Can this wheel be saved?

[John Brittain]

One of the re-enforcing grommets in the rim of my rear wheel split along the circumference of the
grommet. Now the outside part slides up and down the spoke.

Is there any repair for this sorry condition? I assume eventually the spoke will break through the
rim if I just leave it but is seems a waste just to toss the wheel.

The wheel is about 5yr old and was probably damaged in shipping. The rim is aluminum if
that matters.

 

[John Everett]

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 13:33:55 GMT, [email protected] (John Brittain) wrote:

>One of the re-enforcing grommets in the rim of my rear wheel split along the circumference of the
>grommet. Now the outside part slides up and down the spoke.
>
>Is there any repair for this sorry condition? I assume eventually the spoke will break through the
>rim if I just leave it but is seems a waste just to toss the wheel.
>
>The wheel is about 5yr old and was probably damaged in shipping. The rim is aluminum if
>that matters.

The only function the swaged outer head of the grommet serves is to keep the grommet from falling
out until the wheel is built. All the spoke tension is applied to the inner head. I'd snip off the
little donut with a pair of diagonal cutters and keep riding.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3