jclarabut

My wife’s huffy has a bent rear wheel The label on the rim is Stars circle alloy 6061-t6 Where can I buy a replacement wheel We are not bike enthusiasts so any suggestions of what other brands of wheels we could substitute would be appreciated In other words would any 26 “ bike wheel work

Iride01 

You might could just get on craigslist and buy one of the used beater bikes being offered for 15 bucks and use it's wheel if the bike isn't in better shape than what you have. Of course you'd have to have the knowledge to know that 26" wheel is the same as your 26" wheel and that it's hub fits the spacing required by your hub and a few other things.

You could look online but if you don't know the specs of your wheel and hub, then you might guess wrong. 26" more just a name plate than a true indication of the size of your tire, rim or entire wheel.

I'd recommend you find a small owner operated bike shop and let them get you a wheel. Some of the bigger bike shops don't like to mess with such, but try them too if you don't have a small owner operated bike shop near by. A bike co-op might be the thing too, but I've never lived anywhere that had a bike co-op.

It might cost a 100 bucks or more to get a new wheel, but it isn't something you are going to have to buy often if ever again.
alloy 6061-t6 is just a common aluminum alloy. For some reason advertisers think the alloys are a wow factor to us lowly uneducated potential customers. The Stars Circle I suppose is a brand name or such.

cxwrench

Why is 'bike shop' not your first thought OP?

KerryIrons

When you say "bent" do you mean damaged or just out of true? It might be possible to just true the wheel. Hopefully you have access to a decent bike shop who could look at the wheel and suggest the path forward.

jclarabut

More like out of true but we had some pretty good wind and one bike fell on her’s and there really aren’t what you’d call decent bike shops where we are. Thought replacement might the most expedient thing to do

Ogsarg

When my son bent the wheel on an old 90's mountain bike I went to my local shop and he had a used wheel he sold me for 15 bucks. That would be my first stop.

BlazingPedals

In the case of a Huffy, the cost of buying a new rim and having a shop build up the wheel will probably exceed the cost of the bike. Huffies are designed to be disposable in that way. A shop might be able to order a cheap wheel. The cheapest ones I see on sale anywhere still run $150-200 for a set. I like the idea of finding a cheap used bike with a good rear wheel, and just buying it for the wheel. Or better yet, find a cheap used name-brand bike. For that $150, you could find her a nice old Trek that would be lighter and more durable (depending on your market locally.)

Camilo

It's more common for a wheel to be able to be straightened than it is for it to need to be replaced. My guess - based on that it just fell, wasn't crashed - is that it can probably be straightened for ab08t $15-$25. Just a guess but hopefully you'll find a decent shop that will at least give it a try.

Where are you located? A "decent" shop is very likely to be a hole in the wall or Mom and Pop type of thing where they are willing and able to fix old stuff as opposed to just selling and servicing the latest and greatest. You might also check craigslist or FB marketplace. I've seen mobile bike repair advertised there from time to time. Hope it works out.

Iride01 

If that's the case and there isn't a definite bend in the rim then probably can just tighten and loosen the proper sets of spokes. I've done that myself when younger. But you can make a rim look perfectly true, and then have a wheel that might be dangerously under tensioned or over tensioned on some spokes if you don't know what you are doing.

What do you mean no decent bike shops? What makes them decent? Or are there just none whatsoever?

CroMo Mike 

Look for a bike for sale on your local Next Door website. Ours always has several low miles garage queens and they are, well, practically next door. Many for less than $100.

icemilkcoffee 

A bike shop will either sell them a brand new wheel which will cost three times what that Huffy is worth, or laugh the Huffy out of the shop altogether.

A cheap bike needs a cheap fix. Find out what kind of rear wheel it is:
1. Spacing: 130? 135mm?
2. What kind of hub? Freewheel, freehub, single speed, coaster?

And try to find a similar one on Craigslist or Facebook marketplace

Camilo

Bike shop should definitely be the first step. OP probably knows nothing about the technical stuff that's mentioned that's needed to know if replacing the wheel. Plus, most importantly, why assume it needs to be replaced? The CHEAPEST fix is to have someone who knows how to true wheels, true the thing!

Get thee to a bike shop!

jclarabut

Not sure if it's normal but I thought I'd thank everyone who responded to my question. Took the bike to a small one man shop where the wheel was tuned to true and the brakes adjusted .

BlazingPedals

Not normal at all. Usually, new members who join to ask a question will simply disappear after collecting answers. It's good to hear that it wasn't really a bent rim but just out-of-true. That's pretty common for Huffies and their ilk, since their wheels are so typically under-tensioned. I hope you stick around and participate more, whether to ask questions, answer them, or just join in the discussions.

indyfabz

See post #13 and possibly realize you don’t know everything.

JonnyKwest

I went to a shop where they sold rather expensive bikes, but I only needed a rim liner since I was changing the tube. It took forever just to have someone acknowledge me, and they didn't even know I wasn't there to buy a bike. When I told them what I wanted, they said it would be like $15; a thin piece of rubber mind you. I politely left because I didn't like waiting that long, or the price (you can get two inner tubes for that price). Then I went to a smaller private owned Schwinn shop (Bent's in Lakeland, FL), they brought out two widths and asked which one I wanted. I picked it out and he handed it to me and asked if there was anything else. I said, no, how much? He said, oh nothing, just come back when you need us!

Glad you had such a great experience. Local bike shops can be hit or miss, but it's great when you find a good one.

Maelochs

Nice to see a happy ending on Bike Forum.

88ss

The next time you go to the bike shop get a spoke-wrench for a few dollars and watch some videos on truing up wheels, it is easy and rewarding to have in your skill set. It may set you on the road to the great hobby of maintaining or even building up your own bicycles someday.