How important is wheel balancing and do racers do it?

Just curious really and wondered, with the amount of tyre changes racers go through do they balance their wheels every time?

[flymo]

every time yes, with a bit of practice only takes a few minutes.

Have you got a machine or do you do it manually?

[flymo]

Originally Posted by teriyakimonkey

Have you got a machine or do you do it manually?

Nah you dont need a machine, just a manual wheel balancing jig and a beadbreaker to get the old tyres off. I've used a bench vice before now to break beads and I've even balanced a wheel pretty well using a wheel axle spanning two breeze blocks ...seriously.

A proper wheel balancing jig is a bit easier though. If you are changing tyres often you can save a fair bit, along with reduced purchase price for tyres.

But seriously it isnt that difficult to do.

Well I've just changed the rear on mine and instead of a jig I done it with the wheel on the rear axle without the sprocket or caliper on and done it as describe in another thread. I wasn't hugely anal about it but spent 20 minutes on it. You reckon that'll be ok?

[flymo]

Originally Posted by teriyakimonkey

Well I've just changed the rear on mine and instead of a jig I done it with the wheel on the rear axle without the sprocket or caliper on and done it as describe in another thread. I wasn't hugely anal about it but spent 20 minutes on it. You reckon that'll be ok?

Yeah that should be fine assuming you actually balanced it correctly

Back to your original question I think its pretty important to balance wheels for racing. When you are really on it the last thing you need is some daft wheel vibration to spoil your concentration and grip.

You cannot race properly without balancing your wheels.

I either do it here at work on the proper machine or get the paddock support guys to do it.

Ok, first of all, yep it’s a good idea to start off with a balanced wheel, and presuming your bearings are free running, you can do it pretty well just using a supported spindle and wheel bearings. (and what I do).

However, if you think about it as soon as you start ‘using’ the tyre, surely the wear isn’t 100% even, both across the width, but also vertically … not many tyres will be 100% ‘round’ either, so this will increase wear on one part … what I am saying here is that even if you balance your wheel to start with, I can’t see it will stay properly balanced very long

To add to this thought, I’ve had wheel weights fall off/come unstuck before now and not really noticed any vibration.

Oh and you can get away with more on the rear than the front too (one of the ‘pros’ said they don’t balance rears … I think he was just fat … ).

That's handy cos I'm taking the front to a tyre shop. I can't waste another half a day.

Suppose if I notice any vibes I can always take the rear off and get them just to balance it.

[northwind]

Yeah, I've had weights come off and didn't notice any vibration at... How fast do SVs go? Exactly that fast I balance mine in the bike as described, with the calipers out of the way and the axle loosened, how well I do it I don't know but I've never had any problems- there's really no difference between doing it that way and on axle stands.