Tires Tire balance

lanternman

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I wonder has anybody had trouble with tire bounceing at higher speeds? When I am cruiseing along at 25 to 30 mph my tire bounces a lot. Can you balance bike tires? Tips anyone. Louis
 
Hi Louis -

I use counterweights to balance my wheels. For one wheel, I got some thick washers, maybe an inch outside diameter, and bent them at a slight angle in a vise with a hammer to match the contour of the rim. Then I got double-sided sticky foam tape and cleaned the wheel rim outside really good with a slovent like gasoline. When I suspend the wheel off the ground, I apply tape and washers over a six-inch length of so of the rim at the 12 o'clock position. With enough washers, eventually this area equals the weight of the opposite side. A light spin will show the tire is balanced. Then no more high-speed bouncing!

MikeJ
 
laternman,

I would check to make sure that the rim is radial true and not causing a hop while the rim goes around. It could be spokes need adjustment or that your rim is deformed from an impact.

I am not an expert, but your LBS should be able to tell you. I would rather eliminate the problem rather than masking with fixes - that's me. If you feel that weights work for you - great! Every one has their own solutions.

Good Luck,

Chris
AKA: BigBlue
 
At high enough speeds, even a trued wheel could have balance problems. But, you want to make sure that the wheel is true (truly round, with no wobble) before you start trying to balance it.

Otherwise, you're just masking the underlying issue.
 
I've heard of Dynabeads used on motorcycles (ceramic BBs to balance wheel). It might be possible to use BB gun bbs to do the same thing. It wouldn't cost but a couple tube patches and jar of BBs to try it.
 
Again, with a spoked wheel, you need to make sure that the wheel's actually round before you dink around with trying to balance it.
 
Again, with a spoked wheel, you need to make sure that the wheel's actually round before you dink around with trying to balance it.

Absolutely, worth repeating, and there may be more to an out of round wheel than simply tightening/loosening spokes. If a rim has become deformed it should be corrected or replaced before truing will do much good.
 
You can usually find a flat spot in a wheel, when it's on a truing stand. Look also for uneven brake marks or scuffing from the brake pads. When checking run-out, you will probably see a section (2-6 spokes) that is "flat", maybe visibly.
 
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