Bent a new rim -- options to fix/replace
 

Feeling kind of stupid 'bout this. A month ago I put new Open Pro/Ultegra wheels on my my '03 Fuji Cross. They feel great and I'll be setting up the old Ritchey wheels with knobbies for the winter trail (I've used road tires since I bought the bike). Sunday afternoon in the unseasonable 80 degree weather, I'm about 28 miles into a 45 mile ride. Take a shortcut across a parking lot which takes me to a curb and a short grass hill to climb up back to the bike trail. Approaching the curb I swing my right leg back around and get ready to do a moving dismount to jog up the hill....oh, cr*p! I'm wearing road shoes and not mountain shoes. So I slip and fall with my fat a** landing on the front wheel and bending it out like a slightly flattened Pringles. I pull out my spoke wrench and crank down the one side and loosen the other enough that I could ride the rest of the way home.

Brought the wheel to the shop yesterday and they tell me the rim is toast. Bummer.

So my options are:
(1) New Open Pro rim and rebuild = $60 + $35 = $95 (this would take several days to a week)
(2) New Open Pro/Ultegra wheel = $129 (could be riding this afternoon; plus could sell lightly used Ultegra hub or use it to rebuild the Ritchey)
(3) Search eBay for used Open Pro rim = $?? + $35 (might take a while and can't confirm condition of rim)
(4) Purchase a different wheel = $?? (although the OP/Ultegra felt nice and fits my needs/uses)
(5) Purchase a different rim to rebuild with but that might also mean purchasing new spokes of different length
(6) Take the wheel to a different shop for a second opinion
(7) Other -- some option I'm missing?

I know how to true my wheels but I've never built one up from scratch. I'd rather pay someone that knows what their doing than to experiment and get stuck away from home again because I didn't do it correctly. Plus, too many other hobbies to have time to learn the art of wheelbuilding.

Thanks for your ideas.

Well, it depends on when you need the wheel more than anything. If you want to be riding the same wheel this afternoon, just buy a new one, if you don't, get it rebuilt.

If you're happy with the wheel, I wouldn't change it.

You could try another shop, but chances are you'll get the same answer.

(7) Ride the old Ritchey wheel while you do option #1. If that's not possible, I'd personally go with option #2

The Ritchey front needs rebuilding....kept popping spokes that I was replacing on the road as they went. The rear had been relaced under warranty within 6 months (kudos to Performance & Fuji for doing that on their own accord when the third spoke broke). The front held out until this summer. That's what spurred my purchase of the new wheels in the first place.

Ahh, then I vote for #2

I'd at least try bending it back. You can un-taco a wheel with an impressive success rate.

This is about what I was thinking: http://howtofixbikes.blogspot.com/20...wheel-fix.html