I got a new set of stans flow mk3 wheels in May, put them on the bike, went on a trip to the lakes and promptly dinged the rear one so hard it stopped working tubeless. Suffice to say I put a tube in it and carried on with the holiday. I’ve probably ridden it twice since both with a tube in it.

I’m now off to finale in a couple of weeks and i thought i’d straighten out the rim with an adjustable spanner. I’ve done this but I wonder if the rim is a little too far gone. There is a definite bulge in the rim wall and a small crease in the channel where the rim tape goes. The anodising has also crazed but I don’t think the alu is actually cracked.

So will I die? It’s either use this rim, or use my old 4 year old mk 1 flow rear wheel which is a little heavier but otherwise in reasonable condition.

What would STW do?

*No point in me replacing the rim / getting a rebuild – that’ll cost 90 quid, and to be honest i’m thinking of getting a new bike next year – will be 650b instead of 26″.

You’re going to Finale, it’ll soon look worse than that.

Maybe get a tougher rear tyre if you weren’t using a 1.5 or 2ply carcass.

I’d ride that.

If you really do want to replace it but aren’t for the reasons given then a rim swap is easier than a full wheel build and 26″ rimes are dirt cheap now they are obsolete so it may still be an option.

What? It would never have occurred to me to worry about that. Just get on with your life.

I’d change the rim, mostly because the thought of having a tube in there (after years of tubless) would drive me mad. But I’d re-use the spokes and do it myself, so not £90 !! But if your happy running a tube I can’t see it exploding or anything. If it does don’t forget to post the injury pics 😆

Hmmm, i’d kinda of resigned myself to using the old wheel, which feels more substantial…. i’m so conflicted. It was the bulge on the side and crease on the inside of the rim channel that made me um and ah.

Tyre wise it’s a TR high roller 2 2.3.

Taxi25 – i bent it back for that reason it’ll seal again now i should think – I can’t stand running tubes 🙂

If I ran a rear tube in Finale I’d spend more time fixing punctures than riding 😀

I’ve ridden similar, always been fine, but not riding tubeless would annoy me!

Surprised that won’t run tubeless, I’ve got a Velocity Dually with a much bigger ding in that that and in runs tubeless fine.

I’d ride it until it was totally shagged.

My old Easton Havoc wheels had marks like that all over them and were still gone no strong when I had my bikes nicked. As long as they held air tubeless I kept riding them.

I put a similar dent in a crest rim a few years ago and knocked it out, it still works fine tubeless so I wouldn’t write that one off just yet.

Loads of neat fairy and a compressor and I’m sure that’ll go up tubeless? I’ve got MUCH worse dinks than that which inflate with no issues.

I’ve no doubt it’ll go up tubeless. It had a big ding in it then it lost its tubeless ability. The pictures above are after I’ve bent it back.

I’m worried it’ll collapse under me if I land a job badly. Sounds like everyone thinks I’m over reacting….

Got about four or five of them in one of my rear wheels. Bent them back with grips and trued the wheels, still riding them.

As long as they haven’t cracked through it’s fine. Although when you have done it enough times and have flat spots, it’s difficult/impossible to get the wheel fully true!

Pffft, nothing there… my Flow rims have seen far worse and still do Alps trips tubeless.

Fwiw next time you’re getting the adjustable out to tweek the rim back, put a metal ruler between outside of rim & spanner as it stops spanner marking rim & you can use the ruler as a guide to how much the rim needs bending back

As above – I’d get it to go tubeless again and then forget about it. My last set of Crests looked like the new £1 coin by the time I replaced them.