Counteract glass beads

robs ss

robs ss

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A bit over a week ago Tornado posted, in Jerry's "Michelin heavy duty inner tube" thread a comment that he uses a product called Counteract in place of wheel weights to achieve balance.

Counteract Balancing Beads – Tire and Wheel Balancing Solutions

counteractbalancing.com counteractbalancing.com
I couldn't see anyone else's view's on that product so, rather that derailing that thread, I thought I'd ask for feedback from user's here.
I'm interested in using it if there aren't downsides that I'm unaware of.

texasSlick started a thread called "tire balancing: Dyna beads" about 6 years ago - I'm not sure they are the same and, 6 years can be a long time.

Thoughts anyone?
 
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I'll take the bait and risk a flaming.
My opinion is that this along with magic catalysts that go in fuel tanks and wonder gases to fill tyres primarily have the effect of lightening your wallet and enhancing someone elses retirement fund. If they make you feel good then ok but i doubt very much that they would pass any objective independent testing.
Not that i haven't invested/wasted my money on things that others would consider to be folly's.
 
ntst8 said:
I'll take the bait and risk a flaming.
My opinion is that this along with magic catalysts that go in fuel tanks and wonder gases to fill tyres primarily have the effect of lightening your wallet and enhancing someone elses retirement fund. If they make you feel good then ok but i doubt very much that they would pass any objective independent testing.
Not that i haven't invested/wasted my money on things that others would consider to be folly's.
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You and I should start a company - "Cynics Incorporated".... Naaah!, there's too much damn competition!
 
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When I balance a wheel I cut up a stick-on weight which is intended to be used on motor cars and place it on the rim next to the spokes.
 
Well I have the Dyna Beads in 3 bikes, including my Commando. I thought they sounded like snake oil but they seem to work fine. I have Campbray alloy wheels and the front one in particular needs a fairly large balance weight to balance it. The weight I used was a stick on one and I left it on when I installed the beads. A year or so later I repainted the wheels and removed the balance weight. The beads did their job and the bike runs smoothly at all speeds.

I also have them in my BMW Airhead and Honda VFR. Both run smoothly with no vibration even at quite high speeds. I don't really understand how they work but they do. No more ugly weights needed on the wheels.
 
I believe the product is the same concept as Dynabeads

Here is the link to the thread robs ss alluded to:

https://www.accessnorton.com/NortonCommando/tire-balancing-dyna-beads.16367/#post-237747

I believe the concept works, and have Dynabeads in my Atlas tubes at present.

The bike runs smoother with Dynabeads but some of the improvement may be due to my tuning the magneto to fire dead nuts on 360 degrees.

I see from the Counteract website, they have tubes ...... wonder if they hold air better than most?

Slick
 
As I started this over on another thread ill pipe up here. CounterAct sells both bead packs for use in any tire or present-beaded tubes. I've only used the tubes. Hold air fine with minor top ups after winter storage.

The physics of the weighted beads in the rotating tire are well studied so there is no issue of "does it work". There are videos showing lab tests on see through wheels and other setups showing what happens. An out of balance wheel experiences a g force on the opposing out of balance sides. The beads migrate to the lighter side until g forces equalize and wheel is balanced. This is dynamic and can fine tune if the tire ever shifts on the rim or as the tread wears or stones are caught in tread.
The only issue I have had with now two seasons of riding on two bikes with these, if I dont put the valve stem at bottom position and give it a few taps with my tire pressure checker or chuck, sometimes the tube valve will hold open as its pressure checked. I presume that is from a small bead interfering with valve closure. So a few tap with valve pointed up, pressure checks are fine. Likely no issue if you use a good compressor to blow a bit of air in first. I have to use a bicycle hand pump so not quite as powerful or easy.
Btw not sure thread title is correct as my understanding is the beads are not glass but resin coated metal, maybe lead. I reserve my right to be corrected on that ;-)
 
Tornado said:
Btw not sure thread title is correct as my understanding is the beads are not glass but resin coated metal, maybe lead. I reserve my right to be corrected on that ;-)
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Tornado - I did credit you in my first post.

I checked their website which says:
Counteract Balancing Beads are the economical way to balance the vehicle wheel assembly for the lifetime of the tire. Made of coated glass spheres, our balancing beads will not cause damage to the inner liner of the tire, they won’t clump, regardless of excess moisture and are TPMS compatible. After 22 years and millions of packages sold worldwide to dealer/jobbers, distributors, off-road enthusiasts and large transport companies, we are confident that Counteract Balancing Beads are the best overall method of balancing tires and complete wheel assemblies, anywhere in the world.

Cheers
 
Tornado said:
The only issue I have had with now two seasons of riding on two bikes with these, if I dont put the valve stem at bottom position and give it a few taps with my tire pressure checker or chuck, sometimes the tube valve will hold open as its pressure checked. I presume that is from a small bead interfering with valve closure. So a few tap with valve pointed up, pressure checks are fine. Likely no issue if you use a good compressor to blow a bit of air in first. I have to use a bicycle hand pump so not quite as powerful or easy.
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Thanks for that "heads up" Tornado.
BTW - I just bought a 12oz bag of them on eBay (Australia) for $22AUD - should be good for 6 wheels according to Counteract
 
robs ss said:
Thanks for that "heads up" Tornado.
BTW - I just bought a 12oz bag of them on eBay (Australia) for $22AUD - should be good for 6 wheels according to Counteract
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Dyna Beads sells special valve cores that don't clog. I used them for a few years on tubeless tires. The only issue I had was when used on a tire with a rough or textured inner surface, the beads would chew away at the rubber, adding small black beads to the pile of white ones. This shouldn't be an issue in tube-types. Dyna Beads were originally invented for large truck tires.
 
Since i have been changing and balancing (single plane) my own and other motorcycle wheels & tires for over 15yrs, i don't necessarily see the problem as described. based on observations over the years, in most cases i believe the out of balance exists in the casting of the wheels. we have verified and balanced the wheels and not adjusted the balancing weights once the tires were added...

I can't say that its balogna, but i have better things to spend my money on...
 
850commando said:
Since i have been changing and balancing (single plane) my own and other motorcycle wheels & tires for over 15yrs, i don't necessarily see the problem as described. based on observations over the years, in most cases i believe the out of balance exists in the casting of the wheels. we have verified and balanced the wheels and not adjusted the balancing weights once the tires were added...

I can't say that its balogna, but i have better things to spend my money on...
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Well if you look at an inner tube you will see a largish piece of metal in one place, the valve, which I would venture to suggest makes the inner tube unbalanced. If you could see into the construction of the tyre, you would see a part where the carcass overlaps making it heavier in that spot, i.e. unbalanced.

I may be talking Italian food, but that's my opinion.
 
Nortoniggy said:
Well if you look at an inner tube you will see a largish piece of metal in one place, the valve, which I would venture to suggest makes the inner tube unbalanced. If you could see into the construction of the tyre, you would see a part where the carcass overlaps making it heavier in that spot, i.e. unbalanced.

I may be talking Italian food, but that's my opinion.
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to each his own balogna ;), i'll stick to something i can see and touch.
 
Well, it became time to change the rear tyre (Bridgstone BT45 120/90 18 - 5200 miles) so took the chance and put 2 oz (57g) of Counteract beads into the tube - takes a few minutes to do that, I'll tell you. Also took the spoke weight off. It was 16g at about 80 degrees from the valve stem.
Inflated the new tyre (Avon Roadrider 400/18) to 30psi and did the first trip (40 miles) of mixed riding - max speed was 75mph (the cops are hot-to-trot around these parts presently).
Overall impression? Nothing - no vibration from imbalance - anticlimax! I don't know what I was expecting (dancing girls?).
So, given that they appear to work, the comforting thought is they will continue to balance the wheel actively throughout the life of the tyre.
:):):)
 
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A report back - 8500 miles later.
The tyres felt totally balanced for the entire time - I installed the beads in the front too, when time came for changing.
Just fitted a new tube (with new beads) along with another 400/18 RR2 on the rear.
Asked to keep the old tube - so cut it open and poured the old beads into a clear bowl. There was no dust and all the beads appeared to be intact - in fact, good enough to go back in another tube!
There were a few (5%?) very dark beads or maybe balls of rubber. I think beads because they didn't float to the top with shaking.
The inside of the tube showed no wear, just a dark central ring (40mm wide) where the beads had obviously been running.
So... I'm sold, and will continue to use them! 👍
 
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robs ss said:
A report back - 8500 miles later.
The tyres felt totally balanced for the entire time - I installed the beads in the front too, when time came for changing.
Just fitted a new tube (with new beads) along with another 400/18 RR2 on the rear.
Asked to keep the old tube - so cut it open and poured the old beads into a clear bowl. There was no dust and all the beads appeared to be intact - in fact, good enough to go back in another tube!
There were a few (5%?) very dark beads or maybe balls of rubber. I think beads because they didn't float to the top with shaking.
The inside of the tube showed no wear, just a dark outer ring (40mm wide) where the beads had obviously been running.
So... I'm sold, and will continue to use them! 👍
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I liked the cynicism better Rob - now I am left alone to chant the Luddite’s
mantra - “ I.N.I.DI.S. “ ( It’s new , it’s different, it sucks ) 😉
 
Richard Tool said:
I liked the cynicism better Rob - now I am left alone to chant the Luddite’s
mantra - “ I.N.I.DI.S. “ ( It’s new , it’s different, it sucks ) 😉
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Well that's the thing Richard. It's apparently not new.
Truckers have been using them for years.
And they're only interested in one thing - better mileage from their tyres.
I'm going to start using them in my (tubeless) car tyres too!
Cynisism be damned - full speed ahead No. 1!!
 
Yes, still using the prefilled CounterAct tubes in my Commando and will likely use them next tire change for the Velocette also.

I guess a more definitive test would be to run a set of tires with no beads nor static balancing weights....ideally with a known out of balance condition....perhaps just slap on a weight to put it out of balance for tests...then assess vibrations at speed before installing balance beads and re-assessing.

I have heard that good balance is not really needed until reaching speeds of 60 or more mph, depending on wheel diameters, so testing would need to take that into account.
 
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