What do do with borked wheels?

[Andrew_Culture]

After about 6,000 miles (by me, the second owner) my front wheel has worn a considerable way through the rim and needs to be replaced.

When doing a deep clean today I found a bust spoke on the rear wheel. The spokes and hub are about 6,000 in but the rim is about 1,500 miles done. And in my experience once spokes start snapping it's pretty much the end of the wheel.

The rims were Mavic MA3 rims laced to (very old) Ultegra hubs. So nothing world-beating, but they got me by. I'll probably replace them with some Mavic Aksium to get me through the winter then upgrade in the Spring.

SO, my problem here is what the duece does one do with borked wheels? I'm loath to throw away anything that might be useful to someone. Should I remove the Ultegra hubs and offer them up for free on CycleChat?

Does anyone have any bright ideas for recycling?

 

[Smurfy]

I recycle knackered rims as scrap metal. I sometimes keep spokes, but only if they are good quality stainless and the nipples are not seized. I keep the hubs if they still have good bearings.

If you keep the spokes, make sure to group them by length in case you want to reuse.

 

[earlestownflya]

exactly what i do smurf...but i bend the rim in half before i scrap them...otherwise i'll see them on the flea market the next saturday..they've got a little money making operation going on

 

[Gravity Aided]

Why not just reuse the Ultegra hubs, if there is no problem with them? Build yourself some new wheels. I wouldn't reuse the spokes after that many miles, nor the rim, but the hubs are pretty nice hubs. I usually run the rims up to the top of the ridge near my house, where there is a recycler right by the trail. Sometimes he'll even swap or sell some bikes he finds with the rest of his reclaimed metals.

 

[accountantpete]

Spokes are very useful as improvised tools such as emergency back-scratcher.

 

[Globalti]

Tape a new rim alongside the old and swop the spokes over or replace with new as you go?

 

[screenman]

exactly what i do smurf...but i bend the rim in half before i scrap them...otherwise i'll see them on the flea market the next saturday..they've got a little money making operation going on

Is there a problem with somebody making some effort to earn a few quid? Seems quite petty to me for you to bend them.

 

[mr messy]

Could make a nice birdfeeder or wind chime

 

[mr messy]

Or a sock whirlygig

 

[Drago]

Make a clock, go cart, wind turbine... the lost is endless.

 

[earlestownflya]

Selling worn rims to the unsuspecting, is that a good thing?

you hit the nail on the head,adrian i also forgot to mention it's a council run tip and recycling centre,they already get a decent wage...sorry screenman i should have mentioned it.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Just in case anyone needed any closure, one of my clients has a big machine shop that amasses tons of scrap metal so I put the wheels in one of their bins.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

exactly what i do smurf...but i bend the rim in half before i scrap them...otherwise i'll see them on the flea market the next saturday..they've got a little money making operation going on

I tried bending a pair of DT Swiss TK540 rims in half once, to make them easier to dispose of. They wouldn't budge. How did you manage it, and did you need any particular tools?

 

[Ganymede]

Just in case anyone needed any closure, one of my clients has a big machine shop that amasses tons of scrap metal so I put the wheels in one of their bins.

View attachment 105194

Noooooo!

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/gallery/2009/sep/30/george-monbiot-crayfish

Make a crayfish trap!

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Noooooo!

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/gallery/2009/sep/30/george-monbiot-crayfish

Make a crayfish trap!

Missed opportunity there!