I mount my own tires and use Dynabeads. I replaced the tubes each time and cut open the old tube and reused the Dynabeads. Wow I am cheap!

 

I mount my own and just line up the dot with the valve. Never had a problem. If I were going to pay someone I would let them balance them since it doesnt cost much. I go trhough 2 or 3 rears a year and have never noticed any uneven wear.

 

I have done it both ways. Had them balanced at the shop, and balanced them with the dot lined up with the valve stem. Never could tell any difference between the two methods.

 

Wheels must be balanced, especially the front; and the disk(s) must be balanced too. If the front wheel (or a brake disk) is Dynamically out of balance it may gravity balance just fine but it will shimmy at about 30 mph. I had one like that that the dealer could not fix. I had to fix it myself. At the time I worked for a balancing machine manufacturer. They were not set up for my wheel, but with a good understanding of the process I was able to correct an unbalanced rotor and balance the wheel as a whole.

 

Dynabeads in both rides. I just put them in my buddies bike last month. No weights & a smooth ride.

 

- One potential downside to Dyna Beads (with a tubeless tire) is what happens when you get a flat in the middle of nowhere and plug the tire to fix the flat. The beads will stick to the glue on the plug inside the tire and throw it so seriously out of balance you may not be able to do more than limp along. Not a biggie in town, but if you're really out there it'll mean dismounting the wheel, breaking the tire bead, and removing the beads.

- The red dot on the tire being above the valve stem doesn't automatically mean the tire's balanced. The tire manufacturer is just telling you that's the light side of the tire and putting it by the valve gets you closer to make the final balancing easier. And that must be done with the brake disc installed to get it right.

If you're a do-it-yourself type you can build a cheap and effective wheel balancer like this one. I used an old pair of jackstands and some inexpensive bearings from the local skate board shop.


The kid at the skate shop told me these bearings are lubricated with Speed Cream . . . LOL!


Spoke or adhesive rim weights are cheap.


Rolls like a dream. And will balance down to 7 grams. Any out of balance condition less than that you'll never notice . . .

 

Never balanced my tires and have never had a problem. Just get the index a close a possable.

 

Interesting thread

 

I had the rear tire replaced weekend before last. I notice the original balance weight had been removed and a new one relocated.

 

Some things I do myself. Some things I dont.
Tires and balancing I dont. JMHO