EasyCrank
Über Member
- Location
- Bristol, UK
Me/My Return
Hi all, I used to be a regular on this forum around 10 years ago and remember it was always a fantastic community.
My bike I'd inherited was already 30 years old when I took it on, and whilst I loved it, it was eventually time to be retired.
Then in early 2021 I bought a brand new bike and was super excited about being back on the road, then around a month later, I had an accident where I fell 230 feet down an alpine mountain (not cycling related, I'm a wildlife camera opp and was there for work), and in doing so broke my neck in 3 places, my spine in 3 places, my pelvis in 4 places, shattered my ankle, broke my knee, several ribs, my sternum, and my skull.
However, almost 2 years later and I'm now recovered enough that I'd like to get back on the bike. However, living on a hill and in the slope swaddled landscape of Bristol, at this stage in my recovery getting home may still be a bit of a challenge.
As a result, I decided to invest in a Swytch electric bike kit to give me some assistance until I could go fully manual again. I orderd it mid last year in preparation for when I'd eventually be able to use it. Yesterday I finally took the plunge and moved to fit it, but have found that the motor wheel that you need to replace your front wheel with is not compatible with 'thru-axle' forks, and will only work with u-shape ones. When I ordered it originally I don't think this was flagged and the main criteria was making sure your wheel size was right, and the forks were wide enough. They have since added the issue to their terms, so I may be able to flag them on it, but that doesn't really help me. Even if I could return it and get my money back, that's not what I want as I want to be able to use my bike, and this is still the best way forwards.
So, with all that said, I'm presuming my only choice at this point is to replace the forks on my bike (which after not having been able to work for almost 2 years is not ideal, but necessary).
My Bike Problem:
I need to replace the forks on my bike, but I've never replaced key components on a bike before (other than brake pads/disks, tires, pedals, and grips), and so have no knowledge of the area.
The bike I have is the TREK FX 1 Disk (2021) in medium, and I basically need some forks that fit this bike, will accommodate the brake mechanism currently fitted to mine, but that has a 10mm u-shaped fitting so a wheel can just slot straight down into it.
Would anyone be able to suggest one which is reliable (it doesn't need to be amazing, just good enough that it's strong and safe, and ideally doesn't weigh 10000kg), and ideally pretty cheap?
Also if there's any good online tutorials you could suggest on how to swap forks over that would be great.
Thanks everyone!
Here's a photo Swytch gives for the type of forks it requires, and it says it requires a 10mm dropout slot width:
For reference, here's a photo of my bike (you can view the full specs here):
Hi all, I used to be a regular on this forum around 10 years ago and remember it was always a fantastic community.
My bike I'd inherited was already 30 years old when I took it on, and whilst I loved it, it was eventually time to be retired.
Then in early 2021 I bought a brand new bike and was super excited about being back on the road, then around a month later, I had an accident where I fell 230 feet down an alpine mountain (not cycling related, I'm a wildlife camera opp and was there for work), and in doing so broke my neck in 3 places, my spine in 3 places, my pelvis in 4 places, shattered my ankle, broke my knee, several ribs, my sternum, and my skull.
However, almost 2 years later and I'm now recovered enough that I'd like to get back on the bike. However, living on a hill and in the slope swaddled landscape of Bristol, at this stage in my recovery getting home may still be a bit of a challenge.
As a result, I decided to invest in a Swytch electric bike kit to give me some assistance until I could go fully manual again. I orderd it mid last year in preparation for when I'd eventually be able to use it. Yesterday I finally took the plunge and moved to fit it, but have found that the motor wheel that you need to replace your front wheel with is not compatible with 'thru-axle' forks, and will only work with u-shape ones. When I ordered it originally I don't think this was flagged and the main criteria was making sure your wheel size was right, and the forks were wide enough. They have since added the issue to their terms, so I may be able to flag them on it, but that doesn't really help me. Even if I could return it and get my money back, that's not what I want as I want to be able to use my bike, and this is still the best way forwards.
So, with all that said, I'm presuming my only choice at this point is to replace the forks on my bike (which after not having been able to work for almost 2 years is not ideal, but necessary).
My Bike Problem:
I need to replace the forks on my bike, but I've never replaced key components on a bike before (other than brake pads/disks, tires, pedals, and grips), and so have no knowledge of the area.
The bike I have is the TREK FX 1 Disk (2021) in medium, and I basically need some forks that fit this bike, will accommodate the brake mechanism currently fitted to mine, but that has a 10mm u-shaped fitting so a wheel can just slot straight down into it.
Would anyone be able to suggest one which is reliable (it doesn't need to be amazing, just good enough that it's strong and safe, and ideally doesn't weigh 10000kg), and ideally pretty cheap?
Also if there's any good online tutorials you could suggest on how to swap forks over that would be great.
Thanks everyone!
Here's a photo Swytch gives for the type of forks it requires, and it says it requires a 10mm dropout slot width:
For reference, here's a photo of my bike (you can view the full specs here):
