While travelling many of you have often fallen to prey to the roads in which you travel and which consists of many potholes. Once you get hit on one of such pothole what follows is a jerk, and often it also results in bending of the tire that supports your vehicle, but the main damage may remain hidden to the passengers. In the vehicle as the damage usually occurs on the inside of the tire rather than the outside. This is because on the outside the spokes support the frame of the tire, but on the inner side it is devoid of any such support leaving you with the question, Can wheels be straightened?

What kind of materials are tires made up of?

Tires nowadays are generally made up of alloys, which generally consist of metals like Aluminum and Nickel. There are some facts that you ought to know about the making of the frame of the tire using such alloys, which are as follows:

The ratio of aluminium is to nickel is what determines the strength and his durability of the tire.
The presence of nickel in low quantity ensures a lighter wheel, but the main problem with that kind of wheels is that they bend more easily due to the softness of the nickel and hence making the alloy much softer too.
While you cannot add more nickel also, because adding more nickel to the tire would mean that the tire will be much stiffer and harder. The tire will also have a weak point that is it becomes more and more brittle as you tend to add nickel and will make the tire frame prone to cracks much more than a tire with a slightly softer frame.

>>> Cycling Guide >>>

Why the bending of the tire frames occur?

It mainly occurs when the ratio of the nickel is to aluminium is not suitable for the tire frame that is either it is too soft, or it is too brittle.
It can also occur due to an impact while travelling on the road full with potholes and the car got bumped into some of those resulting in the crack in the tire frame.
It is also probable that the tire bend has occurred in the inside of the tire which is generally not visible for the passengers though it is present and this happens as the spoke present supports the tire in the front part, the same is not present in the back of the inboard side.

How will you know whether the tire frame has got bent or not?

As it was mentioned earlier that the crack might occur on the part visible or the inboard part which is not visible so the question which arises is that how can you detect the crack if you are unable to see it?
The answer to such question is that there are other signs which can show you or rather make you feel that your tire frame has developed a crack and in much worst-case scenario a bent.
You will be able to feel a vibration once you hit the road on your vehicle and the vibration will be more intense when there are up and down on the road, or there are potholes on the road.
This feeling of a vibration can be the first of such many other signs to let you be aware of some malfunctioning and get your car for servicing and in service centres when they will be inspecting your vehicle they will be able to notify whether your car is facing any kind of damage or not.

Can wheels be straightened by reversing the deformity in the tire frame?

Can wheels be straightened? Well, he process which is mentioned below, none of them can be applied by the passengers whereas the execution of such methods needs experts or someone who is experienced and will be able to fix and straighten the tire frame bent. The methods are:

Cold Roller Technology:

This process includes correction through lathe machines by applying Cold Roller Technology in which the mechanic places your tire frame against a powered roller which gradually presses against the bent portion of the tire to straighten and fix the frame.

Although this process of Cold Roller Technology has its disadvantage too and also a major one.

The disadvantage is the absence of heating or annealing the bent portion, which may lead to cracks in the bent portion if used further.
It is said that the tire tends to develop a memory of the bent it has already been imposed with and if the bent marks are not properly removed the tire frame bends at the same place when it faces another bump on the road. Moreover, if the bump is a big one, then it might result in a crack as well, which destroy the tire.

Some methods are worth avoiding:

There are some methods which you should always ignore to ensure the life of the tire. One such method is:

Method that includes the use of technologies which uses two semilunar parts which the mechanics fit in with the part that has been bent and the opposite part to the rim of the tire frame. Then a foot pump is used to build up pressure.
These methods may fix the bend temporarily but may leave a crack which tends to widen and destroys the tire completely.

Hydraulic Assistance:

It is one of the best and most effective methods for the repairing of the bent portion.
The part which has to be fixed is first heated o soften the alloy, and this process also called annealing helps to remove the crack traces completely after straightening and with experienced hands and by the use of hydraulic rams the bents are mended.

So now you know the answer to “Can wheels be straightened.” Whatever may the methods that are used to fix the tire bend problem make sure that the process is effective because often the case as it is seen that the bent is removed but the same place develops a crack someday later due to some negligence in the process or not fixing the bent properly.