Rim damage, time for the bin?

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Broadside

Guru
Location
Fleet, Hants
I've just gone to repair a puncture on my wife's bike, turns out she has got a pinch flat with a damaged rim nearby.

Is this rim damaged beyond repair or might it be ok being bent back? Main concern is safety but also worried about continued punctures if the rim does not bend fully in line and puts pressure through the tyre wall.

She doesn't remember hitting a pot hole or rock so I'm not certain the pinch flat and rim damage happened at the same time.
 

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RebornBumbler

Senior Member
Location
Barnstaple
Adjustable spanner tweaking and some wet & dry to follow should keep you going
 

Tojo

Über Member
Mole grips.... nice and easy and nick one of your lasses nail boards to take any little sharp edges off, it'll not be spot on but as long as there is no cracks it'll be usable...Hope you can sort it and I've been of help....:okay:
 

slowmotion

Quite dreadful
Location
lost somewhere
If it's a rear wheel rim, I would get out the Mole wrench and have a go, as others have suggested. It's a good idea to use a couple of short lengths of wood on either side of the bead (inside the rim and outside the rim) to spread the load from the Mole's jaws, otherwise you risk kinking the repair. If it was a front rim, I would trash the wheel. Nobody needs some sudden deflation failure while steering downhill at speed.
 
OP
OP
Broadside

Broadside

Guru
Location
Fleet, Hants
Thanks all, I will have a go at with some mole grips or an adjustable later. I agree that if it was a front wheel I wouldn't be touching it at all. Thanks for the advice.
 
Location
Pontefract
I have just run an RS11 rear, for 1,000's of miles with a dent after hitting a stone back in May last year, obviously it cause a flat, but haven't had one since, however, I am getting some new wheels this week, but thats because the rims are starting to fracture at the spoke holes.
 
Location
Loch side.
That is perfectly repairable but not with a mole grip, spanner or pliers. The reason I say that is because all these tools introduce a secondary dent where the pushing jaw fulcrums on the rim. It leaves a mark that causes pulsating brakes.

You need to bang out the dent from the inside. You need an anvil of sorts with a sharp, not rounded edge - 90 degrees. Have a helper hold the rim edge flat on the anvil so that the edge of the rim lines up with the edge of the anvil. Now hammer it with single, sharp blows so that the dent is flattened against the anvil. You can use a broomstick but it will break quickly and you may have to saw it off and bang again. The best tool is a 20m nylon rod about 200mm long and flat at the end. These rods can be purchased from engineering plastic suppliers. For the DIYer, a piece of broomstick will do.

Never use wood as an anvil. This will allow the rim to bend outwards i.e. too far.
 
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OP
OP
Broadside

Broadside

Guru
Location
Fleet, Hants
Very much depends upon the wheel whether it's economically worth doing that.

It's a stock wheel on a Specialized Dolce with about 3,000 all weather miles clocked up on that wheel, so it's a DIY fix or complete replacement, it's not worth paying for a repair on it.
 
Location
Loch side.
It's a stock wheel on a Specialized Dolce with about 3,000 all weather miles clocked up on that wheel, so it's a DIY fix or complete replacement, it's not worth paying for a repair on it.
Sidewall wear would make up your mind then. Put a straight edge to the brake track and see how much it is worn. More than 0.7mm, it goes to the bin.
 

Tojo

Über Member
That is perfectly repairable but not with a mole grip, spanner or pliers. The reason I say that is because all these tools introduce a secondary dent where the pushing jaw fulcrums on the rim. It leaves a mark that causes pulsating brakes.

You need to bang out the dent from the inside. You need an anvil of sorts with a sharp, not rounded edge - 90 degrees. Have a helper hold the rim edge flat on the anvil so that the edge of the rim lines up with the edge of the anvil. Now hammer it with single, sharp blows so that the dent is flattened against the anvil. You can use a broomstick but it will break quickly and you may have to saw it off and bang again. The best tool is a 20m nylon rod about 200mm long and flat at the end. These rods can be purchased from engineering plastic suppliers. For the DIYer, a piece of broomstick will do.

Never use wood as an anvil. This will allow the rim to bend outwards i.e. too far.



I know I mentioned the use of mole grips, but unfortunately I forgot to mention that I use nylon packing spacers not directly using the metal jaws, I've used this method quite a few times and found it quick and effective with very little dressing up afterwards ( sorry about that as you'll see the time I posted that I was a little inebriated due to sampling a generous amount of my mates Malt collection, only just looked back on that post.....:shy:..)
 
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