Front wheel damage

may be fixable
but online shops will sell single wheels - so will your LBS

Looks like you jacked your rotor up too

Oh yeah that rotor is warped like none other! I would just go for a new front wheel and rotor

i think the rotor is fine but ill double check since i didnt really pay attention to it. Do any of you have links to a good online store to purchase a single wheel? Only one i know of is price point but they only sell sets

I know Jenson sells singles -
Check BWW too

Just take to a shop and see if they can true the wheel. Doesn`t look to bad.

jetta_mike said:

Just take to a shop and see if they can true the wheel. Doesn`t look to bad.

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will that affect the reliability of the wheel in the future? I dont want it to buckle on me at some random time

eliassami5 said:

will that affect the reliability of the wheel in the future? I dont want it to buckle on me at some random time

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No, not unless you did serious damage to the rim, while you are at it have your lbs true/tension the back too, proper spoke tension is what can make or brake a wheel in terms of strength. If, despite proper tension, you keep tearing up your wheels, then I think would be the time to upgrade to a stronger rim.

jetta_mike said:

Just take to a shop and see if they can true the wheel. Doesn`t look to bad.

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Doesn't look too bad? You're kidding right? I bet you dollars to donuts that if that wheel is unlaced and put on a flat surface the rim will be at least slightly bowed. Which means it's going to be hard to evenly distribute tension around the wheel which is a major influencing factor in wheels remaining true over time and abuse.

It's worth taking a shot to try and true it but if someone came to my shop with a wheel in that shape used on a nice bike that gets hucked around a fair bit I would suggest unlacing (or at least detensioning) the wheel, check/replacing the rim and lacing/tension it up again.Better to build it 'right' than correct what is already 'wrong'. You might even luck out and be able to reuse the same rim.

eliassami5 said:

i think the rotor is fine

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What did your double checking tell you? The rotor looks more tacoed than the wheel.

EDIT: BTW, I don't think that wheel is going to be able to be "saved".

New rim, new spokes, old hub, local shop/wheelbuilder.

SteveUK said:

New rim, new spokes, old hub, local shop/wheelbuilder.

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^^^What he said^^^

that is often more expensive than a new wheel, especially since it seems like he is running mostly low-end gear, judging from the dart, mechanical disk brake, and nevegal

Looks pretty warped. If you still intend to true it back, it might be better to take off the rim itself and bend it back [gently] on some surface, then true it down with the spokes.

Unless the rim is dented or cracked it doesn't look very bad and could be fixed true and reliably by a descent wheel builder.

Get a new rotor.

Lambdamaster said:

that is often more expensive than a new wheel, especially since it seems like he is running mostly low-end gear, judging from the dart, mechanical disk brake, and nevegal

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Quality of build is just as important if not more important than the quality of the materials. A machine cannot replicate the attention to detail a decent wheelbuilder will put into a build. It should not cost him more to get his wheel relaced with a new rim than ordering a new wheel of equivalent quality.

I double checked the rotor and its fine, the picture was taken with my phone so its not of the best quality. I spun the wheel and kept my eye on the rotor and its perfectly straight.

Im gonna take it to a LBS to see if they can restore it back to normal and see how much that would cost me. I might be better off with just buying a new complete wheel but we'll see.

And yes Lambdamaster is correct on the fact that im not running the most expensive of equipment so getting a lbs to rebuild a whole new wheel for me would probably not be worth it.

derby said:

Unless the rim is dented or cracked it doesn't look very bad and could be fixed true and reliably by a descent wheel builder.

Get a new rotor.

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I can build a wheel - (built/fixed 200? in my life)
I would attempt to fix it personally - I've fixed worse.
That said, w/out knowledge on wheelbuilding, this is not the scenario to learn.
Perhaps, a good wheelbuilder in the area can fix it.
Above exhausted, yeah - a new wheel is in order - maybe get a whole set? - Since a new F. Hub is kinda anti-climatic...
I dunno, It's your wallet OP

peedrama said:

Quality of build is just as important if not more important than the quality of the materials. A machine cannot replicate the attention to detail a decent wheelbuilder will put into a build. It should not cost him more to get his wheel relaced with a new rim than ordering a new wheel of equivalent quality.

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New rim, new spokes, and a quality wheel-build will certainly come out to be more expensive than a machine-built front wheel alone. I agree with you that a properly hand-built wheel has it's merits, but I doubt it's the most economical path at this price-point. I would love if you can prove me wrong, as I would love to have hand-built wheels that are cheaper than an equivalent machine-built wheel.

To the OP, here are some suggestions. You can find many more at JensonUSA.
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/WH310A00-Shimano+Deore++Wtb+Speeddisc+26+Wheel.aspx
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/WH298A03-Dt+Swiss+X1800+Wheel.aspx
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/WH310A01-Shimano+Xt++Wtb+Laserdisc+Trail+Wheel.aspx

I think the DT swiss is a great deal.

There's a reason all high end wheels are hand built, it's simply because they are better engineered than one built by a machine. I can't stress this enough.


Mavic 321 or similar quality rim of same ERD as dead rim if it needs replacing - 30-50$
Reuse hub - Free
Reuse spokes (as they are incredibly resilient pieces of engineering) - Free
Wheel build labour - prices will vary but lets say 50$

so 80-100$ for a well built precisely tensioned and trued wheel. I'm pretty sure you won't find many complete front wheels in a similar realm of quality for that money that are hand built. If I'm wrong and you can get a hand built decent quality wheel for that cheap go for it.

eliassami, what kind of hub do you have on that wheel right now?