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  1. Its not going to explode, but it will pull through & spokes will start coming loose. replace as soon as you can. But if you have to ride out of necessity its fine till spokes start popping out.

  2. the_knob_man on

    Explode? No, but it should still be repaired or replaced. Typically, you’ll get a loose spoke(s) then the wheel will go out of true.

    If the hub is nice you can get a bike shop to replace the rim.

  3. I’ve run rims like that for a while. Probably from putting too much tension trying to bring back into true? If it’s on the front wheel, that’s more dangerous, but if it’s on the back I wouldn’t not go on a ride because of it

  4. TylerDenniston on

    No. It won’t explode.

    Death comes for us all. For your wheel it’s sooner. But if my buddy wanted to ride this afternoon I wouldn’t worry this wheel was set to wreck our day. You’d be surprised how slow those cracks grow.

  5. Rest in peace to that wheel and **thankfully** not RIP to you, OP. I’m glad you noticed this when and how you did!

  6. Your face will explode too when it hits the tarmac. The uncertainly of when it will happen is what keeps it fun though.

  7. These cracks won’t cause catastrophic failure. It’ll just get more and more untrue and not able to be fixed. It’s a dead rim but not something that’s going to kill you.

  8. Explode? No

    Go out of true each time you ride? Yes

    Rim needs to be replaced? Yes, with spoke tension no greater than rim spec — and best with nipple washers

  9. ThisAmericanSatire on

    Is this your rear wheel?

    I had the exact same issue with a rear-wheel WTB i23 rim on a bike I bought in early 2023.

    Luckily, the warranty covered the replacement. 

    I assumed it was either COVID-era quality control, or maybe I had the tire pressure higher than advisable for the conditions I was riding. 

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