this is what i get for selling my car.

so my friend that sold me my grand jubilé frame wanted to sell me his '81(ish) pkn10 for $100 that just needs a wheelset. it's a pretty, metallic red frame with gold and white decals. i'm excited about restoring it.

so i took two wheels down to his place using a seattle metro bus, planning to mount them on the peugeot so i could mount the bike in the metro's front rack on my return. (bus drivers hate it when i've tried to bring a frame on board.) i find a seat in the bendy part of this articulated bus, facing forwards with the sideways seat right in front of me that moves due to the bendy part of the bus. can you see where this nightmare is going?

my front wheel from my falcon (sun m13ii rim with a campy record hub) was in front of me and the rear wheel was in the seat next to me. the bus turned after a stop, the sideways seat moved toward me, all too quickly trapping the wheel between that seat and mine. it happened so fast, i couldn't move it in time. by the time it was trapped, it was perfectly stuck, like in a moving vise, with the seat continued to move into mine! it kept coming and coming, like that compactor scene in 'star wars,' but this wasn't a funny kid's story. it seemed to all happen in slow motion. at least ten people were there watching this and the frozen horror on my face. the wheel basically crumpled in on itself between the two seats. the bus straightened up, the sideways seat moved back where it was previously, and i was left with a perfectly warped wheel, which ten seconds before was brilliantly new, shiny and perfect.

i just stared at it for about thirty seconds, saying nothing. i couldn't even look away. everybody was real sweet about it. i heard many condolences and tips for the best bike shops in town. a hobo said he could fix it. and then i saw this hippy kid smiling a nervous smile, shaking his head, and he got me laughing about it. i was glad my leg or hand wasn't a part of the fiasco. and my mind wondered what other more cruel acts of destruction had happened to others like this. was i really 'lucky'? pshaw.

so, right away, the wheel popped back into more of a normal looking shape, but still warped. and here's my question: how should i go about rebuilding it? i plan on unlacing it, and straightening out the rim if possible. i've never done this before. i assume the spokes can be reused. the sun rim is kind of inexpensive, and i have to buy two others for the peugeot anyway (if i can find some hubs for that bike). should i not even try to straighten it or reuse the spokes? i'm a little worried the rim wall is now uneven that will cause poor front braking.

so watch out for those articulated buses. for god's sake, don't leave an occupied baby carriage in between that sideways seat and yours.

i added a photo of the wheel here and the bike here.