How to fix a bent wheel
April 1st, 2008 by Tim GrahlIt happens to everyone from time to time. You’re out riding, take a fall, hit a rock, fall off a cliff, etc and you bend your wheel. Once the rim is bent you have a couple different options.
First off you can take it into the shop and pay them to fix it up or you can choose to straighten it out yourself.
If you go with the second choice you are gonna need the right tool. In this picture we show you the spoke adjuster we chose to use for this rim.
Next you’ll need to figure out which way the wheel is bending. Once you have this figured out, what you need to do is use the spoke adjusters to clip off a few spokes from the other side of the wheel. See your problem is the spokes are pushing your wheel to far over so you need to relieve that pressure by removing a few of them. Don’t worry about hurting the wheel. The whole reason there are so many spokes is because the manufacturers know you will need to remove some of them in the future.
Once you have removed the spokes causing the problem, you should be able to bend your wheel back straight by hand and be ready to roll.
This is by far a much easier and cheaper method then taking the wheel in to get straightened out by “professionals”.
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Another trick is known as Whack-a-Rim
It requires a stout tree. Remove wheel, place bowed portion toward tree. Whack repeatedly, until it spins in your frame. Ride home
I once lost six spokes when a rock flipped up into the rear wheel on a climb. I was able to ride a few miles back to work at a moderate pace minus the six spokes. The wheel was definitely wobbly, but it’s good to know that you can make it back in that situation.
Spoke wrenches aren’t too heavy these days. In conjunction with “Whack-a-rim” they can do wonders.
Hmmm…..I sense that you have strong wheel kung-fu! But, it is no match for my Standing Swan style!
Nice….
Wow! I had no idea i could remove so many spokes. Will that make my wheels lighter? I’ll bet I can climb with 27.456774% more efficiency afterwards! Rock on!
I’m sorry, I don’t think this is very funny. I was searching for “how to fix a bent rim” and ran across this site. Someone might think this advice is meant seriously and ruin their wheel.
That is the stupidest thing I have ever seen and is totally not even funny.
Your method also seems to have the added benefit of saving precious grams from spoke removal. You should also be able to corner much better with the new weight distribution.
How courageous to ride a wheel with such a minimal amount of support.
Much like the brave knight who would challenge, “Come back here you coward, and I’ll bike your bloody leg off.”
brilliant! I’ve followed your advice and, with a bit of forward thinking I’ve removed over half of my spokes, this enables the wheels to flex rather than get bent by the rocks! genius!!
brilliant! I’ve followed your advice and, with a bit of forward thinking I’ve removed over half of my spokes, this enables the wheels to flex rather than get bent by the rocks! genius!!
To those that think this is not funny- 1 have a cup of coffee, Wake up, then have a shot or two of your favorite adult beverage, RElax, and realize that it was posted on April Fools Day.
Must be a slow week since it’s April 8th and this April Fool’s “joke” is still the top story on Blue Collar…..
Some of y’all have no sense of humor. But the whack a rim method definitely works, though.
I got another answer for how to fix a bad joke, you get those pliers or spoke adjustors,and you clamp your teeth with a good grip and then you push with an upward motion , and then you do it all over again until no more bad jokes come out of your mouth , oh and in case you dont have any front teeth,wich i gather by the bad taste in your jokes, then there isnt a fix for your problem!
I bent a wheel recently (I am a clydesdale, but, that was the first time ever, and the bike didn’t HIT ANYTHING). It was a rental bike, Specialized rockhopper, I belive, around $800. Anyway, sharp turn, two trees, can’t negotiate, bail, hit the dirt, roll like in gym class, get up and see a totally warped wheel. I was shocked. So, being miles from the trail head, I whacked it. It worked. Got the wheel straight enough to get back to the trail head. Then I pulled out the spoke tool and made it better. Then, I went for another round (8 miles). When I returned the bike, the guy was a little disappointed, but, I pointed it out and paid for a wheel truing. What I didn’t understand was why it happened in that case. The bike came to a sudden stop in the trail (due to the brakes). In fact, while I was falling, I saw the bike, briefly, standing, motionless. After I got up, I noticed the wheel and have no idea of what was hit. If the wheel spun around, could the frame have done it?
For those of you that are upset about the above post, come on. I briefly read it, then, when I saw the contriversy, read it again. It’s too funny, but, whacking your wheel, again and again, until that sucker straightens out, well, that’s the best feeling in the world when you just butted up against something and bent your stuff… Wack it, daily , if you need to.
well doggy! a converted wheel whacker! Welcome to the club. When I discovered the whack I did pretty much what you did. Best I can figure, my rear wheel(the one I bent) went sideways and hit a rock.
And I see you could be a Texan cause you ride hard, shoot straight and speak the truth. I’m referring to you doing the right thing and paying for the wheel truing. Hat’s off to you partner.
Hey Old Dude,
I lived in Texas for a year and a half, had a GREAT summer on Lake LBJ (met Roger Staubach one day on that lake). But no, I’m a yankee living in Arizona. Best wishes!