Triumphrat

deaninkl

Oooops.



The above picture is the result of hitting a pothole, was only doing about 35mph, front wheel was fine but after hitting the back wheel I was in fishtail, luckily no other traffic near. Tire is fine and there was no difflation so was able to ride home. Pothole was about 2 feet across and 10 inches deep, in 30+ years of riding Asia's roads this is the first poblem I've had with wheels.

The wheel appears to be fine apart from the obvious rim problem, spokes all feel ok, and the wheel runs true.

Looks like a relatively easy fix for a lead hammer and some wooden blocks. Anybody else had any experience at fixing such a problem?

Thanks.

ScramblerKidd

Repair... Your life is in your hands. I'd replace the rim,tire and spokes. Why risk it?

o4petesake

Tire may have unseen damage,i know everyone has to live within a budget but replace it.

Hotboppincat

If you did want to try to fix it (and I tend to agree with everybody else, replace the wheel and tire, and as a minimum I would at least replace the rim and tire), you will need to true that rim up SPOT ON, and then ensure there are no cracks in the metal....(microscopic cracks grow larger, the wheel is a stressful place)
A better option is to relace a rim to the hub.

Then you are going to need a dial gauge on a stand, with a magnetic base and a metal workbench to attach it to (or clamp the dial guage stand to the bench if you have a wooden one), and then you will need to adjust the spokes to get the whole wheel running true with a spoke spanner.

To true up a wheel I put a spindle through the wheel, put the spindle in the vice with the wheel horizontal, and offer the magnetic base dial gauge up to the rim.

This is not an easy job, but I have no idea how much experience in wheel building/maintenance you have. I had to be shown by an experienced mechanic. And I still struggle.

Derswede

Look for a wheel repair place....my brother fixes rims and it takes heat and precise bending to get the wheel back without cracking the metal or causing a failure point on the rim. He's seen too many rims (albeit on cars, not bikes) that failed later due to improper repairs. Esp. important on alloy rims...steel rims are not as fragile, but still can fail and leak.

Derswede

__________________
Common sense is dead. The wake is tomorrow.

Hotboppincat

Well said.

deaninkl

Thanks for the replys, I am looking for a wheel repair shop, but here in Malaysia they appear rare, I'm an engineer so rather than just give it to a bike repare shop who would almost certainly just bash it back into place, I'll take it apart and do it myself.

That's the short term, longer term I see new rims when I make my next trip to the US or Europe.

I'll let you know how it goes...

ScramblerKidd

Time for a wide wheel kit!

Hotboppincat

That must have been some pot hole to do that amount of damage! And we think our roads in the UK are bad!!! Sorry if I sounded patronising, that was not the intention, if you are an engineer then the work is acheivable, but the original rim may still cause a risk in the future, as the other guys stated. My Uncle rebuilds classic bike wheels (he used to do it for a living, he had his own business), unfortunately I never mastered the art, but now I have a Thruxton with spokes, it looks like I will need to pay them some attention once in a while. Best of luck.

villageidiot327

best wheel guy i have seen/heard is woodys wheelworks

http://www.woodyswheelworks.com/

ship him the wheel, if he can fix it properly, he will, if not, he'll give ya some options, he's fair, honest, and DAMN good