Is it possible to straighten a bent wheel??

subscriber

Took my first tumble of the bike last week, cycled too close to the kerb and the front wheel rubbed against it causing me to loose balance on the bike. As I was unable to correct my balance I pulled the breaks to slow speed but alas couldn't and went over the handlebars. Now The result being just a bent front wheel and no injuries to myself thankfully. The wheel is not bent excessively, if I was to hazard a guess, about 5 degree tilt off normal 360 degree rotation (if that makes sense). It can still rotate without touching of either of the break callipers but there is still is a noticeable wobble in the wheel. Don't think there is any damage to the hub or if that would even cause a wobble,,,,, Does the wheel need to be replaced or is there any way to adjust / repair it to normal rotation??


Cheers

cdaly_

Generally speaking it is possible. Your local bike shop should be able to 'true' the wheel for you for around €10-€20. Broken spokes will push the price up a bit.


BTW, if it's not rubbing on the brake caliper while buckled your brakes are not adjusted properly.

Mycroft H

Should be fixable

It needs to be trued, which simply means the certain spokes need to be tightened or loosened to pull or push the rim back in to true. There is a little nut where the rim meets the spoke which does this.

You can do it yourself with a 5 euro spoke key, its a nice skill to learn and be a little bit more self sufficient. Usually you can use the brake calipers as a reference point to see how out of true they are. I use cut up cable ties which can be quite accurate. Bike shops tend to charge anything between 10-20 euros to do this.

subscriber

cdaly_ wrote: »

Generally speaking it is possible. Your local bike shop should be able to 'true' the wheel for you for around €10-€20. Broken spokes will push the price up a bit.


BTW, if it's not rubbing on the brake caliper while buckled your brakes are not adjusted properly.

Should have been more specific, it doesn't touch the break callipers when the breaks are not applied, breaks just fine when I apply the breaks.

cdaly_

subscriber wrote: »

Should have been more specific, it doesn't touch the break callipers when the breaks are not applied, breaks just fine when I apply the breaks.

Oh yes, I'd assumed that. What I meant was, with a perfectly true wheel, the brakes when not applied should be just short of contact with the rim. That way you get maximum available braking force when you need it. In that setup, a buckled wheel should rub even when the brakes are not applied.

As it stands, do you have to pull the brake lever quite a bit before the brakes come on at all?

subscriber

cdaly_ wrote: »

Oh yes, I'd assumed that. What I meant was, with a perfectly true wheel, the brakes when not applied should be just short of contact with the rim. That way you get maximum available braking force when you need it. In that setup, a buckled wheel should rub even when the brakes are not applied.

As it stands, do you have to pull the brake lever quite a bit before the brakes come on at all?

Oh right, As it stands the wheel only barely rub's against the break pads, only very slightly. When the breaks are applied the right break pad grips the rim just before the left, by just a fraction of a second. That being said, I don't have to apply any additional force with the breaks to allow the break pads grip the rim,,

subscriber

BX 19 wrote: »

Should be fixable

It needs to be trued, which simply means the certain spokes need to be tightened or loosened to pull or push the rim back in to true. There is a little nut where the rim meets the spoke which does this.

You can do it yourself with a 5 euro spoke key, its a nice skill to learn and be a little bit more self sufficient. Usually you can use the brake calipers as a reference point to see how out of true they are. I use cut up cable ties which can be quite accurate. Bike shops tend to charge anything between 10-20 euros to do this.

Perfect, good info, cheers.