Are these forks bent?

[Globalti]

Any proper bike shop will have a selection on forks hanging from the ceiling. That one is definitely forked.

 

[tyred]

Remove the forks and inspect carefully for cracks. If none are found, I'd just ride it. It's more than likely been like that for years. Steel is a forgiving material and a bike of that type will have thicker forks than a racing bike.

 

[Chris S]

I'd worry about a face plant myself.

Good point - I've got my mudguards and a 'free' Sturmey Archer wheelset into the bargain. I'll just put the rest on my neighbour's scrap van.

 

[Gravity Aided]

No need to bring the Russians into this, as bent as per a politician would suffice

Why not, they seem to want to get into everything themselves.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I would just change the forks, the rest of the bike may just be in need of an overhaul.

 

[Pale Rider]

Do a Halfords fix and turn the fork around.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

In your position, I'd scrap the Ammaco frame (after removing the BB and headset for spares), as those forks are more bent than I'd be happy with due to the geometry changes as much as anything. Keep an eye out for a 99p 3-speed roadster special off the 'Bay with rusty wheels etc that most buyers wouldn't even look at twice. Then you'd end up with a sound frame you could have confidence in combined with a decent set of Sturmey-based mechanicals.
Budget quality steel frames are sufficiently cheap and easily available that it's really not worth, messing around with crash-damaged ones unless the damaged bike is rare or historically interesting - which an Ammaco is not.

 

[Ajax Bay]

On the other hand I might just . . . run it around as a pub bike, the bent forks don't seem to have affected the handling.

Before choosing this option, I'd try riding it no hands and see whether you're comfortable with its 'quicker' steering. The offset has been significantly reduced by the fork being pushed back.
See graph at https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/why-did-headsets-change-from-1-to-1-1-8.220129/post-5772333
This should mean that it will be rather easy to ride no hands, but the corollary is that the steering will less stable and more sensitive - like a racing (eg criterium) bike. Pub bike - mmmm. Would prefer stability on the way back.

 

[rogerzilla]

The fork may just be badly built. I've seen a Holdsworth fork where the steerer just wasn't brazed into the crown straight. There is a bit of wiggle room before the brass goes in, which can translate to several degrees.

Does the bike have unusually slow, "stiff" steering?

 

[Chris S]

The fork may just be badly built. I've seen a Holdsworth fork where the steerer just wasn't brazed into the crown straight. There is a bit of wiggle room before the brass goes in, which can translate to several degrees.

Does the bike have unusually slow, "stiff" steering?

It's a bike that I bought for spares and have only tried riding in a straight-line to see if the gears worked. I won't risk riding it again.

 

[Chris S]

I was reading a post on Facebook by somebody whose father used to work at Raleigh. Apparently after the forks had been welded they were 'cold set' by burly men bending them straight

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

There's a few excellent YouTube videos for anyone interested in bicycle manufacturing techniques; the one filmed in the Raleigh works, an Equinox documentary, and one about Wester-Ross comparing their production methods to those of Halfords!

 

[randynewmanscat]

I was reading a post on Facebook by somebody whose father used to work at Raleigh. Apparently after the forks had been welded they were 'cold set' by burly men bending them straight

"Saturday Night Sunday Morning". Arthur Seaton on a capstan lathe creating pure scrap in the guise of cotter pin axles and his workmates using setting tools to haul gaspipe frames into alignment.

 

[davidphilips]

You have got a real great buy lots of spare parts for £10 my advice would be use it for parts, dont take chances, that bike was a great buy but if you take a chance it just may turn out to be the worst thing you ever bought.

 

[jay clock]

yes, badly bent, see here https://www.dropbox.com/s/hjyc5nb5u7zo1io/fork.jpg?dl=0