TYGA Posted February 11, 2009 Share Hi All, Anyone got advice repairing a ding in a rim? I have got one on a Bontrager Race Lite Tubeless wheelset. There are no sharp or protruding edges, just a normal inward dent as you would come to expect from landing on a rock with too low tire pressure. I was going to just bend it out with a closed up shifting spanner but worried the aluminium may be tempered and then crack or "break out". Else perhaps in a bench vice with the offending piece between two pieces of wood? Cheers and thanks! BTW Johan nice post on fixing your wife's seatpost issues. That is the same way I stopped my wife's surfski from leaking. Hang'em in the rafters mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droo Posted February 11, 2009 Share The shifting spanner trick's always worked for me... but i'm sure JB will be along shortly to confirm (or beat into submission with logic ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Bornman Posted February 11, 2009 Share I always see bike repair books advocate the shifting spanner trick but it has never worked for me. It doesn't fit well over the bead hook and always seems to create additional dents that make my brakes go crazy. I've had some success in banging them out using a wooden "chisel" designed specifically to fit on the inside of the sidewall. I have a stock of small parquet floor blocks. I modify one of these blocks to fit perfectly inside the rim and them knock it flat with a hammer or mallet. Do a mock attempt with a shifting spanner and you'll notice that the hook in the sidewal prevents you from flattening it against the sidewall. When you then bend the dent out, it creates a ding at the tip of the spanner. These operations are never 100 percent perfect and you'll always end up with brakes that judder at that point. I live with it, it's not serious. Don't worry about the rim cracking, it is quite ductile and has to be, otherwise the cyclical spoke forces will quickly break it. You can bend a few times with no ill effect. I find if I finish the job off with a fierce sanding using a rigid, flat block of sorts, I get it closer to acceptable. If the ding has extended into the rest of the rim, more drastic action is needed. Then you have to loosen the four adjacent spokes and rest the rim on two wooden blocks as far apart as the outer edges of the dent. Then tap it out from the inside of the wheel with another piece of shaped wood. It takes time and patience but if you look at the cost of these fancy pansy rims, it may be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtlek Posted February 11, 2009 Share Johan these rims are tubeless specific and only come as disk brake wheelsets so he does not have to worry about the braking surface only if his tire will seal after he bends it back into shape Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Bornman Posted February 11, 2009 Share Johan these rims are tubeless specific and only come as disk brake wheelsets so he does not have to worry about the braking surface only if his tire will seal after he bends it back into shape Aha. In that case, leave out the sanding. This makes it so much easier. A disk rim can be out of true quite a bit with no ill effect to man or beast. Fix it, ride it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TYGA Posted February 12, 2009 Share Thanks guys. Will try the wooden chisel vibe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droo Posted February 12, 2009 Share Thanks JB, I learn a new trick every day... will try it out on my ding now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaccelari Posted February 12, 2009 Share Rather than a spanner, I use grips (locking pliers). The curved jaw goes on the outside braking surface and the straight jaw on the inside. I then use the bolt adjuster to adjust the jaw separation to suit and then lever the rim out... The pattern on the jaws also helps them grip onto the rim. As Johan says, a light sanding afterwards gets rid of any swarf on the braking surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoBigBen Posted February 12, 2009 Share jmaccelari - 'swarf' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaccelari Posted February 12, 2009 Share jmaccelari - 'swarf' Yep - not the exact technical term, but it was the closest I couldthink of for "the little bits of metal dug up by sticking a great, bigset of ruddy pliers onto your rim and exerting lots of force"... Swarf was a little more concise... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoBigBen Posted February 12, 2009 Share OK thanks mate! Wait till I throw that technical term into the mix when next chatting to Lil'Ben and the rest of our cycling group Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TYGA Posted February 12, 2009 Share Thanks JB' date=' I learn a new trick every day... will try it out on my ding now.[/quote'] That's gonna hurt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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