Bicycle Mechanics - Rims...Can they be fixed?

Today I picked up a pair of Sun Ringle Single Tracks for $5. I bought it knowing that one was a bit wobbly and the other one has a mini dent in it.

The one with the mini dent is almost straight with almost no wobble. I know this dent could be fixed wiht a pair of pliers to clamp it down straight again. Should I even bother since I will be running disc on it since it is disc specific.

The other one has a massive wobble. Can this be fixed by lacing it up and truing it till its fixed or is it unfixable.

I hope this was a good investment of $5.

The dented one could be a problem with rim brakes, but otherwise it might be OK. Just make sure the inside surface of the rim is smooth and that the hook (the "ridge") is continuous. Otherwise, your tire might wear prematurely in that area.

The other one, it depends.You might be able to get a decent fix, especially for a bike with disk brakes. But there might be a residual up-and-down wobble or too much side to side wobble that you won't be able to correct. And if the wobble is extreme, you might end up with a series of very loose spokes and a series of very stressed ones... just to get it into shape. And if the rim has a few kinks, you won't be able to do anything nice.

Regards,

The dented one could be a problem with rim brakes, but otherwise it might be OK. Just make sure the inside surface of the rim is smooth and that the hook (the "ridge") is continuous. Otherwise, your tire might wear prematurely in that area.

The other one, it depends.You might be able to get a decent fix, especially for a bike with disk brakes. But there might be a residual up-and-down wobble or too much side to side wobble that you won't be able to correct. And if the wobble is extreme, you might end up with a series of very loose spokes and a series of very stressed ones... just to get it into shape. And if the rim has a few kinks, you won't be able to do anything nice.

Regards,

Thanks for the info. the dented one is disc specific so no need to worry about rim brake. Will pinch flatting a tube be higher risk when i have a dent in the sidewall?

If you are an experienced wheel builder, it might be worth a try, but if you are a newbie at building wheels I wouldn't suggest it.

They won't come out straight to start with, and when you start correcting them, they will not be evenly tensioned. If you don't have a real good feel for how it is supposed to go, it will be hard to tell if you've got too much tension in one place and not enough in another.

Disk break wheels may be more forgiving of out of trueness, but they taco as easily as any others.

Thanks for the info. the dented one is disc specific so no need to worry about rim brake. Will pinch flatting a tube be higher risk when i have a dent in the sidewall?


Hard to say, as it depends how severe is the dent. A minor dent would be just a nuisance for rim brakes -- a non-issue in your case -- but a major dent could even prevent the tire from sitting properly on the rim.


In all that, I am also assuming that you will be building/truing these wheels yourself. There is a level of experimentation in wheelbuilding that bike shops can't really assume. If a shop charges $20-30 for wheeltruing (I haven't checked prices recently, I should add), they probably would need to charge $35-50 to true a wheel with such extensive work, and it would indeed be hard to charge such an amount to a customer when the chance of saving the wheel is 50%.

I dont build wheels to often, but I have found my basic mountainbike repair book an excellent help. If you wanted to get into wheelbuilding a little more...so you can do your own wheels...invest in a nice spoke wrench...and a truing stand if your really into it...

Here is what I do when I come across a rim that had been warped / bent etc...

Deflate tube, and remove tire, and rimtape for this process...

1. Loosen off the tension on all of the spokes, and while your at it, replace any stripped nipples if there present, and lube the rest while you at it.
2. Take the rim, and unbend it, using a flat surface, or using your knee and hands, or for abnormal dings/dents, use a adjustable wrench, size it, and bend the portion of the rim back.
3. Thread the nipples so when looking at it from the side, there is no thread left, or usa a screwdriver, and stop turning when it bottoms on the tip of the driver.
4. Next, try to fix the minimal amounts of lateral truness, with the least tension as possible, you need this later.
4. Next, check for wheel hop. Loosen and tighten spokes opposite from each other on each side, to reduce wheel hop.
5. Now that your wheel is true, start adding layers of tension to the spokes. Start with 1/2 turns at first, and re-check truness as you finish. A good place to start adding the tension is at the valve hole. Also remember to back each spoke off 1/8 of a turn to relase any windup the spoke may have...this can unwind when riding, and everything will go out of true again.
6. Once you have as much tension you want / need, grab 2 spokes at a time and pull together to check tightness and hear if they unwind anymore.
7. Replace the rimtape, mount tire, and take it for a spin.

Well theres how I do my wheels for my bike...I dont own a truing stand, but if you place the wheel in your dropouts..yoiu can get a better sense. This might not be the best way...so i think if anyones not too experianced..ask a professional, we all learn somehow. And if anyone wants to tell me im doing something wrong...with the truing procedure....please inform me..im only 15 but i still make mistakes

Hard to say, as it depends how severe is the dent. A minor dent would be just a nuisance for rim brakes -- a non-issue in your case -- but a major dent could even prevent the tire from sitting properly on the rim.


In all that, I am also assuming that you will be building/truing these wheels yourself. There is a level of experimentation in wheelbuilding that bike shops can't really assume. If a shop charges $20-30 for wheeltruing (I haven't checked prices recently, I should add), they probably would need to charge $35-50 to true a wheel with such extensive work, and it would indeed be hard to charge such an amount to a customer when the chance of saving the wheel is 50%.


It is just a minor dent so it hsould be fine. As for wheel building, I have some experience in truing and lacing but I guess i can practice on these. Practice makes perfect.