thanks for all the awesome input, guys. much appreciated.

mtnbke, that makes total sense. i understand that bike shops are basically in it to win it, they're just like any business. they've got to make money somehow and spending their own money to fix a problem that they made is something they just don't want to do. however, you'd think fixing that one mistake (which wouldn't even cost them much... at all) would be a positive thing as far as me coming back and buying more parts. ****, i even offered to buy a new rim and spokes FROM THEM and the guy, for whatever reason, just shrugged it off and continued to argue with me. at that point i was ready to throw my wheel at him and start shopping somewhere else for parts. i'm definitely going to look into a truing stand or even just find a friend that has one, i'm sure someone does. as for wrenching on my own bike, i do everything myself. only thing i don't mess with are wheels just because i've never put spokes in and trued one myself.

jbrow1, i don't understand it either haha. it's funny because after it bent, my friend and i were able to bend it straight, and then bend it right back to it's awful, deformed state like it was nothing. no pictures because it's at the shop, but here's a picture of about what it looked like... maybe even a little worse.


prathmann, wheels are definitely a cheap steel. funny thing though, i hadn't even used brakes with that rear wheel because me and my friend had just finished running new cables/housings to the rear and before even testing them out it flopped on me.

i'm probably going to grab my wheel from them tomorrow and tell them to forget about it then just replace it with a better rim myself. thanks for the heads up on how the ERD and spoke length coact, prathmann. i had no idea.