You can bend them but don't try to bend to tight (like pounding them over) because they will fracture. Do not heat to bend unless you know how to anneal and harden wire (you have to heat and cool in cycles to re-harden).
You can always use axles for them. You would just cut them to length.
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXK181&P=0