Wheel repair or replacement
 

I had a wreck a week ago and caught my tires in a concrete expansion joint on a bridge. Just had gotten Shimano Dura Ace C24's. I got one out of true and the rims-breaking area is scratched up and gouged pretty good. The back tire was ok but gouged pretty good in a few spots. The front tire is now true. I road on these wheels again and they seem fine except for breaking. They are grabbing in the areas that are gouged. My question is this, will that get better with time and are there any safety concerns? Would you just replace the wheels?

Thanks,

Andy

It depends on how deep the scratches are. Aluminum is notch sensitive. Cracking can propagate from a surface scratch as a stress riser. I have had similar scratches on the braking surface. I ended up using a scotch brite pad to knock the leading edges off and kept riding. It has been about a year with no problems.

Hi,

I agree with wire wooling the affected areas and see how it goes.

I have an abrasive covered (fine emery) foam block that would be ideal
for the job. If you can get them reasonable they will slowly improve.

rgds, sreten.

can you supply pictures of the effected areas?

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=338997http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=338998

Here are just a few front the front wheel, and probably the worst of them. The reason I'm asking is I bought these with my Amex and they have a 90 accidental insurance that I can get these replaced with. If it's as simple as scrubbing these out and them being ok I have no problem with that. If there's a chance of it causing me problems down the road I'd feel better about getting them replaced. What do you guys think?

Thanks,

Andy

It does not look like the wheel is structurally compromised, but the braking surface is never going to be the same. There is too much surface area to smooth out. You will feel the difference (during braking), even after sanding.

Hi,

If you have insurance, use it, you had an accident.

If my wheels and I had to buy replacements I'd just sort them out
the best I can, even using some sort of filler on the deep scratches,
as the polishing is to remove raised edges, not to polish out scratches.

I'd live with it and accept is as bike war wounds, but you don't have to.

rgds, sreten.

If you can get them replaced for free that is what I'd do. That's one of the benefits you pay your AMEX fees for. You may as well take advantage of it, you've paid for it.

How does that Amex replacement work? How long?

Anyway you have a couple of options. I've done something similar to some wheels I had. I called Easton and bought a new rim to replace the front because the bead surface was dinged up ($60, so cheap!), but the back braking surface was gouged similar to what you have and I just rode through it. They're fine now. your brake pads will smooth out the rough spots over time, and you will likely go through pads faster than you would otherwise. As long as the damage isn't structural (and not the front) I'd use it. That's me though.

Suppose you would have needed to have bought it with the Am Ex Card ..

the Bank fees charged to the seller are so High , the LBS, out here wont accept them.

just Visa /MC ..

The gouges probably have ridges on each side of the gouge, so sanding the high spots flat is worth a try. The gouges will still be there, but the pads may ride over them without pulsing. I don't know if the gouges will still cause brake pulsing after the ridges are flattened. ( I sanded down the uneven pegged joint on my rim a few years ago, and it worked great. )

Aluminum is very easy to sand, so you need very fine sandpaper, and a light touch. It's quite easy to sand down too much, which makes a dip in the rim. A sheet of wet and dry 400 grit would be good. Wrap the sandpaper around a flat piece of wood. Wet the sandpaper and just do a couple of light strokes. Wipe off the rim and see how it feels when braking before doing any more sanding.

Scratches in rims don't affect braking, though they may sometimes make noise. Years ago, many aluminum rims were scored at intervals (similar to how modern MC discs are). The theory was that they ejected water better and ran a but cooler when dry. It really didn't affect performance, and the practice went away.

My favorite tool is one I steal from the wife. A plain emery board. The stiffness makes them bridge gaps so they only remove the raised burrs. IME the pink medium/fine foam core ones are best for this job. Deb doesn't even ask me what the fray stuff on her nail boards is anymore.

if the wheel is straight just sand it down

It's called their purchase protection. It will replace items purchased within 90 due to loss via accident or theft. You just have to submit the paperwork and get a shop to back you up if it's damaged, if it's stolen then you have to have a police report. I tried calling Shimano and they were absolutely no help.

As far as someone else said about the fees being high on Amex and only taking Visa/MC, there are some Visa/MC that are now offering this same service as Amex.

Andy