bent rear rim..repair? replace? novice here, please help!



pacificnwrider

New Member
Nov 10, 2011
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2 questions for those interested. 1. thoughts on how I might have bent the rear rim on my bike? 2. whats the best wheel I could get to replace it(used? new? brand? wheelset?)

In other aspects of my life I'm very mechanical, but I've never taken the time to look at a bicycle. I have an old...VERY old raleigh road bike, its 66 cm...anyway, I bought it used and have not ridden far, less than 100 miles. I love the bike, but 2 nights ago on my way from the gym the rear wheel got "whonkie" on me...and when I looked down I saw the rim was slightly bent. I'm a little over 6'6" tall and weigh 265 pounds, was it my size that bent this? I ride across railroad tracks but I wouldn't consider myself aggressive my any stretch of the imagination, the tracks?

Anyway I'm a total novice to this but so far I'm loving it. any information would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!
 
Did a spoke break? You can try to push the spokes sideways. A broken spoke will be obvious. Buy a spoke and spoke wrench and replace the broken spoke. (A lot of technical details about the spoke type and length and how to remove the freewheel.)

It could be a combination of your weight, the railroad tracks, and lack of technique. Hard to tell.

I weigh under 140 so I cannot help with what wheels would be appropriate.
 
Is the rim on the wheel simply out-of-true OR is the rim actually bent?

A broken spoke will throw a rim more severely out-of-true than one whose tension needs to be adjusted ...

  • when a broken spoke is replaced then it is typically better when ALL of the spokes are partially detensioned & then retensioned anew
  • when a wheel is simply trued, then the tension is usually adjusted on only the spokes near where the rim is out-of-true

At your weight, a rear wheel with 36 spokes is better than one with fewer spokes.