B-b-b-b-b-b-bicicle Rider
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Racine WI
Posts: 749
Bikes: 1997, stumpjumper S-works hardtail, Medici, Giant Perigee(track dropouts and fixed gear), Columbia twosome, schwinn twinn, '67 raleigh 5 speed internal hub, Old triumph 3 speed, old BSA 3-speed, schwinn Racer 2spd kickback, Broken raysport criteriu
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I once hit a curb at high speed, at night, while drunk. Not suprisingly the tire went flat. I hit it so hard the rim bead seating area was pinched together. I used a pair of smooth pliers and a cloth to simply bend it back to nearly straight. The cloth just went between the pliers and the rim to prevent as much marring as possible. It worked for me, I rode the rim for about 4 more years untill I actually wore through the rim from so much braking. When I saw the holes in the aluminum, I got a new rim. But the fix worked for me. I did also have to true the wheel a tad as it still had a slight flat spot from the whack and I didn't have a flat spot puller at the time. If you have access to one of those it's a cool tool. If your wheel has a flat spot, use this tool as it makes truing the wheel 99 times easier. whithout the tool, I'd recommend putting the rim between your feet and pulllllllling on the flat spot to try to get it closer to round.
But if all you have is a slight pinch in the bead seating area of the rim, then just use pliers, even vise grips will work, just don't forget to put the cloth in there otherwise the roughed up area will make braking uneven and eat up your brake pads.
Hope this helps,
sincerely,
Orange leader