Well, this is the last picture of this bike together.
About a quarter mile up the road from this spot I got hit by a car that was pulling out from a side street. Guy obviously wasn't looking both ways before he pulled out. Luckily he saw me and stopped before dragging me out into the street. We were in a gravel drive and the bike slid more than anything. I wasn't hurt, but my fork and handlebars didn't fair so well. He was more concerned about his car "that was brand new" after finding out I was ok. Things were not civil when he tried to tell me nothing was wrong with the bike. Said "I ride bikes too man, there's nothing wrong with that." Tire was rubbing and we had to go to the shop where he works to get a wrench to move the axle back up. The axle on the left looked bent, worried it was cracked. At first he hands me a pair of vice grips....I look back over at the size of the double-decker snap on box and I'm like, dude, you're telling me there's not an actual wrench in that thing? Loosened the nut and the axle went straight, but it had bent the truss rod over the end of the fork, so when I tightened it, it still has that bent look. Laid the bike on the ground, stood on the fork and tweaked it and the bars back to as close to straight as I could by hand. It still tracked way off and was pulling hard to the left. It was enough to trek the 12mi back home.
Got it up on the stand and it looks like the bar end and axle took the brunt of the force.
The cable got squished against the grill and took paint off the fork, but surprisingly works just fine.
Got the fork out and laid flat on the bench. It's deviated 1/2" to one side, bent at the steerer and legs. The right side has a bow in the leg as you can see the gap with it laid against the table. It's probably twisted too.
I think it's time to retire this frame fork and bar set. Haven't taken the grips off yet to see which part looks more bent on the bars. I could tell it was tweaked on the ride home though, enough to make my wrist sore after 12mi.
One heck of a testament to how strong the wheels are! I thought for sure the rim would wobble, it's all good and the axle may only have a hair of runout to it.