Mountain Biking - Bent the front rim third time out. new wheels?

on my 3rd time using my bike a friend wipped it pretty bad and bent the front rim doing so. Going to take it to the lbs tomorrow to see if it can be bent back or how much it would be for a new rim and have it replaced. I heard the labor, in general, to fix a wheel is expensive and i do know they dont have cheap wheels so i might consider purchasing new wheels online and wanted to know if this was and ok buy.

Dont have more then 100$ to spend but did find these.
btw i have no idea what rims are good rims and even less about hubs.
Just that it goes from least to best deore ---> lx ----> xt ---->xtr
http://www.supergo.com/profile.cfm?LPROD_ID=24016&lsubcat_id=7567&lcat_id=7604
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product.aspx?i=WH707A17
thanks for your help.

How bad is it? If it's just an 1" out of true (straightness), then it can probably be fixed. If it's been tacoed (now looks like a Pringle's Potato Chip) you're looking at a new wheel.

You can buy new wheels online for less money, but you'll need a couple of things which will drive the cost up. Still, might be the way to go. You'll need rim strips. This are rubber or cloth strips that cover the spokes, and keep your tubes from getting holes in them. I recommend the cloth ones. Either Velox or Pedro's. (about $5 each). Then, if you get a pair of wheels, you'll need to change over your cassette. You'll need a chain whip. (Park or Pedro's - about $20) and a cassette tool (also either Park or Pedro's - another $15). This may seem expensive, but if you get into the sport, you're going to need these tools, so it's always cheaper to buy the tools and the parts, learn how to do the work yourself, and you'll save money on the next time or next times!

If you go to the bike shop, they'll get you a new wheel put it on for you, and then next time you have to go back and have them do it again.

Learn to work on your own bike(s) and buy GOOD tools the first time. You'll be the better rider for it, and you'll save money over the years.

L8R

its not tacoed... its like an inch or inch and half out of true. I do wanna learn how to work on my own bike. I dont live or work near any lbs so its really out of hte way for me. But ill take it and see if they can just bend it back since its not that bad. Thanks again.

na you know what its probably less or equal to and inch because it took us a while to realize why the brake pad was rubbing. So its not obvious till you try and look at it.

you can probably try to true it back. otherwise, i'd just get a new, stronger wheel online. like you mentioned, they may be cheaper than what labor is for a wheel rebuild.

na you know what its probably less or equal to and inch because it took us a while to realize why the brake pad was rubbing. So its not obvious till you try and look at it.


You may be lucky and have a wheel that is retueable. Hope you are, but this is one of the hazards of riding. If the lbs start talking about a new rim, ask them for a price to fit it. Then go online to a decent wheel builder, and see how much a new repacement wheel will cost you. It will not be that the lbs is fleecing you, but decent wheels are not that expensive.