Curious...anyone ever use Dyna Beads for balancing their tires?

[Donkey]

For what it's worth...

I've been using them for 6 years, two different bikes, three sets of tires.  I will never balance bike tires any other way...

I like to change my own tires.  This is a true, real solution for home balancing, in my humble opinion.  No expensive racks, no spin and wait, no guessing or close enough, no unsightly weights.  They work.  I find it simple enough and I keep doing it over and over...  I wouldn't do that if I didn't like them or they didn't work.

I even saved and reused them after a premature flat...  cut a small, tirangular hole in the tube and poured them into a container.

[JagLite]

After 3,300 miles with Ride-On in the unbalanced wheels I am very happy with the results.
There were a lot of weights on the spokes with the old tires so I removed them.
I put on the new tires with new tubes and used about 12 oz in each tube.
(3 bottles 8 oz each)

I used the Ride-On for sealing a puncture, or at least slowing the leak down so I could get to the shoulder.
The balancing wasn't a priority to me even though I always balance my other bike wheels.

You can balance the wheels BEFORE putting in the Ride-On but not afterwards.

The test was riding the high speed highways along my way.

No hop, skip, or jump. 

Up to indicated 93 mph the wheels were as smooth as could be.

Highly recommended!

[Bucko]

Just one case out of the blue, but when I put on a new rear tire last year, I didn't have to add any weights I left the weight from the previous balance in place.  I used my static balance and no matter where I stopped the wheel, it stayed put - no additional balancing weights required.

[JagLite]

Thanks Greenbarn for the very helpful information.

Everyone has their own view (of everything) but I only count the ones who have personal experience.

I will be using Ride-On in my new tires so I hope that I have similar balancing success and flat protection.
http://www.ride-on.com/
I figure that even if the stuff doesn't seal a flat it should slow it down enough for me to get safely off the road.

James

[pcarrell]

You won't have noticed this but white walls turn pink in the sun..

Maybe it's a girl bike?

[John Hopkins]

Just be aware that if a bloke comes up to you and says "nithe ride" he may not be talking about your bike.

John.

[CDNRatMan]

   Chief:

That Smurf Blue does wash off with Mr. clean Magic Eraser adn some elbow bending, and the white walls are just tht bright white and clean looking, every 4 weeks a quick wash and a little rubbing of Mr. Clean and they will be nice and shiny once more......Take pride in your ride.....

[chief]

You won't have noticed this but white walls turn pink in the sun..

This is why they are so popular in San Francisco among Indians, construction workers, traffic cops and I forget the other groups, maybe village people.

John.

That must be a British thing. I did have a set which turned and stayed Smurf Blue... finally had to replace them. Now, under the dirt, I'm sure the new ones aren't pink, but who knows.

[bambam0099]

You won't have noticed this but white walls turn pink in the sun..

This is why they are so popular in San Francisco among Indians, construction workers, traffic cops and I forget the other groups, maybe village people.

John.

You single handedly derailed my desire to get white walls!  LOL!    If I do ultimately decide to get a set, I certainly will not let you know!   

[bambam0099]

I have a significant experience in powder-type balancing products,....

Thanks for the detailed writeup, appreciate it.   Very interesting comments.

[greenbarn]

I have a significant experience in powder-type balancing products, so here is my take on it.   I sell tires- car/truck, and for the last 6 years or so, we have gone to using powder balancing for larger pickup tires almost 100% and on semi tires 100%.  This stuff has been used in the semi industry for a long time.  It works.  Undoubtedly.   Having said that, I have not, yet, put any powder in any of my motorcycle tires - just because I haven't had a reason to do so yet.  In theory a motorcycle tire is about the easiest type of tire to balance - narrow, light in weight, and the tread is very shallow so treadwear would have minimal effect on tire balance down the road (one big reason to use power in truck tires).   Now, on my 1500 I have what I believe to be a tire shake at 40 MPH since I put the new tires on - and I do plan to put powder in them this spring to see if it has an effect.

Dynabeads are one particular brand of "powder" balancing product.  Dynabeads should work equally well in a tubeless or a tube-type tire, if they will fit through the valve stem hole - which should be the same size in either type of tire - they both take an identical valve core.   The thing is - on a tubeless tire, they don't HAVE to go in through the valve stem, you can put them directly in the tire by breaking the bead down on one side.   With a tube-type tire, it HAS to go through the valve stem, which is quite small relative to the Dynabead size.   I could be wrong on this, but I have read that the Dynabeads WILL go through the stem, but only one at a time - single file- so it is tedious to get them in there.  I believe you have to put them in a little straw that fits onto your valve stem and "pour" them in there.   Granted, you only need a couple of ounces, so it won't take forever, and only has to be done once.

However due to this inconvenience, I would think the smaller particle sized powders would be easier to use.  I stock 2 different powder products - Equal is a smaller particle size product, and it can be installed with a "tool" that uses compressed air to force the powder in through the valve stem.  That is what I will be using on my own.   The other product I use, I believe is Magnum, which has larger beads (similar to Dynabeads) and will not go through the pneumatic machine to put it in - they have to be dropped into the tire through the beads.   The particle size plays a different role when used for TPMS sensors - the Magnum works with TPMS, but the Equal is small enough to plug up the TPMS sensor hole.

The powder products basically all work the same.  At road speeds the particles (and the mass of the particles) distribute around the circumference of the tire and absorb tire imbalance energy.  Personally, I think they act much like a shock absorber, or "vibration absorber" than really "balancing" the tire - but the benefit to the driver are the same regardless of what you call it.

A lot of the powder balancing companies do not target the m/c industry due to liability and what have you.  For example, Magnum has a disclaimer on their website: "There is no technical reason why Magnum Plus will not work in motorcycle tires. However,we do not endorse its use for motorcycle tires, because we have not done our own testing regarding its use in a variety of on and off road motorcycling activities, and therefore consider that a decision to use Magnum Plus in motorcycle tires must be left to individual owners/riders."

[John Hopkins]

You won't have noticed this but white walls turn pink in the sun..

This is why they are so popular in San Francisco among Indians, construction workers, traffic cops and I forget the other groups, maybe village people.

John.

[CDNRatMan]

   need white walls they are easier to balance........(now watch the fireworks)

[bambam0099]

Interesting.  I hate the look of wheel weights so I might actually give these a shot after reading your responses.   Plus the possibility of "self balancing" during the life of the tire sounds inviting.

[CDNRatMan]

   Not the same but close.....

http://www.counteractbalancing.com/

My Brother-in-Law bought me a bottle for xmas this past year, he swears by them and he has them in his H-D, after a cross Ontario trip he said it was really great. He had them put in at the dealer, in tubeless tires.
He bought a bottle for my tire size and make of bike, so I decided to call the company and asked a few questions, I watched their you tube postings. So over the holidays I put the beads into the bike as per their instructions, very easy, simple. Inflated the tires, you can hear them in there in the house very quiet at 0400....lol....this spring I'll let you know if I find a difference or anything happens.

[John Hopkins]

Yeah.. Apparently you insert them before you put the tube in, but I can't see why it wouldn't work after, they only go in the valve stem, the only concern seems to be that one of the beads may block the valve, but that is a spoken about concern, I've never heard anyone say it has happened to them..

There is an alternative called 'ride on' which is a gel that you squirt in, some riders prefer this because it will seal a 1/8th inch hole in a tubed tire and 1/4 inch hole in a tubeless tire without messing the tire up and it doesn't block the valve.

John.

[Troll]

Motorcycle Consumer News had a very low opinion of them, and said they were a PITA to get back out....

[pcarrell]

I didn't know you could do that.

[John Hopkins]

I have heard of people using them in tubed tires and with good results, but I have never used them myself, wheels are very easy to balance without them.

John.

[pcarrell]

Not sure how you'd make Dyna Beads work with an innertube.......

They work great in tubeless tire, but you can't use them with tubed tires as far as I know.

Just get new tires and rim strips, have the wheels trued and balanced, and you're in business.

[bambam0099]

I'm getting ready to order tires for my 1500 (just trying to make up my mind to go with white walls or not) and have been told by several people that I can do it myself and don't need wheel weights for balancing but, I don't buy that.   I'm going to have my wheels balanced (unless convinced by someone here).  A friend of mine pointed me to Dyna Beads http://www.innovativebalancing.com/index.php but it looks too good to be true.

Has anyone here had any experience with them and if so, how did it work out for you?

Thanks in advance to all responses