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So on my 3rd day of riding my shiny new road bike (wih shiny new Hunt wheels) I’ve hit the biggest pothole I’ve ever hit - in about 14 years of road riding.
Ive dinged the rim and it now has a slight vibration in it - although bizarrely the rim is still true and I didn’t puncture the tyre (unless it’s gone down since I locked my bike in the work car park).
I’ll pop round to the bike shop at lunchtime with the bike for their advice, but thought I’d see what people’s experiences on here are with bending back rims.
Both sides of the wheel have damage - but not so much that the tyre went down (I think it has tubes rather than being setup tubeless but I haven’t checked yet). It’s disc braked so no dramas with needing rim brakes to have a completely true surface.
I appreciate a photo would help but I don’t have one right at this moment.
If the bends are quite smooth, a padded wrench might get them back to straightish. Bear in mind that the metal will have stretched a little.
Don't even think about claiming off the council, it's a waste of time.
Its possibly not round any more despite being true.
Don’t even think about claiming off the council, it’s a waste of time.
go back and spray paint a big c8ck around the pothole...
I did google claiming back from the council and it seems like a huge waste of time I’ll agree. If they have a claim form I may fill it in just to chance my arm but would expect it to be rejected. He pot hole is near the border where 2 councils territories meet so not sure if it’s in Bristol or South Gloucestershire. I think I’m just going to have to suck it up and sort the damage out myself though.
I’ll pop downstairs and take a couple of pictures in a minute.
As long as the rim isn't badly damaged i.e cracked then it should be fine
Used to bend bmx rims back straight after dinging the brake track when hooking up the rear wheel on ramps
I used to use a set of mole grips, lock them onto the ding and gently pull the bend out, the mole grips will leave a mark on the rim but nothing that a little light sanding & finish off with some wet and dry wont remove
I've straightened out a couple of alloy rims that I've damaged, all with no further issues, so you should be ok.
So just had another look - 1 side isn’t too bad, the other side doesn’t look great but I think it’s a smooth ding without a fold. More worryingly the spoke next to it is a lot looser than the other spikes around it. Not round anymore?
Looking at the Hunt website it’s £69 for a new rim plus whatever labour would be charged. Bum.
Less bad side:
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Bad side:
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Get the tyre and tube off and measure the internal width of the rim.
Then get a block of wood of the right thickness and tap it along the rim channel. It'll bend the walls out without marking the surface more. It's also going to do less damage to the metal (no point loads like you might get with a spanner)
I like that last idea with the wood, sounds less damaging of the rim than an adjustable spanner 😃
Not much help to you in your current situation but if you get the chance please report the pothole using the https://www.fillthathole.org.uk/ app
I’ll report it once I’ve gone to have a look back at it tonight. Didn’t really see it before I hit it so I’m not sure of the depth / width of it,
Rim is toast - just been to the bike shop and they’ve noticed it’s actually bulged down the full section of the rim.
They’ve tightened up the loose spoke for me and checked it’s safe to ride (steadily / no big means into corners) home. They’re going to speak to Hunt about the crash replacement costs and come back to me.