I noticed a pretty deep dent in my front rim (Velocity Aileron 650b) this morning and am not sure how much is too much. There’s noticeable dimpling outwards along the crease of the dent.
The wheel is still true and the wheel holds air (tubeless), so it’s rideable, but I’m nervous about it cracking mid ride.
I’ve heard people say to leave the dent since the alloy can weaken from bending back dents. Has anyone had experience removing dents from Velocity rims?
by cinematicraps
7 Comments
this is too much dent, as you can see the “white” shine trough the black paint
That rim is done. Too much bend for aluminum, if you continue to ride it the bend will crack. Luckily you could rebuild the wheel and just get a new rim. But there’s no fixing that damage.
You can try to bend it back with a rag and some mole grips. Be careful not to wreck the bead hook doing this. It won’t be as strong as it was after repair obviously. I would check the rim form any cracks propagating. It is very unlikely damage like this would result in catastrophic failure of the entire wheel without warning though.
What did you hit? So I know what to avoid
I’ve ridden worse, but dents come with other issues. That spot is gonna be a pain when you change tires, as the bead doesn’t want to seal around dents. If it were me, I’d rock it, attempt to fix it if it gives you trouble with the tire, and replace if it cracks. Minor dents can be repaired pretty easily, but yours looks like it’s on that line where a repair attempt could cause it to crack.
I’ve had many dents that caused no issues, but also had a dent that caused the tire not to seat at all – it effectively reduced the diameter of the rim and the tire kept blowing off…that one made me sad.
Also note that the rim is probably permanently out of true – you’ll always have a little hop there. Usually not a big deal, but something to note.
I had a rim that lived through 12 (twelve) dents like that, and then finally gave up. I’ve also had a rim that died on the first one cuz the tire wouldn’t stay on…just feel it out, and know that reliability is probably compromised a bit. All that said, if it still runs fine, ride it!
This much dent is too much dent
that’s too much dent