Which rims to use..? Choice of 3!

ruebyretro · Jun 29, 2011

I have 3 S7 rims to choose from for my bike but all of them have issues and I'm really not sure which two to lace. I had had 1 rim that came with the bike, it was painted. I bought 2 more off ebay, which were chromed. My ex "gifted" the bike painting to me, and JUST got them back to me, as we broke up in March and then he took his time and apparently slacked on the effort

The first one has a weird bulge inside it; you can see it on the left and see where the inner lip is supposed to be, then the other picture shows the bulge and where the lip is lifted to. Would a tire sit well on that? It bugles inward about 3mm, upward maybe 3-4mm and the length along the rim is maybe 2" indented overall.

The second one has some really bad pitting around the valve hole. It is hard to see in the picture, but it is on both sides, worse inside. There is no rust left as this rim was only painted, and therefore stripped before repainting it. It also has the large dent, about a 1/2".

The third rim has a lot of rust left on it. The first and third are the ones from Ebay, they were chrome and therefore not stripped at all before being painted...so the rust was not removed it seems. It is a pretty solid strip but it seems like just surface rust I could probably remove a little bit with steel wool or a brush. This rim also has holes all around the inner lip a fraction of an inch in front of the spoke holes? The bike came from the coast, where things rust easily, but it is very very dry here so I'm not too worried about that rust increasing.

Any opinions on which two I should use would be most helpful!!

bicycleguy · Jun 29, 2011

I would use #3. You might be able to fix the first one with a rubber mallet or use a piece of wood and a hammer to beat the dent around. I've had motorcycle rims like that and have had good luck fixing them.

dougfisk · Jun 30, 2011

First, mount a tire and tube on rim #1 to see how it sets. If it sets right, one down. If it does not, then you only have two left... problem solved. :? If it is not dented from the outside, it may have swelled from rust, and might not re-shape very well. If it swelled from water freezing inside, it might be reshaped enough for a good tire fit; but you would need to be careful not to mar the newly painted outside surface.

Rim #3 looks like the best choice for the other. Rust on the inside is of no real consequence.

The dent in Rim # 2 is ugly! Too bad, as it could have been fixed and made undetectable before painting.

ruebyretro · Jun 30, 2011

dougfisk said:
First, mount a tire and tube on rim #1 to see how it sets. If it sets right, one down. If it does not, then you only have two left... problem solved. :? If it is not dented from the outside, it may have swelled from rust, and might not re-shape very well. If it swelled from water freezing inside, it might be reshaped enough for a good tire fit; but you would need to be careful not to mar the newly painted outside surface.

Rim #3 looks like the best choice for the other. Rust on the inside is of no real consequence.

The dent in Rim # 2 is ugly! Too bad, as it could have been fixed and made undetectable before painting.

More should have been done to all 3 before painting IMO but at that point the rims were not in my hands - I'm left to deal with what I have

Can I put a tire on it without the spokes...? I imagine so...