Fixable?

[Coopz]

Hey my wife has a hybrid gravel bike. It's 10 years old but it's only been ridden a dozen times (previous owner rode it once, nearly got hit my a bus and never rode again) anyway since I scored it a few months ago I've put new tyres, brakes and chain on it and it goes really well except the front wheel. When she applies the v-brakes with any significant force it makes a loud clunk sound where the alloy wheel joins up with itself. Attached a pic and it's not as bad as it looks. Running your finger along it you can barely feel it but it's annoying to ride. Any hacks for fixing it? I tried giving it a light sand but no improvement. Or is it just easier to buy another wheel?

 

[Lucaw]

Hey my wife has a hybrid gravel bike. It's 10 years old but it's only been ridden a dozen times (previous owner rode it once, nearly got hit my a bus and never rode again) anyway since I scored it a few months ago I've put new tyres, brakes and chain on it and it goes really well except the front wheel. When she applies the v-brakes with any significant force it makes a loud clunk sound where the alloy wheel joins up with itself. Attached a pic and it's not as bad as it looks. Running your finger along it you can barely feel it but it's annoying to ride. Any hacks for fixing it? I tried giving it a light sand but no improvement. Or is it just easier to buy another wheel?

turn the wheel around? that way it won't run into the ledge when it spins around.

 

[The Duckmeister]

Keep riding it, it will wear in.

 

[Coopz]

turn the wheel around? that way it won't run into the ledge when it spins around.

Tried that, only made a minor improvement.

 

[Flow-Rider]

Hit the sharp edges with a bit of sandpaper, if the joint is actually loose most likely needs a new rim.

 

[The Duckmeister]

Highly unlikely to be a loose joint. Although a fairly crude design, I've only ever seen pinned joints (as this is) separate under extreme trauma. Due to the way the rims are manufactured there is almost always a very slight misalignment at the seam, which levels out as the rim wears from braking. If it is a bother, you can take the tyre off and carefully squeeze the sidewalls to bring the ends more in line.