slebo3213

Campagnolo Vento rear wheel with a dent right on the brake track. Haven't ridden it yet, but pretty sure braking won't be a pleasant experience. I tried to reach it from the inside, and there is a slight bulge just under where the tire bead catches, but I'm not sure how I could get any leverage on it.

KBentley57

Salvageable for some level of $$$ and time, but otherwise, I'd call it wall art.

slebo3213

Anything more specific you had in mind in terms of approach and cost? It's not a cheap wheel.

sch

The problem is finding someone who can hammer/press the dent out to the point where it does not grab when braking. If you have a
disc brake bike it would work there, provided the tire bead can grip in the dented area, which it looks like it would. A shaped forming
tool and something like a big vise grip to clamp the forming tool in place might flatten out the dented area but a vice grip with a big enough
compression would be too big to get inside the rim. Forming tool would be something flat on both sides and sized to fit inside the rim and
be externally compressible but not itself compress, ie improvised. A hammer would work, like auto sheet metal tools but again no easy
access to inside. Agree with KBentley, suck it up and get a new rim, they are not that expensive. Spokes and hub are ok?

cyccommute 

Frankly, about the only way to salvage if you really want to use the same rim (at least the same material of the rim) is to remove it, melt it down, refine the metal, reform the rim and rebuild the wheel. That's going to cost way more than the rim is worth. You might be able to replace the rim by detensioning the wheel and doing a direct replacement of the rim with a new one.

The problem with trying take a dent out of an aluminum rim is that aluminum doesn't take kindly to bending. It tends to break and tear rather than just bend. If you were to try and pound out the dent, the area around it would be weakened and would eventually crack...if it doesn't crack when you try to bend it back. Sorry to say but you need a new rim.

slebo3213

Thanks. Appreciate it.

It's not really about sucking it up though. Those vintage Campy Vento rims are difficult to find on their own and a new wheel could easily run $300+ depending on condition.

fietsbob

too few spokes to re true a warped rim.

joejack951

Take it a custom auto or motorcycle shop and see what they can do for you. Perhaps they'd have enough curiosity to give you a break on the repair cost and make it worthwhile for you.

slebo3213

Thought about that and may give it a shot. Thanks.

curby

If I was confident that the rim would build up true I would try to improve that, with the knowledge that failure isn't any worse than hanging it up... some ideas: a flat piece of steel like the handle of numerous bicycle tools (headset, chainring, crankbolt) flat on the outside covering across the brake track. a 2" section of the appropriate sized steel rod (maybe a cut nail?) if this section could be slightly curved to match the arc of the rim that would be even better, also try to fill the space from the rim hook to the rim strip. a pair of vise grips pinching those two together might give you some flattening effect on the brake track... if that didn't work I would look for flat steel surface (table saw) to lay the rim on and a piece of steel with a short L shape that I could use to sneak over the brim bead to tap with a hammer... next?

dabac

I'd have no qualms trying to fix that. I've nudged brake tracks that had flared out back in line numerous times with no ill effects.

But it's hard to advice on how w/o knowing what you have to work with.

With something to work as an anvil - back of a vise, maybe even only a sturdy work bench - my first attempt would be simply to hammer it out from the inside using something like a drift punch, leaning right up against the opposite rim edge. I'd look for a suitably worn punch as not to gouge the surface.

If that didn't work, I'd dig out a slide hammer. Fit a hook to it, position the rim right at an edge of a table, or over the jaws of a vise and give it a few taps.

W/o slide hammer, I'd lay the rim flat against a work bench, use a little piece of whatever to fill the space created by the bead hook, insert something sturdy like a wrench or thick piece of flat bar on top of the filler piece and then hammer away right outside the rim.

slebo3213

Probably putting this up for sale shortly if anyone is looking for a project. Wheel appears to be true and bearings spin smooth.

Homebrew01

You could try the suggestions above, and maybe get it a little bit better.
Since it's a rear wheel, just use the front brake, and ride it as-is if you want.

What caused the dents ?? 6 year old kid with a hammer ?

davidad

It's time for a new rim.

FBinNY 

I routinely save rims with similar damage, which though they'll never be perfect, can be made suitable for years more service.

It's a job calling for some skill with a hammer and sometimes shaped (improvised) dollies to bring the outside lump back into line. Slight low spots can be ignored since the shoes will ski across them without bumping, but high spots must be brought down.

Hammer it as close as possible, then finish by using a fine 1/2 mill flat file to remove the last vestige of the high spot.

With a good eye and decent hand skill this is a 10 minute job.

If you're less certain of your hammering skills, you can use pump pliers (Channellock) to squeeze the lump back into line. Use a wide support on the other side to spread the load, and a short one over the lump to concentrate it where needed.

There's a special tool made for exactly this job, but you don't need it if you have any skill level at all.

CliffordK

The rim is dented inward, and not outward. So, one would need a tool to reach below the bead hook to pound the rim out. One could probably still do it to some extent.

If it was me, I might try to pound it out a bit, but put the wheel on my "rain bike", and just ride it as is.

If you're selling on E-Bay, you're probably better off disassembling and selling the rim, spokes, and hub separately.