Where to get steel fork aligned?
 

Time to quit kicking this can down the road. I bought one of the tribute Olmo SanRemo's as a used frameset a couple of years ago. Noticed the front wheel sat askew in the fork and figured it was just a simple dropout alignment messed up during shipment. LBS worked on it and have always come through in the past. This time though something else was off. Basically the wheel was sitting off to the side in the fork. It's rideable as is but the handling is way weird and I want to get it right.

Anyone know of a source who could sort this out? A local Utah framebuilder would be great but I have no issue sending it off to someone if needed.

https://pbase.com/jhuddle/image/172139671.jpg

Jack Trumbull, owner of Franklin Frame, Newark, Ohio. I have used him more times than I can count and he always over delivers.

A local frame builder should be able to realign things. I had bilenky do one for me in Philly since I’m in the area.

I don't know if he does this kind of work, but SaltAir cycles is a steel frame builder in Utah. Maybe try reaching out to him?

I don't know, he may be a little rusty.

Maybe try waltworks? I know he is in Utah, not sure if he is still actively building.

https://waltworks.com/

I had a French bike that pulled hard to the right because of a misaligned fork. I took it in to Andy Gilmour, who has a Marchetii & Lange fork alignment tool. He did it in an afternoon.

All but stating the obvious, I’d locate a builder who has and still builds road forks from steel. Perhaps the majority of builders these days build the frame and take a fork out of the packet.

Simple isn’t easy.

You might contact a local bike co-op and see if they have a fork tool. My local shop has one and they would straighten my fork for a fee, or teach me how to do so. I learned by doing, and it is not rocket surgery.

Most old time bike guys can align a fork. When I close my shop in Lafayette, LA, I moved to Little Rock and got hired on at a higher end shop.
They sold Electra bikes as one of their lines and a bike came in with a badly bent fork. The shop manager knew getting a new fork or a new bike was going to be a real hassle. At that time, I hadn't sold most of my tools and I still owned a Park Fork Alignment jig. SO, I brought it in the next morning and aligned the fork in 10 minutes. It doesn't take long if you know what you're doing.
That shop closed and I worked at another shop that had a BMX fork the customer bent. I had sold my jig by that time, but with an Allen wrench and dropout alignment tools, I straightened it in about 30-35 minutes. That Park Jig makes the job easy and quick.

Ask Toby at Hot Tubes. Massachusetts.

Tim

Thanks for all the ideas. I knew there were some local Utah guys but failed in my googling.

I wasn't even thinking about Andy but that's a good suggestion. I'll be in Tucson sometime this spring to see my grandkids so maybe I can arrange a hook up with him if the local guys don't see that confident in succeeding.

Plus he’s a hoot and a half to visit. Super guy!

Andy built us our first tandem, probably around 1980.
He’s been around a long time, I would not hesitate to have him do it.