Smacked an Alloy, and bent it, Grrr....

**Bainie** · 11th December 2005, 18:15

I was personal chauffuer for the wife yesterday, and on my travels i hit a huuuuge pothole, bending one of my alloys, it hasn`t cracked the paint just bent the rim, I have been at a Tyre dealer for a check and the wheel is still safe, all be it bent, about 3 inces long on the rim, just at the valve, so 2 questions,

1. Can the rim be bent back without damaging the wheel...

2. Can I sue the council, I went back to take a photo of the hole and they have filled it with gravel so obviously I am not the only person to hit it ??

(Should have sorteed some winter wheels out before this happened

)

**Mrs D** · 11th December 2005, 18:19

Bainie - don't know about the issue of bending the wheel back into shape, wouldn't try it personally as could make it even weaker. HOWEVER, get back there with a camera and photograph both the hole and the damage and send it to the council - I am positive there is something that they can do.

Hope they sort it out for you - bl00dy roads round our way are a disgrace too - they only sit up and listen if you make a fuss!

**MLC** · 11th December 2005, 18:32

My local council send a couple of cowboys around every year, who pick every third pothole and throw a few shovelfuls of tarmac into it. The 'repair' lasts about two weeks.

Nice to know my £1100 council tax is well spent!

**Jamie** · 11th December 2005, 18:35

Originally Posted by MLC

Nice to know my £1100 council tax is well spent!

Some of it is well spent mate.... shouldn't need to tell you which bit!!!

I chipped an alloy and ripped a tyre on a loose cobble... got a claim form off the council (Highways Dept) and they paid 50% of the replacement tyre and cost to refurb the alloy.... this was a few years ago now, but give the council a call and see what they say.

**SCOTTEX** · 11th December 2005, 19:01

My dad hit a deflated repair in the road on his push bike, the lip on the repair was so bad and he was doing about 20miles/hour, that it shattered the bottom of his forks, the wheel came out, forks bit the tarmac and sent him head over the handlebars, face first into the tarmac. One fractured skull and 50 stitches later, the council admited no liability, he sued the council, they passed it over to their insurance company, who told him to f**k off, he sued the insurance company. 18 months later ans 2 days before it was due in court they rang up and said what do you want, he said buy me a new bike ( ie, £1K) and I'll forget it. They paid.

The moral of this story is " sue the b*****ds".

**Bainie** · 11th December 2005, 19:07

Thanks Guys, I will try my luck, i reported a manhole cover which has collapsed and I have to avoid everymorning on the way to work, 2 months on and it is still not fixed, god help you if you were on a bike ?? the roads around here are shocking, not really suitable for alloys ..

**MLC** · 11th December 2005, 19:12

You think you've got problems. Have look at this and see what happens when you hit a pothole on the 'larger' side

http://www.avweb.com/newswire/11_02a.../188936-1.html

Download the pics and imagine the conversation in the cockpit.

**Andy** · 11th December 2005, 19:18

yes you can sue the council, i worke din the highways department at York and dealt with this kind of thing specifically. They send you a form to fill in, then get an inspector to check the pothole, then send it off to their insurer. Job done.

Yes a rim can be bent back. I used a guy in York called iam Jemison engineering whose is a rim repair specialist (as well as a rally car builder). he can repair anything, even chunks/cracks etc

**simonali** · 11th December 2005, 22:13

I dinged a wheel and tyre on a pothole when I lived in Buckinghamshire and South Bucks Council footed the bill for the lot, new rim, new tyre without a fuss. Take pics of the gravel bit anyway and ring them up. Worth the effort, in my view.

**Bainie** · 12th December 2005, 20:02

Well they are sending me a claim form to submit to their insurers, I wont hold my breath there then ... I am off to measure the hole as well.

I have spoken to the place I bought the wheels from as he has a buckle fixing machine, says as they are Tooras they are soft so should straighten, But, he cannot guarantee it won`t crack or even break, also there will be some paint damage, and it costs £40.00 !!! New wheel nearly £200.00 !!!!