Another question.

I just took a good look at the front rim and noticed that it was bent. It was bent only by like an 1/8." Here's how I was able to tell. I used my 3ft leveler and I held it against the tire and ground and spinned the tire. It made the leveler move away from the tire about 1/8." Does this mean I need a new rim? or can the rim be bent back straight? This could be the result of my recent fall.

If I ride like this, will this cause any problems. I was told, that it could have been like this all along from when I purchased it, and it is probably nothing to worry about, but I'd rather spend the money to have a correct and straight rim, rather than ride and possible have a complication due to the bent rim and lose my life.

Thanks.

 

As long as it holds air I think you'll be ok, but then again Ive never ridden a bike with a bent rim so i dunno.

 

Can you feel it when you ride it? If you dont notice it, and assuming it holds air, dont worry about it, that is as long as your just street riding. fwiw, my first F4i had a bent rim, and I never even realized it until someone else rode my bike and asked me why my front end had so much vibration.

The rim can be straightened, but its usually not cheap. so make sure its something that needs to be fixed.

 

I can't say how it feels because I haven't rode the bike since I fell of the bike last Wednesday. When I rode the bike back home, I couldn't tell either because I was too shaken up to think about it. However, when I did ride the bike back home after my slip and fall, I didn't notice anything, but I was only going like 20 MPH to be cautious.

How much does it cost to get a rim straightened? and would any tire shop be able to do it?

Thanks.

 

depending on how bad it is, it can cost from $100 up to the cost of a new rim.

you have to look around and find a place that specializes in frame and rim straightening. I used a place in Michigan one time, dont remember their name, they did fantastic work, but the cost was outrageous

 

Ive actually attempted to straighten out a rim off a '96 Ducati 900SS. It was damage in a fall much like yours was, although I dont know how bad yours is. I managed to get it almost flush with the rest of the rim, although I dont know how well it will hold air as I havent put it back on the bike yet. I just used a large hydraulic press and a bit of cut up nylon cutting board to bend it back into line with the rest of the rim. If you have access to a press like mine, I say what have you got to lose.

 

I don't have access to any heavy machinery or tools other than hand tools.

Literally, if you take anything that is perfectly straight (as in a yard/meter stick, or leveler or mop/broom stick or the sides of a piece of finished wood) and place it flush against your tire while also against the ground (my bike was on both stands and I had it as straight as I could get it), and spin the wheel, the distance that the leveler traveled away from the wheel (measuring from the ground) is where I got my measurement.

I know that this seems silly, but here is a picture of what I mean (I know it is probably humorous!):



When I spinned the wheel, the displacement of the leveler from the starting position was away from the tire about an 1/8."

My main concern is really if I ride on some roads that have curves, and especially when getting on/off the highways, I don't want to have any handling or stability problems due to the slight bent rim. I probably would call it being uneven rather than bent, but that is the best way I can describe it.

I do know that the this is very inaccurate and when I used my leveler, it was against my tire, not the rim. However, judging by how tight the tire is on the rim and since rubber shapes itself to whatever it is attached to, I took this as being caused by my rim, not my tire.

Thanks.

 

Also, the tire has not lost any air. The tire is still full like it was from when I aired up the tire that morning.

Thanks.

 

The worst thing it will do is give a noticeable wobble. So take it out for a ride and see how it performs. As others have said, if it performs fine and holds air, you should be okay. 1/8" is not much.

If you intend on doing any higher speed stuff, though, like goofing around on the freeway or what, I'd recommend fixing it, just to eliminate any doubt. Call some professional repair people to get a quote, and if it's not to your likely, find a use wheel. They don't go for too much if you can find them without the rotors and whatnot.

 

I'm about to send some stuff to Will's Rim Repair in SC. I've heard good things via the interweb and his prices seem to be the most reasonable. Search him.