I never really gave wheel balancing much thought before and using plastic wheels there wasn't much I could do about it anyway, but seeing as I have these new ATV rims (hoping not to come across as smug).. I thought I'd try to get them balanced at my local tyre depot only to be told that their machine won't fit my rims. So I bought a box of self adhesive weights online.

Without the aid of a computerised machine I've had to balance the wheel by hand which I did by first finding the inherently heavy section in the tyre, spinning up the wheel, adding weights and then spin spun and span over and over until finally having the wheel come to rest at random, not in the same place each time.

Its a slow process by hand and I've only managed one wheel tonight. The buggy was carefully levelled before I started and brand new bearings used. A total counterweight of 90g or 3.1 ounces were required for the first wheel using 18 x 5g segments. That's quite a weight to be out of sync. I suppose it might be down to the fact that the rim is only 8" compared to the 21" tyre. I'll do the rest tomorrow.

I feel that now at least I have one perfectly balanced wheel. The wheel is noticeably spinning for longer too which is a good sign. I'll probably not notice any difference in the bug but I'm curious to find out.

Now that I'm having these rims balanced it got me thinking. It seems plausible to me that a set of unbalanced wheels would have an effect on bearing wear and rolling resistance. I'm I right ?

Is uneven tyre weight just a bigfoot / BR problem or do discs suffer to some degree too, could we all benefit from balanced wheels, especially those looking for that slight edge in racing or new speed records or could the effect of all this be so small as to make any difference at all ?

...and if anyone of you suspect that I may have just invented a whole new thread of questions just so I can show you my new stick on weights and what a marvelous job I've done with them, then well!! That's just outrageous.

rolling resistance no, but vibration and wheel contact with surface yes, it definitely gonna tighten things up and smooth out high speed runs for more secure fee!. grass maybe not as noticeable. a guess would be around 30+ mph some vibe (more like "hum") through seat or pegs might be present with really out of balance stuff.

I agree it might remove traction robbing unweighting of the tire from the ground. I'm not sure about bearing life. Those really are some sexy wheels!

i thought everyone running high speed or interested in records was getting their tires bubble balanced manually and playing w/ weights??you may be breaking ground w/ fatties..and it does look marvelous

Thanks Phree and BB. I'll never be able to test my theory scientifically and any improvements I might feel or see could be contributed to a placebo effect but the wheels do at least spin smoother and slowly roll to a stop without rotating back the other way as they used to. All I need now is some wind to ride and test. I've spent too long in the garage tweaking.

Actually, I just thought of something that I could test. I could leave one wheel unbalanced and see how long the new bearings last against the balanced wheel. It may take a while but a worthwhile cause I think. Mmmmmm

Quote: Originally posted by abkayak

i thought everyone running high speed or interested in records was getting their tires bubble balanced manually and playing w/ weights??you may be breaking ground w/ fatties..and it does look marvelous

By the way, I hope you don't think I'm fishing for more compliments..... am I that transparent! hehe

I've not come across the subject of balanced wheels before. I should have done a search and will do later but it did get me thinking and its got me interested. Thanks dude.

The last time I rode my buggy on my local beach, I noticed MAJOR speed bouncing around 20-25 mph on one of my rear tires. I am using extra wides on standard PL plastic wheels. I think I had some mud or sand stuck somewhere on the wheel or one of my bearings had seized and was causing the wobbles. It was absolutely keeping me from going any faster, and rattling the fillings out of my mouth at the same time. If your tires are imbalanced enough for you to feel it, you are definitely losing speed and causing extra wear. No question about it.

All of my mountain board wheels are un-balanced because of the valve stem. I wonder is balancing them would do anything?

pretty sure thats going to the extreme..may be possible but cant be worth the effort

The impact of balanced or not is magnified or trivialized by the weight and diameter of the tire. ATB tires are so short, it would be hard to notice an out of balance wheel unless you artificially made it unbalanced. Then you would need sufficient speed to notice.

The only time I've had any wobbles on my Landsegler wheels (which are slightly out of balance due to the valve stem) seem to be due to harmonic interaction with the lakebed surface. Sometimes it seems like the speed and surface match up and will cause a wobble in the front wheel. If the surface changes, the wobble goes away. Talking about this does have me thinking about using some sort of weight to counterbalance the valve stem to have the wheels more balanced. The magnets used on bike computers might be just the ticket since they mount on the spokes and would be adjustable.

Quote: Originally posted by Snake

All of my mountain board wheels are un-balanced because of the valve stem. I wonder is balancing them would do anything?

I'd imagine that the effect might be too slight for you to notice due to the small rotating mass but I could be completely wrong.
The mass maybe small but the rotation speeds are greater than my ATV wheels given the same speed and far greater than discs. In fact balancing ATB rims might produce the most beneficial results as a consequence. I'd give it a go. I'm sure you'd be the first person to try and balance ATB wheels and I'd be interested to hear the results.

Quote: Originally posted by BeamerBob

The impact of balanced or not is magnified or trivialized by the weight and diameter of the tire. ATB tires are so short, it would be hard to notice an out of balance wheel unless you artificially made it unbalanced. Then you would need sufficient speed to notice. The only time I've had any wobbles on my Landsegler wheels (which are slightly out of balance due to the valve stem) seem to be due to harmonic interaction with the lakebed surface. Sometimes it seems like the speed and surface match up and will cause a wobble in the front wheel. If the surface changes, the wobble goes away. Talking about this does have me thinking about using some sort of weight to counterbalance the valve stem to have the wheels more balanced. The magnets used on bike computers might be just the ticket since they mount on the spokes and would be adjustable.

Give it a go. I'm keen to hear your findings on this.

on speed runs with haize flexboardz tire growth with 9"wheels in 50 mph + has been an issue ....they seem well balanced but any faster really demands ultra precision hardware , the stock soft tires are grippy but produce a vague feel of control at hi speeds... have to have moto for sure . 8" crossairs GI vibrate like hell around 25-30.

in regular riding a balanced tire has no advantage of merit...speed is a different story fo sho!

Man, am I envious of your tires, no such item avialable here in the U.S.

Quote: Originally posted by PHREERIDER

on speed runs with haize flexboardz tire growth with 9"wheels in 50 mph + has been an issue ....they seem well balanced but any faster really demands ultra precision hardware , the stock soft tires are grippy but produce a vague feel of control at hi speeds... have to have moto for sure . 8" crossairs GI vibrate like hell around 25-30. in regular riding a balanced tire has no advantage of merit...speed is a different story fo sho!

Yeah, I'm sure where speed is concerned that's where the difference will be felt, even the slightest offset in balance will become exaggerated the faster the wheel spins.

Quote: Originally posted by apextech

Man, am I envious of your tires, no such item avialable here in the U.S.

No Beach Racers available in the US ? I had no idea.

Any PL dealer can order them.

Has anyone used Dynabeads? I have used them for years to balance my buggy tires. No more stick on weights required. Just removed the valve in the tire stem, use the clear tube with the beads inside, slip it over the valve stem, pinch off the clear tube at measure intervals, then pour them in, install the valve in the stem and inflate your tire. If the tire is not deformed they will balance Bigfoot, small tires and motorcycle type tires. LifeTechnologies has the Dynobeads.
Sorry for the rambling as pain meds are helping until Monday.

Jon you are coming through loud and clear. I've got to order some of those. Any recommendations on which configuration to order? Can I get a 3 oz bag and split it between 3 tires? Do we need an applicator? Do we need filtered valve stems?

Bob I usually use 1 1/2 oz for bigfoots, and 1 oz for the smaller Carlyle slicks. I am looking for the tall tire setup now, but it seems motorcycle tire suggestions are up to 2 oz. Amazon seems to have a deal!
Sorry about the high jacking your thread RedSky, nice looking rims!

I think it's a good development of the thread. This seems like the perfect solution.

Quote: Originally posted by jellis

Bob I usually use 1 1/2 oz for bigfoots, and 1 oz for the smaller Carlyle slicks. I am looking for the tall tire setup now, but it seems motorcycle tire suggestions are up to 2 oz. Amazon seems to have a deal! Sorry about the high jacking your thread RedSky, nice looking rims!

Nah man, its all relevant. My threads normally get just a few posts anyway. Glad to have sparked some interest at last.

Your Dynabeads solution is interesting. Makes my weights kinda obsolete, so simple and easy I wish I knew about them earlier.

I finally finished off my wheels on Saturday. The Beach Racers were out of balance 80-90g but shockingly the thinner eurotrax bigfoot up front was out by 220g :o

I'm sure at the very least the buggy mounted GoPro should experience less vibration now.