Originally Posted by
Airburst
The consequences of finding out, in this case, would be a spoke (or maybe two if you were bloody unlucky) pulling through the rim and causing it to go out of true... The bike will still be completely rideable, although the brakes may rub a bit.
Anyway, the rim has been "stressed" ever since it's been built up into a wheel...
The stresses you are talking about are stresses the rim was designed to handle. It was not designed to be a piece of silly putty.
Maybe it won't break. But the chances have certainly increased. The question is not whether the chances of it breaking have increased but HOW MUCH have they increased? And, have they increased enough to pass the OP's point of safety and peace of mind?
One way to look at it is the way the health care industry sells pills:
My chance right now of a heart attack is about 5% over the next 10 years. If I can reduce my chances down to 4% by spending $300 for their pill, is it worth it? The health care industry would tell me that that is a 20% improvement and well worth it. My wallet tells me: "You've only improved your chances by a measly 1 in 100. It's not worth it!".
I would buy the pill -- as well as a new rim. Perhaps that's why I'm broke all the time!
