I had an accident with my Brompton electric. Now the rim has a "snakebite". Can this be repaired in any bike shop or should this go to a Brompton shop or should the rim be replaced instead of repaired?
by instantknut
I had an accident with my Brompton electric. Now the rim has a "snakebite". Can this be repaired in any bike shop or should this go to a Brompton shop or should the rim be replaced instead of repaired?
by instantknut
5 Comments
If you have the budget, replace the rim.
I my experience, unless repaired perfectly it will always be a liability for punctures.
I know a guy who banged that back into place when it happened to me – it can be done need to be an old school mechanic who knows what he’s doing
Looks minor and are you under warranty?
A simple repair video – https://youtu.be/Zg4ZFruCfSg?si=zJAlUuX47fow2slO
Ideally you should have the rim replaced with a new one. The Brompton Electric rim is slightly different from the other ones.
The work can be done by any bike shop who can build wheels, it’s an easy lacing pattern and they might recommend using new spokes at the same time.
Temporarily you can try to bend the rim back into shape with some pipe grips or pliers (use a piece of cloth to prevent scratches) but that will fatigue the aluminium or potentially cause it to crack.
Smooth teeth pliers, flathead screwdriver, peace of wood + smooth file/sandpaper should get this good as new’ish. Go slow bit by bit and inspect properly to make sure rim is not cracked etc. Might also need to check if/how true to finish it up.