Pothole dent on rim

thebouldwhacker

I whacked a pothole coming home the other night on my much loved hack (Trek 3700) and have only got around to investigating the damage now. There is a dent on either side of the rear rim where it hit the edge of the hole and is sticking out a mil or two on either side, enough to rub off a brake block on one side.
Anyone ever do a diy job on a similar dent? I'm thinking of straightening it back with a pliers or should I just bring it to a lbs? There is no other damage, tyre and tube seem fine and the wheel doesn't need truing (well no more than usual anyway :pac:) the rims are Alloy hubs; Matrix 550 rims, ie standard rims.

Thanks.

n-dawg

Similar thing happened me and unfortunately it meant a new rim You could take it to a shop if its not dented too much, but what happened with mine was it cracked as soon as they tried to bend it back straight. Alloy does not like to be bent around...

I'd also suggest you check your tire pressure regularly to prevent it happening again.

GTDolanator

bike shop will tell you it needs to be replaced,get a vice grips and bend it straight,if its only a hack bike its worth a try

thebouldwhacker

Cheers, the tyre pressure was good, it was a hit the pot hole or get hit by a car situation. The hole appeared out of the glare of cars on a dark road, I tried to bunny hop it but didnt pull it off, at least I dont go over the bars. I think I might try tapping it back in with a mallet and support. I dont need it perfect, just safe...

doozerie

If trying to pull out the dent (i.e. to make the rim a proper circle again) using a G-clamp(s) and a couple of pieces of wood between the clamp(s) and rim would be preferable to using a vice grips. If you have G-clamps that is. Depends on how bad the rim really is though. As regards the jutting out sides, it might be better to sand them smooth rather than try to force them back in - again it depends (on things like the thickness of the rim walls, how "sharp" the protrusion is, etc.).

I had to do it to two wheels many many years ago - I hit a deep pothole, and hard, due to being dazzled by the lights of an oncoming car on a wet and dark night. It actually worked quite well using G-clamps, far better than I expected. It helped that the rims were big heavy and bulky things which were able to take the abuse surprisingly well. I "fixed" them out of necessity at the time though, but given a choice I'd replace the rim - the "repaired" rim is unlikely to do anything as dramatic as explode at a later stage but having said that I've had rims fail in semi-dramatic fashion just due to being worn out from regular use and it's a risk to avoid where possible.

Moreofthatjazz

I've had to do this myself before, used a vicegrips and two thin pieces of wood,as above, the one thing i will say is if you are running high pressure tyres 80-100psi i would'nt bring them up to full pressure, the rim may not take it... i've blown out rims before, not due to straightening but breaking surface wear, not pleasant...

SurferDude41

As a former shop mechanic, I would advise you to have the rim replaced.
Alloy (what a wheel rim is made of) doesn't take kindly to being stretched beyond the limits of its yeild strength.
In plain english, the rim may fail unexpectedly under a high stress at a later date.

Don't risk your life for the sake of a cheap alloy wheel rim, have it replaced.

thebouldwhacker

Say it aint so surferdude:(

SurferDude41

Lots of savage potholes in the Glanmire area, went over Glashaboy there recently....Lots of potholes on the decent into Glanmire:eek: Barnavara Hill was a little slippery, my rearwheel kept loosing traction with the patches of ice:eek:

Ye had better get on to the county council, and tell em to sort those roads out pronto!