oz213

So, I have had my bike for a month now and don't know if I'll ever be riding my mountain bike again. But I must say I love my SPD's and BG Comp MTB Shoe shoes. Today while on a blood pumping descent, I hit a pot hole. Managed to get my front tire in the air but the back didn't make it. Nice big flat. Then I realized that I didn't have any spare tubes with me...left them in the garage. And since no one answered the phone at home...I walked the last 2 miles home. Yeah for mountain shoes.

Anyway can anyone tell me how to tell if there was any damage to my rims? Hopefully not, but it would give me a reason to upgrade.

Thanks for any help.

JiveTurkey

First check if it's true--you can just use your brake shoes as guides. If it's true and you don't see any cracks or dents, it'll probably be fine.

Were you sitting on the saddle when the rear tire hit the pot hole? Risk of pinch flats can be minimized with proper tire pressure--though that doesn't immune you from huge impacts.

AEO

well, if the rim is cracked or completely tacoed then you should replace it.
otherwise just check if it's true and round within 2mm and not severely dented.

oz213

Yeah i was sitting in the saddle and kinda in a zone. It was pretty bid and deep so I went to hop over it, then big thud from the back.

JiveTurkey

Next time, hop with your butt off the saddle--until your rear tire passes.

Brian Ratliff

Spin the wheel on the bike. See if everything is straight. Look at the rim as it passes by the brake shoes. Look for dips in the rim as well as side to side movement. Side to side is fixable using spoke tension. Big dips in the rim indicate your rim is bent and might need to be replaced.

If it's just a truing job, take it to the shop and either 1) fork over $20 for them to retrue it or 2) buy a $10 spoke wrench and learn to do it yourself.

oz213

OK. So I looked at the rim as it passed the brake shoes and it did move side to side so I took it to my LBS for them to check it out. The fixed the side to side but did tell me that it a nice dent. So looks like it's time to replace.

Can I ride it until the new ones come? Any recommendations for a 190lber? I was thinking the EA50's.

Thanks for the responses.

Szczuldo

My rims are completely beat up, dents in aluminium rims really won't compromise it's durability, just it's efficiency and that is very slightly. What you can do is remove a couple of spokes around the area of the dent, and then take a rubber mallet. Place the rim on a contraption which will support the wheel on either side of the dent but nothing under the dent. Give it a couple good wacks. If anything it will make the dent less noticible and easier to ride.

sweetrevenge

Problem with this is that it could really screw up your rims if your not careful. Better to have a rim that has a dent in it but still works than have one that is screwed up because you didn't hit it right with the mallet. If you have another set of rims go for it but it might be best to wait until you get new rims so at least you can keep riding.

heckler

i have an aluminum rim with a dent that rides fine...to cause problems it would need to be large enough of a dent to mess with the bead seating properly, or a crack with sharp edges.