Bent back wheel

oneimaginaryboy
oneimaginaryboy Posts: 16
edited September 2012 in Road beginners
If anyone can help with this puzzler:

My new backwheel is bent after only 200 miles.

Can wheels be a faulty or do they have to have taken a knock to bend after such little mileage?

I have not crashed or banged it but can't be certain the kids haven't smacked it when getting their bikes from the garage.

Any thoughts/experience gratefully received.

Comments

  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    It can happen for a number of reasons:
    It's taken a big knock e.g. pothole
    Wheelbuild is rubbish e.g. insufficient spoke tension
    Broken spoke(s)
    Wheel is not strong enough for intended use
    Take it back to the shop and they can determine the best fix. Depends on the cause, how distorted the rim is and wheel construction.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    I think first you have to decide if the wheel is bent or out of true. Two different things.
  • oneimaginaryboy
    oneimaginaryboy Posts: 16
    Thanks for your replies.
    What is the difference between bent or out of true?
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    oneimaginaryboy wrote:
    Thanks for your replies.
    What is the difference between bent or out of true?

    Out of true is simply a rim whose spokes have loosened, in a certain area, causing the rim to not run "true" or wobble. Out of true can be from very minor to so bad that the wheel won't turn in the frame and is usually fixed by re-truing and retensioning of the spokes.
    A bent rim is usually bashed in somehow. Think dented, like when someone hits a pothole really hard and trashes his rim. You know pretzeled, kinked, that sort of thing. Usually can't be fixed as the integrity of the metal has been compromised.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    If its just out of true you can fix it with a spoke key in a few minutes.
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    cougie wrote:
    If its just out of true you can fix it with a spoke key in a few minutes.

    If you're refering to the OP I'm thinking - no he can't. No offence intended but someone who doesn't know whether it's out of true or bent shouldn't be truing a wheel.
  • racingcondor
    racingcondor Posts: 1,434
    If you can' t think of a good reason why it is bent/out of true then it's probably a poorly built wheel. Take it back to the shop (you could do it yourself but you may just find you start breaking spokes in another 200 miles instead).
  • oneimaginaryboy
    oneimaginaryboy Posts: 16
    Thanks for your posts.

    I think from what you're saying I haven't bashed my wheel but it is untrue.

    This is very helpful to know.

    And no I will not be attempting to inject truth to the wheel myself, as you may have guessed, I know naff all about bikes but am learning (a bit).

Categories