damaged spoke holes (rim)

Bellsouth Ijit 2.0 - 'Roid Rage Edition ® said:

My neighbor's cheap ass K-mart bike needs a spoke replaced; that is, the
spoke has pulled out of the cheap steel rim, and area around a couple of
other spoke holes started bulging due to spoke tension. If it were my bike,
I would simply replace the garbage rim, but just to get my buddy back on his
bike, do you have any suggestions on what I can do without replacing the
rim? Say, use some kind of washers inside the rim around the spoke holes?

If one spoke nipple has pulled out of the rim, and several others close
behind, then the best option appears to be replacement. Or should I say, your
_only_ option. I can only see this ending badly otherwise.

Your LBS might have a cheap second hand rim that might suit.
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On Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:01:03 +1000 in rec.bicycles.tech, John

Tserkezis said:

If one spoke nipple has pulled out of the rim, and several others close
behind, then the best option appears to be replacement. Or should I say, your
_only_ option. I can only see this ending badly otherwise.

what he said. the wheel is NOT safe. if it's under warranty, he
should return the bike and buy a decent one somewhere else. if
not, replace the wheel.

On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:50:33 -0400, "Bellsouth Ijit 2.0 - 'Roid Rage

Edition ®' may have said:

My neighbor's cheap ass K-mart bike needs a spoke replaced; that is, the
spoke has pulled out of the cheap steel rim, and area around a couple of
other spoke holes started bulging due to spoke tension. If it were my bike,
I would simply replace the garbage rim, but just to get my buddy back on his
bike, do you have any suggestions on what I can do without replacing the
rim? Say, use some kind of washers inside the rim around the spoke holes?

It's amazingly unusual for even a Huffy or Magna steel rim to do this,
though some of the cheap aluminum ones are no strangers to
pull-throughs. If it has happened once, it will happen again; trying
to keep that rim in service is not just a false economy, it's a bigger
problem in the making. I'd seriously suggest casting around for a
place that has a used wheel that they'll sell cheap.

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Werehatrack said:

It's amazingly unusual for even a Huffy or Magna steel rim to do this,

But not one of the BSOs from Pacific Cycle. What you thought was cheap,
looks good when comparing these.

Bellsouth Ijit 2.0 - 'Roid Rage Edition ® said:

My neighbor's cheap ass K-mart bike needs a spoke replaced; that is, the
spoke has pulled out of the cheap steel rim, and area around a couple of
other spoke holes started bulging due to spoke tension. If it were my bike,
I would simply replace the garbage rim, but just to get my buddy back on his
bike, do you have any suggestions on what I can do without replacing the
rim? Say, use some kind of washers inside the rim around the spoke holes?
TIA.

I don't see why not, if you can find washers of a suitable size.

Werehatrack said:

It's amazingly unusual for even a Huffy or Magna steel rim to do this,
though some of the cheap aluminum ones are no strangers to
pull-throughs.

That also goes for certain Mavics, the MA3 and MA40 coming most
immediately to mind ;-)

Zog The Undeniable said:

Werehatrack said:

It's amazingly unusual for even a Huffy or Magna steel rim to do this,
though some of the cheap aluminum ones are no strangers to
pull-throughs.

That also goes for certain Mavics, the MA3 and MA40 coming most
immediately to mind ;-)

Trolling for Kentucky Bourbon drinkers? 😉

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The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

Tom Sherman said:

Zog The Undeniable said:

Werehatrack said:

It's amazingly unusual for even a Huffy or Magna steel rim to do this,
though some of the cheap aluminum ones are no strangers to
pull-throughs.

That also goes for certain Mavics, the MA3 and MA40 coming most
immediately to mind ;-)

Trolling for Kentucky Bourbon drinkers? 😉

Nah. To be fair, the MA3 on my racing bike is still OK, but I didn't
take the tension as high as I would normally, and it's done relatively
few miles.

On Sat, 12 Apr 2008 08:08:10 -0500, Tom Sherman

may have said:

Zog The Undeniable said:

Werehatrack said:

It's amazingly unusual for even a Huffy or Magna steel rim to do this,
though some of the cheap aluminum ones are no strangers to
pull-throughs.

That also goes for certain Mavics, the MA3 and MA40 coming most
immediately to mind ;-)

Ah, yes, but they do it so much more expensively!

Quoted message said:

Trolling for Kentucky Bourbon drinkers? 😉

Too easy.

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Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
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Bellsouth Ijit 2.0 - 'Roid Rage Edition ® said:

... the
spoke has pulled out .. and area around a couple of
other spoke holes started bulging due to spoke tension. ... do you have any suggestions on what I can do without replacing the
rim? Say, use some kind of washers inside the rim around the spoke holes?

I've done exactly that. Washers for M4 thread fits nicely against the nipple and I found some that was a perfect fit between spoke hole and inside rim wall.
They weren't exactly hard to find, but make sure to get the kind with a larger-than-average OD rather than the most commonplace item.
I think intended usage for mine was where a bigger load distributing surface is needed, like when pop-riveting fiberglass, or similar.

You lose maybe 2 mm of spoke penetration into nipple this way, but if they were a perfect fit to begin with I wouldn't worry about that either. If the spokes were short originally now might be a good time to switch to a longer nipple.

If the wheel gets heavily loaded I guess the washers might begin to bulge a little (they do when pop-riveting plywood sheets), in which case retensioning will be required.

DISCLAIMER:
It can be done, I don't think it's a spell for conjuring up sudden and disastrous wheel colllapse - but it's a no-brainer that you'd get a better wheel if you replaced the rim.
This wheel went on a beater bike belonging to a colleague, so I can't really say anything about durability. But since he hasn't said anything about it I guess it's doing OK for the use it sees.
YMMV, build and ride at own discretion. If money is tight, use this as a temporary fix until you've found a better wheel at a garage sale,in a dumpster or whatever.