Tire balancing

[lrz]

As an accompaniment to the Spring tire hoopla:
Just became aware of Counteract's product similar to Dyna-beads; anyone using them at current?

Pros/Cons?

[r90s]

Are you having difficulty balancing your tire with weights?

[Major Softie]

I have yet to see an independent test of the bead systems. It wouldn't take much: take an unbalanced mounted tire, put the beads in, put it on a spin balancer, and see if they really work. Any auto or motorcycle magazine could do it for basically zero cost. I wonder why we've never seen such a test?

[Ken in Oklahoma]

I have yet to see an independent test of the bead systems. It wouldn't take much: take an unbalanced mounted tire, put the beads in, put it on a spin balancer, and see if they really work. Any auto or motorcycle magazine could do it for basically zero cost. I wonder why we've never seen such a test?

I seem to remember seeing an ad or two in a cycle magazine for the beads, or some other fill-n-go balancing method--which might well explain the absence of such a test.

I have seen a new product writeup for such a system which ballyhooed the product. The wording sounded a lot like ad copy to me. I'm guessing that the manufacturer or distributor supplied the copy. My memory is fuzzy, but I think I sniggered when I saw a largish ad elsewhere in the magazine.

Hey, the magazines have monthly ad sales goals and rolling sales plans that have to be met (or else).



Ken

[bbelk]

I fish and I ride motorcyles. I read fishing mags and motorcycle mags. I have noticed that they are written in exactly the same style. You can read a three page artical on how to chose fishing line and at the end of the artical, you have read lots of great things about lots of different fishing line and you realize you don't know anything new about choosing between the fishing lines.

There are a lot of great things said about a gear (motorcycle and fishing), but very little negative or informative.

[Kurt in S.A.]

Motorcycle Consumer News did an article in October 2006 and the bottom line was to go for the regular spin balance.

They did take a rear tire on a bike which had been spun balanced and confirmed as being balanced and road the bike...it had 1.6 oz of weight. Bike felt fine over a given stretch of road. They then removed the balance weight and installed the beads per the instructions. Attempts to spin balance the tire were ineffective...the balancer said it still need the same weight at the same location...now that's interesting! Without adding any more external weight, they remounted the tire and went back over the same stretch of road. The bike was noticeably less smooth than with the proper spin balance.

Kurt in S.A.

[moonbeamerll]

About tire beads: I found my self in western KY in desperate need of a new front tire so I stopped at a small-town bike shop. Luckily, they had a tire to fit my R90S stock rim. Unluckily, while I was looking at skullcaps and leather goods, the manager took the factory weight off the rim and filled the new tube with "beads" I got the whole sales pitch about "latest/ greatest. . . "
Bottom line: I picked up a vertical "bounce" at 45 mph and again at just under 80 mph. I've played with tire pressures ( +- 3 to 5 psi) to no real avail. When I replace the tire I will go back to weights placed specifically to counter any imbalance in the tire. No more beads for me!

[lrz]

Well, I've been curious & was debating whether I would use them on my new rear...the Counteract brand(?) claims to distribute differently than the Dynabeads themselves.

From what I gather, these seem to have been made for OTR truck tires and the like. Judging from what I've read here perhaps they are not appropriate on a scaled down application such as a m/c...?

[Major Softie]

From what I gather, these seem to have been made for OTR truck tires and the like. Judging from what I've read here perhaps they are not appropriate on a scaled down application such as a m/c...?

They do market much more heavily to the trucking industry, but that doesn't keep them from marketing to everyone else as well.

The only "independent" test I could find was one by Auburn University, paid for by Counteract, on long haul trucks. It only compared wheels with the beads to to unbalanced wheels (there were other problems with the comparison, but not as important as this). I've found nothing where the companies are willing to compare their product to conventionally spin or static balanced wheels.

[vanzen]

Why add weight and heat to a tire by putting crap in it ?
The crap moving against the inside of the tire generates heat – which compromises tire life,
and any excess weight compromises handling quality.

Send the moths on their way, lift your tight-ass off the wallet,
fork the cash out for a (Parnes rec'd) balancer once,
learn how to use it correctly, take your time,
and be done with it.

Balancing a tire is not magic or rocket science – just a simple procedure.