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Display Mesage #94907


wheel balancing
Written by eegah_yai on 7/11/2010 at 01:13 pm

The beads seemed to work pretty good for me, although my tires, before using the
beads, weren't that out of balance. I used them on two bikes- one with tubes and
one without. I didn't notice a difference between the beads and weights.
I stopped using them for two reasons:

Dyna beads recommends that you use a special filtered valve stem core, so that
when you measure the air pressure, a bead doesn't clog the core. The beads are
very light, and many stick to the inside of the tire- they do not all
automatically fall to the bottom when the tire stops moving. These filters won't
fit in the 90 degree stem. So, you have to put a shot of air into the tire each
time BEFORE you check the pressure, or risk having a false reading or a jammed
core. I found it inconvenient to do this. On trips I'd rather wake up in the
morning and check my pressure cold before leaving anywhere, rather than have to
ride and search for a gas station which has air, (then put in 3 quarters) just
to check the pressure.

Secondly, I personally found to be a pain to transfer all the beads from tire to
tire, and they are fairly expensive (I changed 7 tires last year on three bikes-
this year looks like it will only be one or two-).
My tire-changing technique is a little Spartan, using hand tools and working off
my back porch. If you have a machine to change tires, it is probably easier. The
lube I use to get the tires off sometimes wet the beads, some stuck to the sides
of the tire, etc.

If you do get them and put them in through the valve stem, try to find some kind
of vibrating device to put against it. They will go through in seconds. (an
engraver or electric shaver maybe).

I had bought one of these balancers and had used it before buying beads, and
along with a card of self-stick 1/4 oz. weights it works great perched on two 5
gallon buckets. Highly recommended if you change your own tires. It's also kind
of fun to use, and has already paid for itself.
http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-wheels/balancer/

Mike

Mike




--- In ipcrc@yahoogroups.com, "douglasvanb" <douglas.vanbossuyt@...> wrote:
>
> How well do those "magic beads" work anyway? The local independent shop
charges me about $25/tire to mount and balanced a tire on a rim. It would be
nice to be able to swap in and out my own tires when the need arises.

Message Thread for message #94907