Wobbly Wheel Repair

Buy new rims of the same model. Lay the new rim on top of the old one and swap the spokes over. Bin the old rims. Either retention the new wheel yourself or take it to the bike shop to be tensioned.

Thanks.

That simple?

How are you with doing your own mechanics jobs on your bike? If wheels are one of the few things you get the LBS to do, then you're probably perfectly able to do the job yourself if armed with the proper resources to learn. To that end I recommend Ali Clarkson's videos on building wheels and Roger Musson's book on building and rebuilding wheels.

I'd try and bend them back into shape over an empty bin then loosen off the tension and then tension them whilst trying to straighten them out. Worth a try, won't cost you anymore than an hour or two.

I once straightened my pals buckled wheel that had a partially split. Was meant to be temporary thing but I held up for over a year of regular use. My pal was like 100kg. It's amazing how strong a wheel can be.

Or if you want to change the rims yourself......

Thanks all.

I do most of my own bike fettling but so far have avoided wheels. May have a go as I now have the bike back but need to wait for the insurance process to play out. (Was knocked off at a junction 10 days ago)..

Was just trying to understand why the bike shop didn't want to undertake a rebuild..

Probably too much hassle for not much profit with the chance it still won't be straight.

I learnt from YouTube and Sheldon Brown, since then I've built several sets of wheels, all without a jig. All have been fine, I did get the local bike shop to tension one road set before an alps trip as a precaution. With modern wider rims it's even easier to build them. The older lightweight narrow rims were more noodly, and fiddle to build.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

I'd be truing them up as best you can. Quite theraputic really. I've just built a set of MTB wheels last weekend !

Surprised at the LBS saying spokes are tensioned, so nothing they can do. Basically saying the rims have had it?
I'm pretty new to wheel building, but from what I've read/watched/done, there's always some adjustment can be made! Unless rims are dinged and/or bent at the bead, I think it's worth sitting down with some YT vids and seeing what you can do.
This is my fave instructor dude on yt - https://www.youtube.com/@chrisgarrison680

Was just trying to understand why the bike shop didn’t want to undertake a rebuild

Straight pull spokes?

Stans rims are notoriously soft and flexy, if the rim is permanently bent by more than 10-15mm then it’s almost impossible to pull it back into shape as the spoke tensions will be all over the place. Wind-off the spoke tension around the wheel and see what happens? I’ve straightened some badly bent wheels temporarily, but it’s not a permanent fix and the overloaded spokes either give up or the rim cracks at the spoke holes, particularly non-eyeleted rims.

the LBS has said that as the spoke tension is still even, nothing they can do… they have declared both wheels unrepairable and recommended replacement.

If the spoke tension is even then it's not responsible for the wobble. If it's not responsible, it's also not the solution. That leads to the conclusion that the rim is bent.

With the existing parts, the wheels are irreparable.

However, replacement rims would be the answer.

I think this is just a matter of misunderstanding between you and the bike shop.

There's no reason why the hubs can't be reused. There's a good chance the spokes can be reused but it depends on condition.

Depending on what hubs they are, a complete wheel might be cheaper than a rim, spokes and labour.

Stans rims are notoriously soft and flexy

Never heard that before. The Stans on my RM were the first ones I rebuilt, onto some American Classic hubs. That was a few years ago, rims are now coming on for 8 years old. Maybe just the Iron Cross rims?

Was just trying to understand why the bike shop didn’t want to undertake a rebuild..

Also, bear in mind, many shops that offer "wheel building" services aren't actually wheel builders. They just have someone who can throw a simple, straightforward 3x, J spoke wheel together using mainstream parts and take a wobble or hop out of a slightly dinged wheel.

Ask them to do anything remotely odd or complex, they'll just freeze and say no.

Thanks all @Onzadog, makes sense and as Mert and others say I suspect its more of a time vs. profit thing which I accept. I ended up with mismatched wheels as the rear Iron Cross broke 2 spokes and the ensuing pringled wheel was written off by a different bike shop as the hub bearings were heavily worn and a rebuild was deemed not worth it. They wanted to sell me a new wheel but didn't have what I wanted in stock, hence the Hope 20Five.

Bike is hanging on the wall in the garage feeling sorry for itself, once their insurance come back to me I'll make a plan.

Thanks again.