I’m reluctant to say it, but we ended up not replacing fork seals for her bike. I really wanted to do the refurbishing of the old forks; I guess I needed to prove myself as a mechanic.
And yet, as I was shopping for parts for the job, I stumbled upon a beautiful complete front end on eBay, from a bike being parted out. And for a song.
The new front end had some broken bolts, so my daughter got to try her hand at bolt extraction.
The local bike shop spooned on a new front tire for us. Then we buttoned it up and sent her on her way.
The bike went back to school with her, for her use there until semester’s end. It was 38 and raining turning toward snow. So the bike rode back on a trailer — an ignoble beginning to its useful season.
So, I have spare forks, and the parts to replace the seals, and a determination to do it. Whether to recoup expenses by flipping them and selling them on eBay, or whether to keep an array of spare parts for my daughters bike, I can’t say.
