Wheel balancing

dennisn

I have read a few comments on this recently. Anyone have any thoughts about it. It
would seem to make some sense at first glance but........
Also does anyone actually make a tool and wheel weights to accomplish this?

Jamey

You mean like on cars? I guess balancing is something that becomes more necessary as the wheel spins faster and since road bike wheels are larger (in diameter/circumference, which is what matters for the RPM) than most car wheels, coupled with the fact that bikes don't go up to the same speeds as cars can manage I'm not convinced it's going to have much benefit on a bike.

That said, everything I read always says that a wheel left to move freely will end up with the valve at the bottom as it's the heaviest part but my wheels never do, they always fall towards some random part at the side with nothing that would obviously be heavier than anything else.

Doesn't make any difference to the ride, just one of those annoying little quirks.

dennisn

Jamey wrote:

You mean like on cars? I guess balancing is something that becomes more necessary as the wheel spins faster and since road bike wheels are larger (in diameter/circumference, which is what matters for the RPM) than most car wheels, coupled with the fact that bikes don't go up to the same speeds as cars can manage I'm not convinced it's going to have much benefit on a bike.

That said, everything I read always says that a wheel left to move freely will end up with the valve at the bottom as it's the heaviest part but my wheels never do, they always fall towards some random part at the side with nothing that would obviously be heavier than anything else.

Doesn't make any difference to the ride, just one of those annoying little quirks.

I ask because I do know that a balanced wheel / tire will spin longer than an unbalanced one. Does this mean anything with a bike wheel? Who knows???? :? :?

Jamey

Might do on an otherwise properly set up bike.

For me, however, there are several other things that would come into play before balancing could accomplish anything. Like I usually live with a small amount of brake rub as a sacrifice for having tighter braking, plus the (sealed) bearings in my new hub (oh, did I mention I've got a Phil Wood rear hub everyone ) seem fairly tight at the moment and the freewheel is also a bit tight when spinning but I'm sure they'll loosen up with use.

Wappygixer

I think its more of an issue for cars due to the wheel weight and tyre tollerances.
Some bike rims are balanced like Ambrosio Excellence and Excellight.
I ran motorbikes for years and never balanced the wheels.
I think alot of it is to do with how accurately the tyres are made and how even they wear to.
Not really a big issue on a bike.