Bottle thrown at me + wheel issue

[Kmhand1020]

Was riding my bike and a car of teens just threw an opened water bottle at my wheel (plastic disposable bottle) so not huge impact  but now when I ride it or push it, there is a lot of resistance and occasional odd sound. Water did spray on the wheel spokes. Visually everything looks fine.
Does anyone know if water or some level of impact on the round metal center would cause this?

[Naranja_CT5+]

Something is causing that resistance. Find a way to lift the wheel and spin it slowly to locate the odd sound/resistance.

[John Rose]

Front wheel or back wheel?

"the round metal center" - Brake rotor? Motor? Hub?

How are the brakes? Maybe a bent rotor, or caliper knocked out of alignment.

Something is causing that resistance. Find a way to lift the wheel and spin it slowly to locate the odd sound/resistance.

That sounds like the best way to start.
For one thing, see if the resistance is the same throughout the rotation, or only in one spot.

[inoxa]

could be out of balance.  may have bent spokes and causing brakes to rub.

[JimInPT]

This is a little out there, but maybe.......

If it was hit on the front wheel near the axle, on the (left, usually) brake side, there's a rubber boot that rides on the brake rotor and is designed to keep grease in and water/dust/dirt out of the wheel bearing.  Looks like a black cone with the pointy end cut off where the axle passes through.  I couldn't find a stupid front-end squeak until a Rad service tech tole me to put a drop of oil on that boot's lip where it contacts the rotor - squeak fixed.

That's not enough to cause significant resistance you're describing, but I'm wondering if maybe that bottle hit that boot just right to bung up and flip that rubber lip over and tucked in so that it's pressing a lot harder on the rotor than usual.

I sort of doubt this is even possible, but if a visual inspection doesn't show any bent spokes or other problems, take a closer look at that rubber boot.

Good luck!

[Kmhand1020]

Thanks so much all! I added a photo in case this helps at all.

[handlebar]

Maybe the bottle knocked the caliper out of line. If it seems to be the caliper, it can be removed with two screws to see if the wheel spins freely. If it's the caliper, I'd screw it back on, loosen the screws half a turn or so to allow movement, reach through the spokes with a 5mm hex bit on a shaft 6" long or more, and tighten the brake adjuster just enough to lock the wheel.

IIRC backing off less than a quarter turn should let the wheel spin freely. If it drags, the caliper may be bent out of line.

If it spins freely, I like to apply the brake by tying the lever to the handlebar, then tighten the mounting screws. If you then untie the brake and the wheel drags, that, too, could mean the caliper is bent. If it's bent, maybe it can  be straightened. Otherwise, Amazon has replacements. The mounting screws on the replacement have to go in the same direction as on the original caliper. (My front and rear calipers are not interchangeable because they aren't mounted the same.)