TYRE BALANCE BEADS... they do work except for when they don't.

There seems to be 2 trains of thought regarding magic tyre balancing beads...

They're modern and magic and so much better than having ugly weights on your wheels!
and
Why bother? You barely notice weights and it seems like a load of faff.

The important question is ... do they actually work?
People will tell you they work.
The people who make them will say that.
The people who sell them will say that even louder.
Some people who use them will say that, but the trouble is.... they don't always work.

Go for a ride around town, up to 30 or 40mph...
The imbalanced wheel... at these speeds, you won't notice the imbalance too badly, but it IS imbalanced and is rotating around a centre of mass which is not in the centre of the spindle, as it should be.
The beads will be bouncing around your tyre doing nothing helpful.

You then go for a ride around the countryside...
You hit the national speed limit signs and you open the bike up to 50mph .. at this point you start to feel the imbalance and you can tell something is wrong. An imbalanced wheel shakes the most between 50 and 60mph (In general)
The beads will be bouncing around your tyre, doing nothing helpful.

The road opens up and you give the bike more gas...
At about 55 to 60mph the beads start to use a mixture of magic and science and will settle in the exact places to add mass where it's needed, which brings the centre of mass to where it needs to be, and the bike feels nice to ride again.

Into a village with a 30mph speed limit...
Now the beads are in the right place, they will stay in the right place even as the speed drops down a bit lower... while the wheel is less prone to announce it's imbalance at that speed anyway, the beads are still doing their thing and the wheel is balanced.

You slow down to 10mph for a milkfloat...
And the beads declare they need a bit of a rest and start flying around the tyre like a happy dog on a shiny wooden floor.
The magical moment has passed.

And what all that means..... is they don't work all of them time, while there is a sweet spot where they do their job and it feels good, the window is not as big as you'd like, and not as useful as you'd like.

Why wheel weights are better..... THEY WORK ALL OF THE TIME!!
5mph, 30, 55, 90, 150 .. the wheel is always balanced.

Also... wheel weights are generally free as they're included in the price of the fitting. Beads cost money.
Also also... wheel weights can be recycled, beads generally end up on the floor.
Also also also... tyre fitters will hate you if you have beads, though not as much as they hate people who use slime don't mention it.

It is 100% true that not having weights is better looking than having weights, can't argue that.
But it's equally as true that a wheel that is balanced 100% of the time is just the rght thing to do, so why wouldn't you?

July 16, 2025 | View: 8 | Categories: Helpful Guides | Tags: <a class="mp-info" href="https://www.sticky-stuff.co.uk/blog/tag/balancing.html">Balancing</a> | By: <a class="mp-info" href="https://www.sticky-stuff.co.uk/blog/author/ian-team-green.html">Ian Team Green</a>