• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Magic Beads! (tire balancing beads - yay or nay?)

  • Thread starter Thread starter shwaz
  • Start date Start date
tkent02 said:
Hmmmm, anyone want to split a bag of these? I can buy a 55 pounder and sell smaller bags for a reasonable price to forum members.

Grimly, I can send a pound or two to Ireland if you want them.
Click to expand...

Ok, if you get them I'd deffo take a kg or so - in the meantime I've put a couple of queries into Alibaba suppliers who will ship 1kg minimums but wait to see what they quote for the item+shipping.
 
tkent02 said:
Or you can just toss in a few ounces of beads and go riding.
Click to expand...

Or just pump the tyres up. throw some oil in the forks and maybe try and remember when i did any filters on the bike. Personally i like to have my bike at peak performance. Not "she be rite mate" attitude. :)
 
Grimly said:
Ok, if you get them I'd deffo take a kg or so - in the meantime I've put a couple of queries into Alibaba suppliers who will ship 1kg minimums but wait to see what they quote for the item+shipping.
Click to expand...


OK I'd rather buy a KG or two if it's possible. My bag from about eight years ago lasted until now, a lot of bikes have come and gone, most have had beads in the tires.
I think it was maybe 3 or 4 pounds.
 
sharpy said:
Or just pump the tyres up. throw some oil in the forks and maybe try and remember when i did any filters on the bike. Personally i like to have my bike at peak performance. Not "she be rite mate" attitude. :)
Click to expand...


Well I certainly wouldn't be riding anything that wasn't up on all of it's maintenance. I know exactly when all of the filters were last changed or cleaned, none of the forks have been so long since they've been serviced to be low on oil at all, none of them leak... certain none of my tires need any air, none of them leak either.... OK, one of my dirt bikes could use a new clutch cable, but the old one would go another year or two if I was one to neglect this stuff. It's just getting a tiny bit harder to pull with one finger.
I really do maintain all of the bikes well, hence the quest for beads.

Who's mate be she rite? Must be an Aussie thing.
 
sharpy said:
Or just pump the tyres up. throw some oil in the forks and maybe try and remember when i did any filters on the bike. Personally i like to have my bike at peak performance. Not "she be rite mate" attitude. :)
Click to expand...

I'm curious, have you used beads and proven them not to work or are you just going with "I know best".
 
Two schools of thought here, there are those of us who have been using them for years and know how well they work, and the other, don't understand how it works so it must be BS.
Anyone who's seen a bike with rim locks shake at 55mph and then with the addition of beads runs smooth as silk would be in the first camp.

I don't care about all that, I just want a good source to buy more.
 
I am looking to replace a three year old, 11,000 mile Shinko 712 front. This is the only tire I have ever spooned on myself and I indeed used the "magic" balancing beads and I have been satisfied with their performance. Best thing I can say about it is that I have never had to give it any thought, performed fine at all speeds, tire has worn correctly. Had the bike in excess of the speedo's capacity this morning, smooth as glass. I have had many more tires replaced since then that were done at a shop and to lessen confusion I just had them balance and stick the weight on, that works too. When I make my purchase of a tire changing machine I will be balancing with beads again from that point forward
 
I rode with Dynabeads in one set of tires on my 850. They work exactly as advertised. However, the balancing happens as you run up through city-street speeds. A severe bump at highway speeds can upset the balance, and it will stay upset until you slow enough for the beads to start moving around again.
 
Dogma said:
I rode with Dynabeads in one set of tires on my 850. They work exactly as advertised. However, the balancing happens as you run up through city-street speeds. A severe bump at highway speeds can upset the balance, and it will stay upset until you slow enough for the beads to start moving around again.
Click to expand...

Do you know of a source to buy a pound or two?
 
tkent02 said:
Two schools of thought here, there are those of us who have been using them for years and know how well they work, and the other, don't understand how it works so it must be BS.
Anyone who's seen a bike with rim locks shake at 55mph and then with the addition of beads runs smooth as silk would be in the first camp.

I don't care about all that, I just want a good source to buy more.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't it be 3 schools of thought, the 3rd being professionals that do stuff rite the 1st time? Yes i know what they are and do and i also looked on there website. Seems for the average 130/90 x 17 tyre you have to add 2oz / 59g of beads. If i was balancing a tyre and had to add that much weight to get it rite ill be concerned. Also if running tubes in theory you should replace a tube every 2nd tyre change. Hence throwing out a load of beads with it. Also with rim locks, to balance that wheel with one lock you have to add same amount of weight in the wheel to "correct " that fault. And i never seen a wheel go out of balance just by hitting a bump and you have to slow down to let the beads rebalance. Thats just plain weird. There is also 2 schools of thought on tubeless tyre setup on tubed rims. Thats another scary can of worms i shake my head at. Then again there not my bikes so i shouldnt really care. As im not riding these bike im only making suggestions. Do as you wish.
 
I have been running beads in my car, truck, and bike tires/tyres for years with no "wobble" from hitting a bump...ever.

Every now and then I hear the beads rolling around in the tire when I push the bike around in the driveway, other than that, I completely forget they are even there, just like a good solution should be.

Oh, and I don't use the special "professional" beads.

I use ceramic .22 gram airsoft pellets. I bought a jar of 2000 of them from the local canadian tire for $10. They are much easier to wrangle when changing rubber than the tiny beads, and give the same performance in my humble opinion.

For my 550ES, I put 1.5 ounces in the front tire, and 2.5 ounces in the back tire due to the different tire sizes/weights.
For my 650G, I put 2 ounces in the front tire, and 3.5 ounces in the back tire due to the different tire sizes/weights.

My tires have performed smoothly and flawlessly from low speed parking lot crawling up to well past the point where the speedo stops reading.

I don't need/want to argue over whether they work or not, just sharing my 2 cents and experience with them. Do what you will with the info and make an informed decision using the information at hand.

Ride safe, ride smart, ride for the fun of it.
 
tkent02 said:
Do you know of a source to buy a pound or two?
Click to expand...

Afraid not. I paid full retail because I was doing my first tire installation myself and didn't want to tangle with static balancing. In my mind at the time, balancing was a lot harder than it really is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top