Advice on a buckled rim

[Yuppie]

could anyone give my advice what to do with a rim thats not balanced (buckled), in particular where to go (place names/tel nr)to fix it in the cape town area or is it worth nothing and beter to buy a new one.

 

thnx

[Johan Bornman]

You don't say whether the rim was buckled after an accident or just started to buckle by itself. How old is the wheel, what's the history? What type of rim is it? How many spokes?  If it is made from good solid components you are better of finding someone that can re-tension it for you than starting with a fresh rubbish wheel.

 

I'm coming to Cape Town over the weekend for a Maintenance Course. Maybe I can use your wheel as a test case for the students?

 

[Yuppie]

thnx for the advice, its a mavic akysium front wheel and its after an "accident". the wheel is about just over an year old. would this help? i would REALLY appreciate it if you can bail me out. i would gladly meet you somewhere, cause at this stage i dont want to ride with the bike - affraid to increase the damage.

 

 

[Johan Bornman]

Did the accident bend the rim? A rim is usually bent if a single event caused it to buckle. A bent rim need to be replaced and cannot be straightened satisfactorily.

 

If you suspect it is bent, take it to Dragons Sports in Cape Town, they are the agents for Mavic. If it is buckle 'cause the nipples came loose (common on boutique wheels), then you can fix it yourself without any permanent hard should you screw up.

 

The wheel was (should have been) supplied with a slotted plastic doodad to hold the spoke when you tighten the nipple. It is a straight-pull spoke and turns easily.

 

You'll need a spoke spanner too. They're R100 at your bike shop. Don't buy SuperB. Get a black Park Tool one or BBB.

 

Find the largest buckle point by spinning the wheel in your upside down bicycle and look where it hits the brakes. Tighten the spoke opposite the buckle, half a turn at a time. Never loosen spokes, only tighten. You kmay have to tighten two spokes in the buckle, depending on how big the  wave is. However, remember that these wheels don't have enough spokes - there are only 20 in that front wheel so a single spoke that came loose causes a huge buckle.

 

Try this first. Don't fuss about the outlay of a spoke spanner, everyone should have one.