Wheel Balancing

[tyrannosauROSS]

I have been watching a few videos on Youtube from Adventure Spec and watching Lyndon travel the world. (great series!)
At several stages he changed tyres. Most the time this was for puncture repair so just patched the tube.
But on a couple of occasions he completely changed his tyres for either a more dirt orientated one or a more road bias option.

So my question is.... After changing the tyre... does he have to re-balance the wheel?

I'm presuming he doesn't but... why not?
If he does... how does one do this "in the field?"

thanks

[picos mestizo]

He probably doesn't bother with the rear.
Front he may take a chance with & hope it won't judder/flutter @ high speed.
Ballance on the bike.
Release calliper from disc to remove any drag.
Loosten wheel spindle slightly to make sure wheel spins freely.(Wheel needs to be very free spining or you can't realy balance it this way}
Lift front wheel off the ground.
Set valve @ front of wheel level with wheel spindle & let go of wheel.
............rear......................................................
............top.......................................................
If wheel moves when let go of, then let it settle & mark bottom of rim.(heavy point)
Add weight 180degrees from heavy point until wheel doesnt have a heavy point. (thumbs)

You can also find heavy point by letting wheel free spin & mark heavy point if it stops @ same place every time.

Wether he does it or not depends on how much out of ballance he can live with when riding.

[redbikejohn]

been changing my own tyres for years on the xt660z haven't bothered balancing them once and its been ok. just got a balancer for xmas though so will from now on.

on another note - does anyone else have a problem seeing this text as the type. looks like the ink has run out on the internet :laugh:

[Big Yellow Tractor]

I balance the wheels on my Travel Tractor but not on trail-bikes. It does make a very noticeable difference to vibration at road speeds.

If you have a puncture, it's worth marking where valve, rimloc and tyre are so that you can put everything back as was.

I normally balance mine off the bike during tyre changes. I have a length of rod that is the same dia as the spindle and use a pair of axle stands. I cast my own lead weights because I haven't found anything easily available that does the trick. (would be very interested if someone else has though)

[mjojom]

it depend on your driving. on road, definitely. especially when using multipurpose tyres. i found with front when not holding handlebars it would become increasingly juddery so could not relax my hands at whole. this is transferred to your muscles and on longer journeys make you working overtime, so you will be more tense/tired.

with rear, the swingarm/suspension just working overtime. all this cant be really good for high speed cornering when you want the wheels to be glued to the road. also wears components like bearings faster. maybe marginally, but it does.

[mjojom]

I balance the wheels on my Travel Tractor but not on trail-bikes. It does make a very noticea I cast my own lead weights because I haven't found anything easily available that does the trick.

i use fishing weights, (bought few on car boot some time ago ) just cut them to pieces, hole through the middle and one side and wrap em around the spoke (thumbs)

[Butch]

I have always balanced my road or race bikes wheels but never my enduro bike. I'm not sure if I would notice an out of balance wheel when its caked with mud etc.

Also with security bolts on the rim you would need a lot of weights to counter balance those.

I find on some bikes you can notice an out of balance wheel but others make no difference. I also wonder how many people ride round with the sticky weights haven fallen of and the rider doesn't notice.

[KTMBLAG]

I always change my own tyres from road type to off road ones, never balanced them and I've never had a problem

[bond_yzf]

I always change my own tyres from road type to off road ones, never balanced them and I've never had a problem

+1

[Big Yellow Tractor]

Non balanced wheels won't cause any problems on an enduro / trail-bike but blatting along a road for half an hour or so is a lot comfier with balanced wheels. Even getting them nearly right makes a difference IMHO