Over the years I have aligned lots of Electro Forged frames, it's not difficult and most repairs will not even harm the original paint. They are very tough to bend out of alignment (abuse), and you are going to need way to secure the frame in order to bend it back into alignment. Always take the bike in question for a ride before you get too far into it. Can it be ridden "no hands"? Which way does it pull? You could be chasing a bent frame problem, but it might be a bent fork. Just make certain you know what is bent out of alignment before you start re-bending things. By far, the very best tool in a bicycle shop is a huge vise with 5" to 6" jaws. The vise needs to be securely mounted to the floor if you plan on doing any frame alignment bending in it. As the picture shows above, not all Schwinn frames have the seat mast and down tubes centered in the bottom bracket shell width. Remove the crank from the frame but leave the crank bearing cups in the frame for strength to the bottom bracket shell. Clamp the frame into the vise by the bearing cups. Before you remove the wheels and fork use a straight edge to check the alignment of the front wheel to the rear wheel. 1 1/2" extruded aluminum angle makes a perfect wheel alignment checker gauge. To check the front to rear alignment, run a common "kite string" from the left rear fork end up over the head tube and back down to the right rear fork end side surface. Use a metric caliper to measure the distance from the string to the seat tube on both sides, it should be the same. Note, you have to set or at least confirm the OLD (over lock nut distance) to be correct for your hubs before you check the frame alignment. When you set the OLD you have to know which direction you need to move the chain stays to keep the frame alignment. You cannot just use a section of thread-all rod to spread the fork ends. The right chain stay will always bend first since it has two dimples stamped into the stay. You can do a better job using a vise and a 4-foot section of 2 by 4 to make a "no paint damage", controlled bend.
Tools. You do not need much in special tools. A BIG F...ing Vise, a 6'-8' piece of extruded aluminum angle for a straight edge, some Kite String, a Metric Caliper (easier to read small numbers), a 4'-5' 2 by 4. Seriously, it's the all-time best frame bending tool. The wood will not scratch original paint, and the wood will not dent frame tubing, even thin wall Reynolds and Columbus tubing. The phrase is "cold setting" which looks much better on the customers repair bill, than just telling him we bent it back so don't leave your bike parked behind mom's car.
Park and Campy both have the fork end alignment tools which are a must have tool.
The Park Frame and Fork alignment tool is a must have tool.
The Park seat stay alignment tool is a must have tool.
Schwinn has included both Frame and Fork alignment in their service manuals and service bulletins over the years. It would be worth anyone's time to look up this old but still relevant information if you're tackling an alignment problem for the first time.
John
