DynaBeads

[Dogma]

It is rigid enough to interfere with the principles of motion being discussed here, especially with regard to the rear wheel.

It's compliant enough for an unbalanced wheel to move up and down. That's why we have to balance wheels in the first place. Even motions we don't feel are significant, and enough for the beads to do their thing.

[Nessism]

How much do Dynabeads cost? If they cost more than a chunk of lead I ain't gonna use them.

[Dogma]

Comparable, IIRC. Maybe a bit more. I tried them because I was mounting my own tires for the first time, and didn't want to monkey with balancing too. It's not exactly difficult, I know.

They claim increased tire life, which could conceivably result in a negative TCO, but I've never seen tire wear I could attribute to balance issues without them.

I tried them, then I found a local place that mounts and balances for too little to justify doing it myself. The beads do their job, but I'm not going out of my way to use them again.

[Souske]

I have used airsoft bb's in my jeep tires. An oversized aggressive tire, combined with hard use was causing death wobble nearly every trip back from wheeling. If I stopped and had the tires balanced on the way home, the problem would stop. Tried the bb's and no more problems. Unlike conventional balancing, a dynamic balancing media will re-balance every time you stop, so cuts/chunks are balanced out next time you take off.

One question though, will these abrade the tubes, resulting in shorter tube life?

[cal_look_zero]

It is rigid enough to interfere with the principles of motion being discussed here, especially with regard to the rear wheel.

Long and short, they work. Unless you've personally used them, your theories on the physics of how they can't work are pretty much invalid.

I don't have any weights on my rims at all, and my tires have never been off balanced once. So unless the weird guy in TX who used a HF tire machine was able to perfectly balance the tire to the rim, front and rear; they work.

How much do Dynabeads cost? If they cost more than a chunk of lead I ain't gonna use them.

$18 a bike. Steeper than stick on weights, no hiding that. But idiot resistant, very convenient, and reusable if you're patient. Mine are in their 2nd set of tires.

I have used airsoft bb's in my jeep tires. An oversized aggressive tire, combined with hard use was causing death wobble nearly every trip back from wheeling. If I stopped and had the tires balanced on the way home, the problem would stop. Tried the bb's and no more problems. Unlike conventional balancing, a dynamic balancing media will re-balance every time you stop, so cuts/chunks are balanced out next time you take off.

One question though, will these abrade the tubes, resulting in shorter tube life?

Are you able to get the BBs in through the valve stems, or did you put them in the tire during mounting? Good improvisation in any case.

In regards to tubes, I don't have any personal experience with tube tires and DynaBeads, but I'll tell you what I do know. They are safe for use in tube tires. All that means to me is that you can put them in and they'll work, and not shred your tubes. When I pulled my first set of tires, there was a very small amount of rubber dust. I should have snapped a picture, but honestly it was a tiny amount for 6k miles. I'm sure the inner carcass of a tubeless tire is a little more resilient than a tube, but I'd feel safe about running them in tube tires.

[fishfarm]

$18 a bike. Steeper than stick on weights, no hiding that. But idiot resistant, very convenient, and reusable if you're patient. Mine are in their 2nd set of tires.

I seem to recall reading a recommendation to drill a hole in the old (tubeless) tire before dismounting it, then rotate it down to capture the beads for reuse.

I haven't tried them myself yet.

[Souske]

The airsoft bb's will not fit through the valve stem, but on a 33x12.50x15 tire there is plenty of room if you pop one bead halfway loose. I have seen the slight rubber dust you speak of, which is why I was wondering about tubes. I don't trust the toughness of tubes very much, hopefully someone will try them and post up.

[salty_monk]

On Dynabeads website they say they are safe for tubes, they also have a "delivery system" for getting them in via the valve stem...

I looked into this at one stage & they are similar in cost to clamp on weight for spokes or clamp on weight (bang on clip type) for mags. More expensive than stick-ons but can be re-used as you say

[tkent02]

Dynabeads are just rebadged grinding beads, they are heavy ceramic beads that cost a few bucks a ton. An industrial supply place should have them. You need the right size, I believe Dynabeads are 1mm in diameter, although larger beads would work as long as you can get them into the tire. BBs work but they rust, airsoft beads do too I have heard. The beads work well and they are in use in a lot of truck tires, but not so good in wide low profile tires such as a modern car uses, as they don't distribute themselves side to side properly. This is of no concern in a motorcycle tire. I put them in all of my bikes whenever I change a tire, have been doing it for years. The bikes run smoothly, tires last a lot longer, especially the fronts. (they don't do much to prevent rear tire wear from heavy throttle usage )

No one who has ever ridden any of my bikes has ever complained about a tire being out of balance.

[cal_look_zero]

I seem to recall reading a recommendation to drill a hole in the old (tubeless) tire before dismounting it, then rotate it down to capture the beads for reuse.

I haven't tried them myself yet.

That's what I did. Lost a few in the process, but not enough to worry about.

[tkent02]

If you cut a large hole in the old tire with a box knife, it's easy to pour them into a pan or something.

[Dogma]

The airsoft bb's will not fit through the valve stem, but on a 33x12.50x15 tire there is plenty of room if you pop one bead halfway loose. I have seen the slight rubber dust you speak of, which is why I was wondering about tubes. I don't trust the toughness of tubes very much, hopefully someone will try them and post up.

I used them in a tube on my rear tire. No problem. You do need to be patient pouring them through the valve stem. If you go too fast, they jam up. Then you get to spend the next few minutes tapping on the stem to vibrate them through. Or, if you really went nuts, you'll want to turn the wheel so the bead pour back out into the bottle.

[cal_look_zero]

I used them in a tube on my rear tire. No problem. You do need to be patient pouring them through the valve stem. If you go too fast, they jam up. Then you get to spend the next few minutes tapping on the stem to vibrate them through. Or, if you really went nuts, you'll want to turn the wheel so the bead pour back out into the bottle.

When I get my "dealer kit" It has a "vibration tool"

I think someone posted in tips and tricks for using a women's pleasure device to vibrate air bubbles out of a brake line... Just sayin. I used an electric toothbrush to get mine through the valve stem.

[AJ]

I've been using Dynabeads on my Hayabusa and they work great.

Of course, I never exceed the speed limit on the Busa, that would be illegal, but I do occasionally go up to exactly the upper end of the speed limit.

Plus or minus.

[njload]

I was thinking about trying dynabeads on my next tire change. When using these do I remove the old tire weight or will the beads still work with this weight still on the rim? Totally new to this process.

Any help is appreciated.