bent rim

[YAMA]

so i went for a ride today and it was my first time using clipless pedals and i took a had a pretty bad spill. i went over my handlebars (still clipped in) and my front wheel slammed hard into the ground. i bent my rim pretty bad. its not to bad but its to the point where it rubs my brake pads and if you spin it you can see it in sections move over half a inch and then go back. this may be a stupid question but is it fixable or no. i have another cheapo rim from a cheap bike i had same size (26x1.25) but i dont no about putting it on. or should i get a new front or should i get a set??

anyone got and rims for sale??

 

[pooriggy]

Take the rim to a bike shop to see if true-ing it will help. Basically they adjust the spokes to straighten the rim. There will probably still be a wobble in the rim but true-ing may help.
If its really bad its fairly easy to find used 26" rims around.

 

[mike_243]

plus one on the bike shop I watched Jason at brick bike do some amazing work on wheels and have had him true my wheels which will get tweaked any way.

 

[YAMA]

Take the rim to a bike shop to see if true-ing it will help. Basically they adjust the spokes to straighten the rim. There will probably still be a wobble in the rim but true-ing may help.
If its really bad its fairly easy to find used 26" rims around.

i took it to a shop and thery said theyll be able to fix it

 

[ellbiddy]

I bent a wheel way back when, I was with Manny. After smashing it on the ground a bunch, and truing it up on the stand it was within a couple mm.

 

[AnthonyC]

Keep in mind that there's a difference between knocking your wheel out of true and bending or damaging the rim.

The former can usually be fixed with a little bit of time in the truing stand; all it takes is readjustment of spoke tension to pull the wheel back into lateral and vertical alignment. Easier said than done, but with a little practice this isn't a big deal.

The latter isn't as easily fixed; if you've really bent your rim, taken a large chunk out of it, tacoed it, etc. then you're pretty much up the creek and should probably get a new rim altogether. If you've only dinged or put a small notch in it, you can often still use it, although you might never be able to get it back to perfect alignment by adjusting spoke tension.

If you're not sure about what happened to your wheel, or if you can't tell if your damaged rim can be fixed or should be trashed, take it to someone who knows, i.e. a bike shop. Luckily it sounds like that's what you already did!