Is this rim too bent to ride on?

[I_Must_Bust]

Last night I hit a hidden metal pipe cap at low speed while going through some grass and today I thought to check for any damage... Looks like there's a moderate bend in the rim.

I didn't notice anything weird during my ride back after that happened so my question is can I just ignore the bend?

 

Edited June 23, 2021 by I_Must_Bust

[supercurio]

It doesn't look too bent to ride, but I would recommend to deflate (remove if necessary) the tire and check for cracks in the aluminum of the rim, closer to its center.

It doesn't seem too likely there are cracks from what you're showing, but still entirely possible depending on the shape of the object that hit it. 

[I_Must_Bust]

44 minutes ago, supercurio said:

It doesn't look too bent to ride, but I would recommend to deflate (remove if necessary) the tire and check for cracks in the aluminum of the rim, closer to its center.

It doesn't seem too likely there are cracks from what you're showing, but still entirely possible depending on the shape of the object that hit it. 

Thanks, a guy on the EUC reddit said he was able to fix a similar bend with as motorcycle style tire spoon so I'll be trying that assuming no cracks

[supercurio]

5 hours ago, I_Must_Bust said:

Thanks, a guy on the EUC reddit said he was able to fix a similar bend with as motorcycle style tire spoon so I'll be trying that assuming no cracks

Unless the current bend creates some kind of wobble or put the tire at risk of getting off, I would advise against bending back.

My reasoning is that you will not gain anything beside visually, but you risk a crack or compromising the aluminum integrity by stressing it further; making it more likely to fail later.

Edited June 23, 2021 by supercurio

[I_Must_Bust]

4 hours ago, supercurio said:

Unless the current bend creates some kind of wobble or put the tire at risk of getting off, I would advise against bending back.

My reasoning is that you will not gain anything beside visually, but you risk a crack or compromising the aluminum integrity by stressing it further; making it more likely to fail later.

Hmm interesting. I will take that under consideration. I think I can feel a slight bump on very smooth surfaces but nothing more than that. It wasn't noticeable until I was looking for it.

[HighEndScooters]

I done this twice to a Tesla v2 when the tyre pressure was too low.  I deflated tyre and used a pair of grips to bend back in to its not perfect but I cannot feel the irregularity from the bent rim so jobs a gooden.

Hope this helps 

 

[I_Must_Bust]

On 6/26/2021 at 12:34 PM, HighEndScooters said:

I done this twice to a Tesla v2 when the tyre pressure was too low.  I deflated tyre and used a pair of grips to bend back in to its not perfect but I cannot feel the irregularity from the bent rim so jobs a gooden.

Hope this helps 

 

I ride at around 38psi so I don't think that my pressure was too low. It was just a very bad obstacle to hit. For me the bend is barely noticeable when riding on a long, smooth surface so I don't think it's dangerous to ride after checking for cracks in the rim. 

Actually now that you mention it I should check my pressure since I thought it was fine when I first hit the pipe. Might be that I have a leak although I haven't noticed it.

Also the tesla v2 is a great wheel  how long have you been riding and have you thought of upgrading yet? I want to eventually but for now this thing is great.

Edited June 27, 2021 by I_Must_Bust

[m365ww]

Any bike shops in your area?  They deal with bent rims all the time and probably have the tools needed to fix your rim if it becomes an issue down the road.  Best bet is to use a torch to heat the bent area, so it doesn't crack when bending back to the correct shape.  If bent rim starts to become more noticeable, then you'll want to fix the issue.  Otherwise you may have bearing issues due to the wobble.  If no on the bike shops, then find a motorcycle gearhead or someone that rides mountain bikes on trails.  This would be the proper solution for your bent rim.

Otherwise:

1)  For a dirty temporary fix, maybe you can fill in the bent portion of the rim with something you can sandpaper.  Take your time until the gap is filled in smooth.  Try JB Weld Steel Stix on a separate piece of Aluminum (beer can) as a test.  Let it cure then sand away to get a feel for how easily the material can be removed.

2)  Another ghetto fabulous trick would be to use a rubber adhesive that can be removed with a little work such as Shoo Goo (Walmart, Amazon, eBay).  Fill in the gap between the tire and rim with the adhesive starting from the bottom (use a toothpick).  It's ok to leave it a bit messy, but remember to fill from the bottom up with no air bubbles.  After a couple of minutes, it should be ok to gently touch and "smush" further down into the gap (so you can also make what's visible nice and neat).  It will dry into a hard rubber.

I would try these two temporary fixes first, as they can be a permanent fix if successful and can be undone if unsuccessful.  Also, it won't break the bank to try these out.

Hope this helps!

[HighEndScooters]

On 6/27/2021 at 8:53 PM, I_Must_Bust said:

I ride at around 38psi so I don't think that my pressure was too low. It was just a very bad obstacle to hit. For me the bend is barely noticeable when riding on a long, smooth surface so I don't think it's dangerous to ride after checking for cracks in the rim. 

Actually now that you mention it I should check my pressure since I thought it was fine when I first hit the pipe. Might be that I have a leak although I haven't noticed it.

Also the tesla v2 is a great wheel  how long have you been riding and have you thought of upgrading yet? I want to eventually but for now this thing is great.

We are a uk retailer of electric scooters but started selling and riding electric unicycle late 2020.

Ive personally had my Tesla V2 since November done about 1500km on it now im way due an upgrade as i have outgrown it based on weight and ability to over power the wheel. 

When i damaged the rim my tire pressure was 35psi and i was jumps and going down short stairs of 3-5 steps.  This was relatively early in my riding career now I ride at 41psi.

See picture attached for how my wheel came out after i corrected the dent you can see the gap in rim is not consistent all the way but the wheel functions perfectly. 

I love the Tesla personally but i had a cut out at 75% battery when going over a pot hole now mentally dont feel as comfortable on the wheel. 

We have ordered some mten3, mcm5 and new exn v2 so they will arrive in September i have ear marked a exn for my next wheel.  I will keep the tesla too ill continue to learn new tricks on it. At present got really good at bakward riding on the Tesla. 

Edited June 29, 2021 by HighEndScooters
Added picture

[.....]

On 6/23/2021 at 7:03 PM, supercurio said:

Unless the current bend creates some kind of wobble or put the tire at risk of getting off, I would advise against bending back.

My reasoning is that you will not gain anything beside visually, but you risk a crack or compromising the aluminum integrity by stressing it further; making it more likely to fail later.

THIS!! and THIS and THIS and umm... THIS!!!

I'd defalte to look for cracks. I'd assume if i didnt see any, then they must be small. Alloys crack so easily. No reason to magnaflux it and inspect with a scope or nuthin. Look it over, if it looks okay... run it. I wouldnt bend it back unless I HAD to. These alloys dont like to bend once, let alone twice in same area.  Keep an eye on it for the first little while, but just ride it and maybe order another for when you feel froggy or your bent rim breaks in a different spot. Heck, these alloys are so hit and miss, it wouldnt surprise me if the bent area is still stronger than other areas. Or the flip side is, it could fail over time in that spot. I guess it all depends on how you ride. Im a high speed maintenance guy, so I'd run it until a new one arrived. If I was a more reasonable speed or off roader, I'd get used to running bent rims until they exploded...

Edited June 29, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[ArieKanarie]

I had a bend like this a few weeks ago.
Called bike shops and car rim repair shops but nobody wanted to touch it (even If I delivered them just the motor/rim combo)

I figured, a new rim for my 16X costs €150 or so, I might as well try to repair it myself first.

So I did. Removed the wheel form the body and removed the tire.
Didn't see any cracks.
So I laid the rim on it's side on the removed tire and just hit the bend with a mallet and a block of wood.
Surprisingly it worked! 

Three tips:
1: Don't hit too hard, it's better to hit moderately a few more times than to hit hard and damage the rim.
2: The rim does not have to be 100% perfect again, if you think it is straight enough again don't hit it any further which may damage the rim permanently
3: Also, the direction of how you hit is important, I have quickly sketched what I mean:

If you hit it straight from the side it will just flatten the edge of the rim. If you hit it at an angle from the middle of the wheel you'll probably straighten it way better.

[.....]

yup, alloys like to jump back to original position. Just watch for cracks is all. You didnt have much to lose, so it was a good plan.

[SlowJoe]

On 7/1/2021 at 4:14 AM, ArieKanarie said:

I had a bend like this a few weeks ago.
Called bike shops and car rim repair shops but nobody wanted to touch it (even If I delivered them just the motor/rim combo)

I figured, a new rim for my 16X costs €150 or so, I might as well try to repair it myself first.

So I did. Removed the wheel form the body and removed the tire.
Didn't see any cracks.
So I laid the rim on it's side on the removed tire and just hit the bend with a mallet and a block of wood.
Surprisingly it worked! 

Three tips:
1: Don't hit too hard, it's better to hit moderately a few more times than to hit hard and damage the rim.
2: The rim does not have to be 100% perfect again, if you think it is straight enough again don't hit it any further which may damage the rim permanently
3: Also, the direction of how you hit is important, I have quickly sketched what I mean:

If you hit it straight from the side it will just flatten the edge of the rim. If you hit it at an angle from the middle of the wheel you'll probably straighten it way better.

Dude thanks!!!  The stock tire on the Tesla is not big enough.  I ride my MCM5v2 really hard and I’ve yet to see a dent on the rim. It has a 2.5” 14” tire

[alcatraz]

On 6/24/2021 at 7:03 AM, supercurio said:

Unless the current bend creates some kind of wobble or put the tire at risk of getting off, I would advise against bending back.

My reasoning is that you will not gain anything beside visually, but you risk a crack or compromising the aluminum integrity by stressing it further; making it more likely to fail later.

Bingo. If the tire doesn't have a noticeable bulge in that spot then just leave it. 

It doesn't look like a big bend to me.

[alcatraz]

On 6/30/2021 at 6:32 AM, HighEndScooters said:

We are a uk retailer of electric scooters but started selling and riding electric unicycle late 2020.

Ive personally had my Tesla V2 since November done about 1500km on it now im way due an upgrade as i have outgrown it based on weight and ability to over power the wheel. 

When i damaged the rim my tire pressure was 35psi and i was jumps and going down short stairs of 3-5 steps.  This was relatively early in my riding career now I ride at 41psi.

See picture attached for how my wheel came out after i corrected the dent you can see the gap in rim is not consistent all the way but the wheel functions perfectly. 

I love the Tesla personally but i had a cut out at 75% battery when going over a pot hole now mentally dont feel as comfortable on the wheel. 

We have ordered some mten3, mcm5 and new exn v2 so they will arrive in September i have ear marked a exn for my next wheel.  I will keep the tesla too ill continue to learn new tricks on it. At present got really good at bakward riding on the Tesla. 

Wow. You're brave to be jumping and doing stairs on a Tesla. It's a smooth surface cruiser.

I'm curious. How fast were you going when it cut out? 

I got an MSX (Gotway 19inch) recently and I came from a Tesla, and I have to say it feels really different. I miss the response from the Tesla. On the bigger wheels the input from the rider needs to be so much stronger to get the wheel to react. That's something I dislike. Emergency braking/acceleration is going to be very very sluggish. Other than that, I love the wheel. Super comfy. Butas said, it's important to increase your margins because it takes more effort to start/stop.

[Nick McCutcheon]

I've had two major rim dents on my now sold ACM2 (both resulted in cracks). Both times I bent the rim back into place with a propane torch to heat the area and a crowbar to bend it. Also both times, bending it back made it circular again at the expense of worsening the crack (one attempt caused a crack to form on the edge of the rim, and the other attempt possibly widened the crack on the inside of the rim), but I was able to use two-part metal JB weld to mend the cracks pretty easily. It was my first time using JB weld, and I didn't have any trouble. Before JB weld (just bending), the rim was obviously a lot weaker due to the crack and developed new tiny dents very easily, but after the JB weld, it held up perfectly fine and never had any issues including up until when I sold it.

I just wanted to post this to say that even if you do make things worse by bending it back and widening or creating a crack, all hope is not lost, JB weld might be enough to restore the rim integrity (arguably maybe not completely, but far better than without it). 

The smaller the bend, the less risk there is of causing cracks, and yours doesn't seem too bad at least compared to what I've had IMO. My one tip is to definitely heat up that area of the rim (try not to heat the inner part close to the magnets directly, concentrate the flame on the rim itself) before bending it back with a crowbar or a moto tire spoon as another user suggested. I didn't hammer, for fear of damaging the axle (I never dropped the motor out), I just wrenched on it while keeping the wheel on the ground with my knee. However, I have hammered on other wheels and they seemed ok afterwards, so use whichever method seems more effective to you. 

But, as other users have said, it all comes down to what you're able to tolerate, as any action you take will further stress the metal. If you don't feel it while riding, I wouldn't worry. I have many minor dents on my MSX rim, but I don't feel any of them and they kind of "average out" to a circular shape  On the other hand, my ACM2 dents were very obvious and I would have gone crazy letting them stay as bent as they were, it felt like I was hitting a bump on every rotation. Fixing them was the only option in my mind. The rim was already pretty messed up, how much worse could I make it?

Edited March 31, 2022 by Nick McCutcheon