Can curbed bike wheels be repaired?

W3LSH

Hi all

The breaking surface of my wheels had a nasty meeting with a curb this evening.

Is that the wheels dead or should they be fixable?

Thanks

W3LSH

Really?

This is the damage


Untitled by W3LSH flickr, on Flickr


Untitled by W3LSH flickr, on Flickr

danlikesbikes

Hard to tell from the pics how deep or rough the scratches are.

As Luke says you might end up shredding your pads, but if they are not rough feeling you may get away with it.

You do a few other options though such as aluminium repair kits for car tyres however I don't know anyone who has used these to fill and refinish cycle wheels and how long any repair would last against the heat/cooling from braking.

Or you could polish them out yourself, which I know does work as I did it to a set of MTB rims that had a stone caught in the pad and left a rather nasty scratch and ridge. Thankfully my brother works with aluminium and gave me all the gear I needed so I just had to out the elbow grease in.

Silly Old Hector

Emery cloth/paper to take of the burrs and Robert's your Mother's brother.

P.s. It's 'kerb', unless you are American (as your rims are)

homers_double

That's no scratch... Can you honestly trust those rims at 70kmh?

ck101

Light sanding, keep an eye on the pads over a month or so and thats all you can do. I'd trust them at 70.

rolf_f

Ck101 wrote:

Light sanding, keep an eye on the pads over a month or so and thats all you can do. I'd trust them at 70.

Dunno about that - these days the slightest blemish can kill you!

The surface abrades naturally anyway so sanding the rim is only accelerating a natural process. Can't see once cleaned up that the result will be very grabby. Might perhaps wear the pads out a little quicker but that's still cheaper than a new wheel.

People are such worriers these days. Dunno how some of them sleep at night!

homers_double

Really? I'd be more concerned about the crease between the spoke and the number 2 on the tyre.

smoggysteve

OP - You havent mentioned anything about how true the wheel is. Is it running with any wobble in it? The location of the crease could have a bearing on tension of the spoke it is near.

Joeblack

homers double wrote:

Really? I'd be more concerned about the crease between the spoke and the number 2 on the tyre.

Well spotted, but it's nothing compared to that dust cap, op can you really trust that dust cap at 70kph?!!

You clearly like living close to the line but for gods sake man think of the children!!!!

fast as fupp

those transfers could attract unwanted attention from Islamist terrists!

stay away from Bacalacalacca Street.

farrina

Silly Old Hector wrote:

P.s. It's 'kerb', unless you are American (as your rims are)

Whilst we are being pedantic, it should also read braking surface rather than "breaking" surface ... although that said, given the nature of the query, perhaps upon reflection this was the correct terminology to use.

foot_loose

My bike suffered similar damage recently. I used ome fine sand paper to rub down. I am happy my wheels are fine. Have a go.

sloppyschleckonds

foot_loose wrote:

My bike suffered similar damage recently. I used ome fine sand paper to rub down. I am happy my wheels are fine. Have a go.

Whats the worst that could happen? Rim failure at 45mph, crashing and ending up dead?

mamba80

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

foot_loose wrote:

My bike suffered similar damage recently. I used ome fine sand paper to rub down. I am happy my wheels are fine. Have a go.

Whats the worst that could happen? Rim failure at 45mph, crashing and ending up dead?

... and you ve heard of this happening...how many times?

that damage is nothing I would worry about, sand out the scratches and forget about it OR pm me and I ll buy them off you for suitable price that reflects the "fact" these wheels will kill you.

andrew_s

Just carry on riding them.
Kerb damage is only a problem if you've hit hard enough to dent the braking surface - a few scratches are nothing. There's no point in sanding out the scratches unless the brakes grab, otherwise the brake blocks will smooth them out quickly enough.

sloppyschleckonds

mamba80 wrote:

... and you ve heard of this happening...how many times?

Never, because statistically the rim would either be binned or fail prior to this.

I personally value my health more than a damaged £50 rim.

dennisn

I like how the valve hole is actually labeled. :roll:

rolf_f

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

mamba80 wrote:

... and you ve heard of this happening...how many times?

Never, because statistically the rim would either be binned or fail prior to this.

I personally value my health more than a damaged £50 rim.

You must live your life in a continual state of terror!

If I thought that that dent made that rim unsafe, I wouldn't ride it if it was in mint condition.

desweller

It you decide to get rid, I'll take 'em off your hands for the price of postage ;-)

ugo.santalucia

The rim can be polished no problem... the dent/scratch doesn't look too bad. Maybe worth giving it a polish too to check if there is anything deeper, like a developing crack. Might even want to measure it with a vernier and check it doesn't grow. Doesn't look too bad, to be honest. Metal alloys can take a dent and any stress induced crack will not develop along the vertical axis of the rim anyway

vorsprung

I agree with ugo.santalucia that the damage doesn't look too bad. Depends how it affects braking performance.

Personally I'd go for a rim swap American Classic rims seem to be widely available, shouldn't be difficult to source a direct replacement