Damaged wheel question...

[DCBassman]

The rear wheel I'm hoping to use for my Trek Navigator build is an all-but-new Taylor Wheels build that was gently modified by a VW Caddy during Lockdown 1. The buckle is quite small. But given how it was produced, are there any potential problems getting it trued?

 

[Roseland triker]

DIY.
Easy job just go gentle

 

[si_c]

If the rim itself it badly buckled then you may never actually get it true, it may be impossible to straighten with spoke tension adequately. Given that you said the buckle is quite small I don't see this being the case.

Worst case is you ride with a slight buckle in the wheel (I do this with one of my wheelsets, unless I'm tipping the bike over quite far in a corner I don't notice it, I do have a replacement rim, just haven't felt the need to do anything about it yet), unless the brakes are rubbing then this isn't really a problem.

 

[cougie uk]

The rear wheel I'm hoping to use for my Trek Navigator build is an all-but-new Taylor Wheels build that was gently modified by a VW Caddy during Lockdown 1. The buckle is quite small. But given how it was produced, are there any potential problems getting it trued?

If it's only small then you can fix it yourself in under a minute. Just need the spoke key and use the brake blocks as a guide.
Plenty of vids on YouTube to show you what to do but it's only a half turn here and there to begin.

 

[Big John]

I agree with si_c. A damaged rim might hamper a 100% true wheel being achieved. It should be close though if not badly bent.

 

[ColinJ]

If the wheel isn't true and it has rim brakes, won't you feel a regular bump when braking?

A (so-called ) friend drove into my new mountain bike and damaged its back wheel! I never managed to completely straighten it but I have used it for years and it has been totally reliable. The bike has disk brakes though, so braking was not affected.

 

[si_c]

If the wheel isn't true and it has rim brakes, won't you feel a regular bump when braking?

A (so-called ) friend drove into my new mountain bike and damaged its back wheel! I never managed to completely straighten it but I have used it for years and it has been totally reliable. The bike has disk brakes though, so braking was not affected.

Possibly a little bit, I can certainly feel it, but not everyone is able to, depends how sensitive you are to mechanical issues, everyone has a different tolerance.

 

[cougie uk]

If the wheel isn't true and it has rim brakes, won't you feel a regular bump when braking?

A (so-called ) friend drove into my new mountain bike and damaged its back wheel! I never managed to completely straighten it but I have used it for years and it has been totally reliable. The bike has disk brakes though, so braking was not affected.

All depends on how bad the damage is. Pictures might help.

 

[DCBassman]

The level of bend is such that the v-brake needed unhitching to walk the bike home, but no more than that. I'm just concerned that a bend, however small, that was pressed in by a ton and half of car, might be less amenable to basic trueing. If that's not so, I'll have a pop at it myself.

 

[si_c]

The level of bend is such that the v-brake needed unhitching to walk the bike home, but no more than that. I'm just concerned that a bend, however small, that was pressed in by a ton and half of car, might be less amenable to basic trueing. If that's not so, I'll have a pop at it myself.

No less amenable than any other distortion of the rim. If the rim is completely buckled you'd probably run into difficulty, but you'd also visibly notice the buckle and it probably wouldn't go through the brakes even if they were loosened. Give it a try, worst case scenario you get it true enough that you don't need to touch the brakes to walk it.

 

[DCBassman]

Had a go. By no means fixed, but a good bit improved. Might even be rideable!
I'll take it to the shop...