Gabriel is one of the Bike Works Earn-a-Bike kids and he's worked very hard refurbishing bikes for other kids. Now, he's working on a super cool bike of his own, but he's run into a problem and we don't have the needed bit here at Bike Works. I'm turning over my blog to him for a bit so he can explain the problem. Maybe one of you kind folks out in cyberspace have just the bit Gabriel is looking for. Take it away Gabriel!
Hello “Kent's Bike Blog” Readers!
My name is Gabriel and I go to Bike Works for the youth programs. I am nine years old. I love bikes a lot. My favorite thing is the feeling when you finish building a bike and take it out on the road for the first time.
I am working on a smaller than usual road bike, an Italian Eurospecial for myself to ride. I have been wanting a road bike for my entire life as a cyclist. This bike is awesome because it is vintage and has a whole bunch of really cool bike parts on it. The bike comes from far away, it is Italian!
Unfortunately, it has a bent fork and I am wondering if you can help me find a replacement fork that isn't broken. It has to be compatible with a 24” road wheel. I am building this bike out of parts that have been donated to Bike Works, if you have a fork you could donate to my special project, please email Kent ( kentsbike (at) gmail.com).
Thanks, I really appreciate your help!
Gabriel
Here's a bit more info about what's needed. The fork should have a 1inch steerer tube six at least 6 inches long (we can cut it down if needed). Threaded is best but we could make a threadless fork work by going to a different headset. A fork out of a Terry bicycle or one of the old time trial bikes with the 24" front wheel would be perfect. It's a long shot, but does anybody out there have such a thing kicking around? Gabriel has a budget of about zero dollars for this and Bike Works runs on shoestrings we make out of bits of other shoestrings, so I'm happy to put my blog to work on this quest. If you've got a fork that will help Gabriel out, please let me know.
Thanks,
Kent
6 comments:
Gabriel - great to see your interest in bikes - and that's a cool bike you're working on.
My son is 9 years old and also rides. He has a mountain bike at the moment.
I don't have such a fork laying around the garage. If I did, would gladly hand it over.
If any other cyclists reading this blog want to chip in to buy a Gabriel a fork for this bike - I'm in for a few bucks.
Hi Kent,
To aid in your search you or Gabriel may want to post a "wanted" listing on Freecycle (http://freecycle.org/) and craigslist in your area. I have had some success with this strategy in the past. :)
Cheers! :)
~Logan.
www.rowdykittens.com
Nice ride you have their Gabriel! My son rides a BH Junior with 24" wheels and I wonder if the fork on the BH could fit your bike. I'm not much of a mechanic and I guess Ken would have to show me how to measure it. Although I'm in Spain if nothing else hsows up and the BH fork can work we'll just have to solve this problem somehow. You can see the BH here: http://the-purple-pig.blogspot.com/2006/11/wow.html
Let me know.
Great work Gabriel! I got an Italian bike when I was just a few years older than you are now and it was a great bike. If I had such a fork as what you are looking for it would be yours but no such luck I'm afraid.
If you do find one for sale, I'd chip in with Dan O with a couple bucks too.
Good luck with the bike!
Hey Folks,
Just a super quick update here. Mike Gillespie had the perfect fork off his wife's crashed Terry bicycle and he's sending it us here at Bike Works so Gabriel can finish up his bike.
Thanks so much to Mike and all the folks who came through with offers offers of help. You all totally rock!
Kent
Gabriel, Kent, et al
First of all, awesome job Gabriel, stick with it!
If a fork is still needed I found one and would be happy to pitch in as well.
http://tiny.cc/ulRJO
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