ok, so, DynaBeads?

[neuroboy]

good, bad, ugly? a couple guys mentioned them on my avon roadrider question thread, and they seem like a pretty great way to deal with tire balancing. how would one insert them? they go in the tube? I've done a perfunctory search and haven't found any specifics other than they some with some plastic tubing that seems to be the means for utilizing them.

 

[koifarm]

Pretty good results from using them....had a sidecar tire put on and figured I'd try it out in that. Seems funny without a balance from the shop and just using the beads seemed somehow odd but the end results were a smooth running wheel.
I'll probably leave the tires on the bike with the shop weights on them and when time comes to change tires, install the beads....
Easy to install with the provided tube and I found that using a little screwdriver to tap the tube while adding the beads helped get them in faster.

 

[em_dot]

I'm supposed to get them with my Alpina STS Kit. I've been reading about them online. Supposedly they work, but they don't make sense to me. You'd think that they'd settle to the heavy side when the wheel was spinning.

What I have read ranges from they don't do much to they are great. I haven't read anything that said "use these and you will die". So what the Hell!

 

[Kirkus51]

They have the same type thing for semis that seem to work really well. They really extend the life of the tire too......on semis. Something to do with the centrifugal force of the tires.

 

[neuroboy]

got a link from advrider, too, and it's pretty split.

i don't like the idea that once they're in you have to replace the whole thing to go back to weights. . . i'm not in the mood to drop cash twice if they don't happen to work. I know a guy that has weights and know how to use them so I'll prob go that route until i can afford to redo if i don't like them.

 

[wolfie]

I have them in my front tire, and have no complaints.

 

[wiseanhyzer]

I've read good things about this product. Ride-On

I was thinking about trying it out this spring myself.

 

[Baltobonneville]

got a link from advrider, too, and it's pretty split.

i don't like the idea that once they're in you have to replace the whole thing to go back to weights. . . i'm not in the mood to drop cash twice if they don't happen to work. I know a guy that has weights and know how to use them so I'll prob go that route until i can afford to redo if i don't like them.

And how will you know if they "work"?

If they're so great, why aren't they in everyone's tires, installed by the manufacturers?

I don't believe that they do anything other than roll around in there. Luckily, that seems to be benign enough to not bother anything.

It's like getting more horsepower from a $200 oil filter. Yeah. Right.

 

[cafenoir900]

Well, we have used them in several tire changes for our own bikes, and those we have serviced. Absolutely no complaints... and all of the tire/wheel combos we put them in originally had wheel weights. My personal experience with them is that I know my wheels were out of balance without them... worked perfectly with them. On spoked wheels, they go in the tube. You screw out the valve, stick a little funnel around the valve stem and slowly pour them in... it takes a little time. On tubeless, you just put them in the tire carcass after the first bead is on the wheel, fit the other bead and inflate. Not snake oil my friends.

 

[wolfie]

And how will you know if they "work"?

If they're so great, why aren't they in everyone's tires, installed by the manufacturers?

I don't believe that they do anything other than roll around in there. Luckily, that seems to be benign enough to not bother anything.

It's like getting more horsepower from a $200 oil filter. Yeah. Right.

I should clarify my response. I went on a search for wheel weights because my front tire was noticeably out of balance. I couldn't find any weights, but the little local bike shop said they had this product. Anyway, he put the stuff in, the tire handles better. I don't know what else to say. I didn't expect miraculous results of any kind, I just wanted my tire to stop wobbling.

That said, I just called the shop because I couldn't remember the name of the product they use. It's called Equal. It's not beads, but rather a plastic powder. He said that he has heard people complain about Dynabeads saying that they flatten out after a while and stop spinning as freely.

So there you go. I don't think anyone should expect it to do anything amazing, rather just the mundane task of balancing a wheel. It's ideal for people who lie awake at night worrying that their rim is ugly because it has a weight stuck to it, or in my case I just couldn't find any weights locally.

That, and it will align your chi, whiten your teeth, improve your aura, increase fuel economy, and attract loose women.

 

[cafenoir900]

He said that he has heard people complain about Dynabeads saying that they flatten out after a while and stop spinning as freely.


That, and it will align your chi, whiten your teeth, improve your aura, increase fuel economy, and attract loose women.[/QUOTE]


I have heard this complaint from truckers, too, but I believe your motorcycle tires will wear out long before the beads "flatten." There is a big difference between tires that are run for 75,000 miles plus, and a tire that at best is going to get 15,000 miles.

As for the other benefits, I do feel somehow better as a person knowing the little orbs are doing their thing for me... others have noticed, too, and I am getting incredible sex lately....

 

[Kingmoham]

And how will you know if they "work"?

If they're so great, why aren't they in everyone's tires, installed by the manufacturers?

I don't believe that they do anything other than roll around in there. Luckily, that seems to be benign enough to not bother anything.

It's like getting more horsepower from a $200 oil filter. Yeah. Right.

Question is...why do you assume they don't work? Do you have 1st hand experience they don't work? If so, please post your experience as to why in your opinion they don't work?

Point is, there are a number of posters that have posted with 1st hand experience all saying that this system - the beads, and others like it, is a viable alternative to the standard lead weight tire balancing. I have used the beads, 5000 miles so far, front and rear on my bike and I can tell you that the bike rides as if it were on tracks....glass smooth.

 

[drlapo]

FYI many Harley dealers have wheel balance weights

 

[jbfla]

good, bad, ugly? ...

I don't have personal experience with them, but Motorcycle Consumer News says "save your money" and get a dynamic wheel balance.

I use a static balancer and stick-on weights and haven't had any balance problems.

jb

 

[geolpilot]

FYI many Harley dealers have wheel balance weights

That would be anything above the axles of a Harley.

 

[Baltobonneville]

Question is...why do you assume they don't work? Do you have 1st hand experience they don't work? If so, please post your experience as to why in your opinion they don't work?

Point is, there are a number of posters that have posted with 1st hand experience all saying that this system - the beads, and others like it, is a viable alternative to the standard lead weight tire balancing. I have used the beads, 5000 miles so far, front and rear on my bike and I can tell you that the bike rides as if it were on tracks....glass smooth.

If it's too good to be true ...

Why don't all manufacturers just dump beads in their tires, if they work so well? It's cheaper and easier than balancing the wheels, but they don't do it. Or maybe there's a big conspiracy to prevent this "technology" from being implemented? :huh:

Let's turn your comment around: If you believe they work, show me some evidence other than the manufacturer's website and a bunch of people who use them saying "they work". If I took the balancing weights off my wheels, they would still "work", and I doubt that I could tell the difference most if not all of the time.

The whole idea just smells like BS to me. Little balls rolling around inside my tire are magically going to dynamically "balance" it while I ride 70mph? :screwy: If you believe that, I have some magic potion to sell you that will double your gas mileage, and eliminate harmful radio frequencies from damaging your testicles (remember that one?).

 

[thruxstoned]

I have some magic potion to sell you that will double your gas mileage, and eliminate harmful radio frequencies from damaging your testicles (remember that one?).

hey, i'll buy some of that. my balls have been killin' me!

 

[bikeypikey]

In a slightly different vein, is it necessary to balance both wheels? I'm no physics expert but I can understand balancing the front as it has the potential to oscillate around the steering head, but the rear, being fixed - I've never bothered. Also, at least here in Asia and in Europe, modern tyres come with a little yellow dot on the sidewall that if lined up with the valve stem hole in the rim, is supposed to be pretty well spot on for balance. Any views on this?

Cheers,

Pikey.

 

[wolfie]

If it's too good to be true ...

Why don't all manufacturers just dump beads in their tires, if they work so well? It's cheaper and easier than balancing the wheels, but they don't do it. Or maybe there's a big conspiracy to prevent this "technology" from being implemented? :huh:

Let's turn your comment around: If you believe they work, show me some evidence other than the manufacturer's website and a bunch of people who use them saying "they work". If I took the balancing weights off my wheels, they would still "work", and I doubt that I could tell the difference most if not all of the time.

The whole idea just smells like BS to me. Little balls rolling around inside my tire are magically going to dynamically "balance" it while I ride 70mph? :screwy: If you believe that, I have some magic potion to sell you that will double your gas mileage, and eliminate harmful radio frequencies from damaging your testicles (remember that one?).

Meh, I don't see anyone making any outrageous claims that make it sound too good to be true. I, like you, am a skeptic.

From a realistic point of view, the centrifugal force thing makes sense. Though gravity's effect on the beads plays an effect on it where I wouldn't think it would on a glued on weight.

So let's say it works, but possibly not as well as a dynamic wheel balance w weights. If it works well enough that the bike handles well, what's the difference.

I'm not saying, "rush out and get it". I'm saying it worked in my circumstance. I had a handling issue, and it seems to have solved it.

 

[Nick Morey]

:chin: To bead or not to bead ..... :shrug: