buckled wheel rim in almaty
 

hi everyone
i'm in almaty at the moment, halfway on our trip from vladivostok to london. my front wheel rim seems to be buckled - i think it has been this way for nearly 2000kms, since Olgi in the north west of Mongolia.
it isn't bent sideways, but up and down - so that it is shaped like an egg, rather than a circle.
this seems to have worn one part of my t63 nearly bald, while the rest of the tire still has quite a bit of tread.
i spent a long, frustrating day at mytownmoto today, where the end result was they said they couldn't fix an oval rim, and neither would anyone else in town. they recommended a new tire, although they didn't have anything great on offer.
just wondering if anyone else has any advice/leads on possible options. i'm not sure whether to just keep riding, and take some sort of new tire with me (preferably a t63 or tk80 or something, although i haven't found any of those yet) and hope it doesn't get worse, or maybe track down a new rim (which might also be difficult, and is likely to be pretty expensive). we have already been in almaty a few days and are hoping to leave by next tuesday to make visa deadlines in other central asian countries.
thoughts anyone?
cheers!
rob

Rod, have you tried:
For servicing (workshop and assistance) in Almaty, Kazakhstan, try My Town Motors at GPS co-ords N43 12.369 E76 54.207. Zhorokova Street 272.


John

bent rim
 

[hi, Go To "silk Off Road" Motorcycle Club By The Sports Stadium, Ask For Andrew The Mechanic. They Have A Bunch Of Crf 250's But I'm Sure If Anyone Can Help They Will, Sergai Is The Boss.
Just Ask Anyone In The Vicinity Of The Stadium To Point You In The Right Direction Or Listen Out For Rock Music As Bands Practise There
Good Luck

Or just look up the place on the map on their website. :innocent: :eek3:

SilkOffRoad | Motorcycle tours, ATV tours and 4x4 tours in Central Asia. Contacts

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Hi Robbie, sorry to hear this and hope you are able to find a local repair.

Without hijacking your thread, I just wanted to point out to those yet to leave home that this happens all too often with spoked wheels. In this day and age cast wheels are a far better proposition for off road, or any general type of riding. If you're flat-out motoXing then maybe spokes make sense, but for us adventure riders cast wheels are definitely the go even if you're riding 100% of the time on corrugated gravel.

thanks for the info guys. sorry for the late reply. for future reference, this was my experience in almaty:
i found motogarage extremely helpful. they did not have the rim i was looking for, but Kreil who works there spend several hours taking me around other shops in Almaty until I had what I needed.
Silk OffRoad is also definitely worth a visit. I didn't end up getting any work done there, but it is an invaluable place to meet other overlanders and local bikers. Really nice guys.
MyTownMotors - it sounds as if these guys have done great work for other people (I saw colebatch's name on the wall), but my experience there was pretty negative. They mucked me around for an entire day, pulled my wheel off, broke one of my studs in the process, then everyone seemed to leave for a couple of hours, leaving my bike in bits, and then they told me (before trying anything) that there was nothing they could do to help. They also tried to sell me a tire for $300NZD that I later bought at another shop in Almaty (the exact same tire, not just same model) for $215NZD.
Hope that helps!
Rob

What's your route? Sounds like you've done the hard bit already - even western kaz won't throw anything too bumpy at you compared to mongolia. If you can't get it trued, stick a new tyre on there, cruise into eastern EU and get it sorted - or just ride it back to England.

Going across caspian sea to az, georgia, turkey. Couldn't get it trued, but have just taken it through Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and it has been ok. Turns out half the bumping was because my rear wheel bearings had disintegrated. Got new ones in Bishkek, and am putting up with the uneven front wheel - will probably aim to get to London on it.
Cheers
Rob
51st Traverse