Let's talk tire balancing

[yadada]

I got'em off ebay for like $10-12 for 16 bearings including shipping. They come in sets of 8. Search "abec 7" or something like that, won't take long to find.

I'll see if I can find the dimensions I used to drill the holes and stuff tonight.

[trbig]

I've never done it, so I have to ask...

Since you're using the bikes axle anyway, don't the wheels' own bearings spin well enough to where you could just set the axle in a "V" in a chunk of wood on each side and let it spin on it's own bearings?


Also.... does anyone ever use one of the old bubble balancers first to get them close?


Tod

[randy]

That's how I do it!

[dbeardslee]

Randy - Do you take the calipers off? Seems like you would need to.

[randy]

Um..

When I balance my wheels, it's after a tire change, so the wheel is off the bike.

[dbeardslee]

Randy - for some reason I had the image in my head of the wheel on the bike. Makes a LOT more sense now.

[trbig]

Are the engineers in the group trying to make things harder and more complicated than they need to be??

Engineering moto... "If it ain't broke... screw with it until it is!" lol.



Tod

[dbeardslee]

Trbig - actually as I reread the post you said it pretty clear. For some reason that synapse just wasn't firing when I asked Randy about the brakes. Darn 1970's - dad said this would happen

[trbig]

LOL.. I was refering to the OTHER Randy (Yadada) He's one of those engineer types... just not the type that gets to play with the train whistles...



Tod

[yadada]

Toot! Toot! An engineer is back! I leave it to you guys to figure out what kinda toot that was.

Sounds like you can balance your tire using the bearings in the wheel already. I didn't even try it. Guess I should have.

When I used my setup the axle didn't rotate in the wheel, so the skateboard bearings I used had less friction. Less friction equals more accurate balance, because it's easier for the heavy part of the wheel/tire to find it's way to the bottom. The skateboard bearings I used are a low friction type. Maybe overkill, but oh well. Perhaps I was inspired by Maximan's continual search for perfection! I remember thinking when I first read his post that I wanted to be able to do this.

I forgot to get the dimensions I mentioned earlier. Perhaps I remember tomorrow.

I would like a bubble balancer, just haven't found a good deal on one, or put the effort into making one yet.

[Hammerhead1st]

After breaking my tires down to paint my rims this winter, I remounted them myself (10 minutes per tire WITH inflation) and took the front to my local bike shop. Run by a good ol' boy who restores classics and runs trials bikes around here, he charged me $10 to balance and guaranteed the work. Got rid of the bounce I had developed at 60+ mph.

Shop is called Perry Cycle Works and is a great source for antique parts in originally rusted condition at CHEAP prices. Got a regulator from the owner (Paul) for $50 used, and he GUARANTEED it to work. Told me if the regulator wasnt my problem, I could take it back for store credit. How many times do you find THAT these days?

Anyhoo...now she runs smooth as glass both front and rear. I dropped from 40PSI to 35 in both wheels and it's almost like riding on glass, without the slipping. For $10, it was well worth it.

[dbeardslee]

OK, so the kitchen chair method is pretty amazing. I was getting a high speed shimmy in the front end so I took the wheel off and set the axel across a couple chairs with the wheel on it. Spun it several times and low and behold the same spot kept going to the bottom. Just happened to be the spot with an existing weight on it. I took the weight off and spun it several more times and it stopped in all kinds of different places. Thought 'what the hey' and took it out on the highway with no weights. Shimmy gone. Very cool. Thanks for the great suggestions.

As a side note, I went to four different autoparts stores looking for stick-on weights. Found them at Smyth Automotive, but they wanted me to buy a whole box for $75! Finally asked a guy in Autozone where one might find single strips of weights. He said 'Have you tried a tire store?' I don't know why that thought never crossed my mind. Went to the local auto tire dealer and they sold me a strip for $3.