toras, which are tough as old boots.

ah sorry to all there i did miss the point that the tora being refered to are rockshock tora i sorta picked up on tora being a pants brandname, but i dont want those because i want air sus as theses are and if i can fix these for £60 quid or so (dunno maybe thats cheap) then id rather do that id say these were also pretty decent for the high mid range price they would have comanded when they were new as second hand and recons still do…

Don’t forget – you don’t know what is broken on your forks. Uppers of lowers – much easier to just replace the whole lot.

New forks from a major manufacturer will be better than a mediocre pair of 10 year old Marzochi’s. You could get some second hand ones off the sales or wants on here!

Under the Forks tab at this website; http://www.marzocchi.com/Template/detailHomepage.asp?LN=UK&idC=1592&IdFolder=122 is a link entitled “forks by model year”. You will potentially find your forks there but there may well be issues.

Marzocchi (and all other fork co’s.) make alot of forks that are OEM (original equipment),that means that they are slightly different in spec & styling so identifying yours may not be easy. Get in touch with Windwave on 0239 252 1912 for more help.

Replacement stanchions/crowns/lowers are damned expensive even for old forks, I had a set of 2006 Marzocchi Bombers that need new stanchions and was quoted £150 iirc, the forks were worth about £50 at the time.

BTW, technical term for bits of a fork from the top down, sorry in advance for patronising:
Long single tube your stem attaches to=Steerer
Bit that sits at bottom of steerer and connects steerer to forks legs=Crown
2 Bits that stick out of bottom of crown and don’t move=Stanchions
The three parts above are often collectively known as the CSU=Crown Steerer Unit and these days are usually replaced as one part.
2 Bits that slide up and down on stanchions=Fork Legs or Lowers

sorry in advance for patronising:

feel free cos im not upto speed yet with the tems…lol, cheers for that adv maybe they aint worth fixin unless i can fid a cheap pair knocking about..

or up to and terms tut typos..

Okay, my turn:

1. Is if definitely the forks? Have you tried a known good wheel or the wheel in a known good fork? The photos aren/t much good as you need to take them square on with a reference point.

2. If the fork have you tried tweaking it a bit – if you identify the misalignment then take each leg in a hand and try and tweak it. Not ideal and I accept no responsibility if it breaks doing it or when riding. Although if it breaks when doing this then you definitely didn’t want to ride them.

3. I wouldn’t want to file down the drop outs. I’ve seen a bit of your rant but I really wouldn’t want to file down drop outs. There is a lot of force on drop outs when you hit the brakes amongst other things.

take the paint off by all means (I assume you mean the inside of the hole) but if still not enough then maybe add a small layer of nail varnish or epoxy to the other side. But not too much and make sure the QR still fits nicely in the counterbore on the outside.

3. I wouldn’t want to file down the drop outs. I’ve seen a bit of your rant but I really wouldn’t want to file down drop outs. There is a lot of force on drop outs when you hit the brakes amongst other things.

take the paint off by all means (I assume you mean the inside of the hole) but if still not enough then maybe add a small layer of nail varnish or epoxy to the other side. But not too much and make sure the QR still fits nicely in the counterbore on the outside.

ahh maybe i didnt make myself clear when i mention id filed the dropout, i havnt made the drop our widerf, ive only made it deeper-thus the slot is now 2mill longer so the axle mounting point still fits snugg as do the qr nuts and the wheel now sits centeral but the wheel has a 1mill wobble so either i need to take a little more-the forks are trashed entirely-or the wheel took a knock aswell, so when i get back from italy next wk i will nip them somewhere (prob the national center as sudgested earlier) just to be sure…

thequeenscheese – Member

thats upto you its fine for me..

Sorry but this is thread closed. You have asked for advice which has been given but you chose, which is your right, to ignore it. I would ask though if you were going to ignore it why ask for the advice in the first place.

Sorry but this is thread closed. You have asked for advice which has been given but you chose, which is your right, to ignore it. I would ask though if you were going to ignore it why ask for the advice in the first place.

i think ull find that mostly the advice given is opinion not educated advice,are you and these posters Metallurgical Engineers, Fabricators, make marzocchi forks for a living? Has any of the posters had a set of forks break on them? ifso please make it known.
I have accepted all the advice and taken it onboard but dont get in a huff if i decide for my own reasons not to take your advice, is the thread closed no you have kept it alive by replying with your non comment, and if you read the thread some posters are in agreement with me, niether do i recall asking if riding the forks was an issue i asked what could cause the problem i had.