Wheel Balancing Weight

[ptakattack]

is 42 grams too much weight to put on the rim to get it balanced?

I just had my rims powder coated and put new tires on, however before I put the tires on, I did not realize that I was suppose to find the light spot on the rim and line it up with the heavy spot on the tire.

Am I going to have to take off the tire and do it right or can I just add that much weight to get it balanced?

[Joe Nardy]

I wouldn't like to have that much weight on a wheel. You don't have to remove the wheel from the rim. Just break the bead and spin the tire 90 degrees on the wheel and check the balance again. Repeat for 180 and 270 degrees from the original spot and go with the spot that requires the least weight.

Thanks,
Joe

[Nessism]

42 grams is not unusual for a GS wheel. You can try spinning the tire but if don't feel bad if it winds up where it is.

[ptakattack]

Thanks Joe,

That's good to know that I am not going to have to remove the tires. Getting them on was a hassle since I don't have the proper tools.

Mike

[almarconi]

I wouldn't like to have that much weight on a wheel. You don't have to remove the wheel from the rim. Just break the bead and spin the tire 90 degrees on the wheel and check the balance again. Repeat for 180 and 270 degrees from the original spot and go with the spot that requires the least weight.

I agree, that is a lot of weight. Will also look unsightly on your rims. I've got dyna beads in all my motorcycle tires and have been very happy with the results.

[ptakattack]

I ordered dynabeads and put them in the inner tube and when I rode it, the tires were noticeable out of balance.

I only rode in my subdivision so the fastest I went was 30mph. Do I have to be going faster for the beads to work properly? And would I have any issues if I put weights on the lighter side and kept the dynabeads in?

The back tire was wanting 42 grams and the front tire was requiring a lot more weight than that (I didn't have enough weights to get it balanced so I can not tell you an exact number).

Also I did the math and 2 ounce bag of beads (which is what I used) is equal to about 56 grams. Since the front tire needed more than 56 grams do I need to get more beads?

Thanks for all of the help so far,

Mike

[almarconi]

I used one ounce of the beads in the front and two ounces in the rear. Not sure what is going on with your wheels. You want to use the beads without any lead weight. Remove any lead from the wheel and just use the beads.

If your tires have a balance spot on them make sure this is aligned with the valve stem. You may want to brake the bead on the tire and turn it 180 degrees around to see if this improves the balance.

[kdo58]

i have no weights on my wheels and they are just fine.

[paco13]

Something doesn't sound right.
I think you have more than a balance prob.
You can feel it just riding round the block 30mph and under?
If you don't have the tools to break down the tire, how are you balancing them?

[almarconi]

I am wondering if the wheel is out of round or otherwise damaged.

[Joe Nardy]

Alright, can we please go back to the beginning and start over?

1. What brand of tires are you using. Some have marks (light spot of the tire) and some don't. Some are higher quality and more balanced than others.

2. Are you using tubes?

3. How are you balancing the wheel/tire combo?

4. I'm pretty sure this is a 'no', but did you check the balance of the wheel alone to find its heavy spot before mounting the tire? Common logic is to mount the tire with the mark at the valve stem, assuming the valve stem is the heavy spot of the wheel. I have mounted and balanced many tires and always check the wheel to find the true heavy spot. Surprisingly, the heavy spot is rarely at the valve stem, even when using metal stems. The heavy spot is usually within 90 degrees of the valve stem. This method should ensure that the wheel/tire combo will require the least possible amount of weight to balance.

5. Have you thrown the beads out yet?

Thanks,
Joe

[paco13]

10/4
are your bearings ok?
You said you had trouble mounting them, Did you stretch or tear the bead cords trying to get the last bit over the wheel?
Did the tire beads seat all the way around the rim?

[ptakattack]

I'm using brand new Kenda K657 Challenger tires with brand new inner tubes. There is a yellow dot on it (I'm assuming that is the heavy part and I have them both opposite to the valve stem) and I have brand new bearings in the wheels. Before I got them powder coated there was about 14 grams of weight on the tire. I never checked if they were in balance before but I never noticed the bike shaking up and down. (Could the powder coating have been put on unevenly?) I'm balancing the tires on the axle and I had it on two buckets (the same size) that were flipped upside down (I know it's not the best way to do it but since there are new bearings in the wheel I don't think there should be any issues with doing it that way).

At the moment I have both of the wheels mounted on the bike because I thought that the dynabeads would take care of the issue. I also ordered more dynabeads because if 2 ounces of weight on the wheel isn't enough to balance the wheel than I would think that I would need more than 2 ounces of beads.

I was not aware that I needed to check the balance of the wheel before putting on the tire when I put them, but I did try breaking the bead and spinning the tire to see if it would help and it didn't seam to make a difference.

[Joe Nardy]

I'm using brand new Kenda K657 Challenger tires with brand new inner tubes. There is a yellow dot on it (I'm assuming that is the heavy part and I have them both opposite to the valve stem) and I have brand new bearings in the wheels.

Actually, the yellow paint mark is supposed to be the light spot of the tire, commonly installed lined up at the valve stem.

Before I got them powder coated there was about 14 grams of weight on the tire. I never checked if they were in balance before but I never noticed the bike shaking up and down. (Could the powder coating have been put on unevenly?)

14 grams is pretty good. I doubt the powdercoating could have that much effect unless it was applied VERY thickly.

I'm balancing the tires on the axle and I had it on two buckets (the same size) that were flipped upside down (I know it's not the best way to do it but since there are new bearings in the wheel I don't think there should be any issues with doing it that way).

That should be a decent way to balance but usually new bearings are pretty tight and might not turn on the buckets. You can look and see if the bearings are turning or if the axle is rotating on the buckets.

At the moment I have both of the wheels mounted on the bike because I thought that the dynabeads would take care of the issue. I also ordered more dynabeads because if 2 ounces of weight on the wheel isn't enough to balance the wheel than I would think that I would need more than 2 ounces of beads.

I am not sold on the beads and have never had a balance issue using lead weights in 30+ years of riding so I will probably never try them. I posted something a while back about Motorcycle Consumer News testing the beads and having a balance problem. There is no way to test the balance using the beads so if you choose to use them maybe more will help. I remain skeptical.

I was not aware that I needed to check the balance of the wheel before putting on the tire when I put them, but I did try breaking the bead and spinning the tire to see if it would help and it didn't seam to make a difference.

This is not a requirement but is a way to ensure that you will be using the least possible amount of weight to balance the tire/wheel. Finding the true heavy spot and mounting the tire with the light spot lined up there will be the best scenario. You currently have possibly the worst scenario with the light spot of the tire mounted 180 degrees from the theoretical heavy spot of the wheel (valve stem).

My suggestion would be to throw the beads away, dismount the tire, check for the true heavy spot of the wheel (checking for radial and axial runout of the wheel at the same time), remount the tire with the paint dot at the true heavy spot of the wheel, check for radial and axial runout of the tire, and balance using lead weights. This will give the best result possible while confirming or denying any runout issues. If you still end up with quite a bit of weight you'll probably be fine, just be careful for the first few miles.

Thanks,
Joe

[chef1366]

I have gobs of rims if yours are bent.