April 16, 200719 yr Yesterday I was hitting a pretty big step and when i put the bike back in the truck I noticed a pretty good sized ding on the left side of the rear wheel. STill holds air, just looks rough. What is the best way to straighten the rear wheel without making it look too bad? Dead blow hammer, rubber mallet? SHould I leave the air in the tire or pull the core out first?
April 19, 200719 yr Hi there, The rear rims are pretty tough on these bikes, fronts usually bend first. Must have been a massive step! I have straightened out a few dings in the past on various rims though it takes more clout than a rubber mallet. Best to remove the tyre, get a kettle out close to the bike, boil stacks of water and pour over the dinged area for as long as you have. Use a heavy hammer very carefully - best is a real heavy hide hammer and try to remove the ding resting the rim over a good sized tree stump or solid piece of wood, takes a fair whack to put back into shape. Keep the water boiling and pour more on in between hammering as the aluminium work hardens. Be careful if you end up using a sledge hammer. Bye, PeterB.
April 20, 200719 yr Author I was afraid of that. I plan on heating the wheel a little and gently whacking it and hopefully straighten it a little at a time. It was a big hit, it was halfway up a steep and slick hill and it was a rock ledge about hip high. I was in 3rd gear 3/4 throttle and slammed the rear wheel into it. i did it a few times and i didn't notice the dent til I got back to the truck. I had 4.5 lbs of air in too, thought that would be enough to protect it. Any other tips or tricks?
April 20, 200719 yr Hi there, I don't know if I am much of a help here, but from what you say about the step, it shouldn't have caused any damage to the rim. Maybe you are not pre-loading the suspension just prior to going into the step, hard to explain unless you are already doing this - sort of pushing down onto the footrests to load up the shock then dipping the clutch instantaneously and grabbing a handful of throttle at the clutch release point to fire the back wheel half way or more up the step. Air pressure is ok. Bye, PeterB.
April 24, 200719 yr Author Yeah kind of splatter I guess, I was pulling pretty hard on teh bars and trying to hit rear wheel first. I think it was too big to not splatter I probably was scared to not hit it hard enough and was hitting it with too much force
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