Wheels?? To Glue Or Not To Glue???

[JERRY2KONE]

Hey guys I just wanted to share some thoughts with everyone about wheels. I have only been in the hobby for about 3 years now and I have seen, read, and had a diverse range of experiences with the various wheels on the market today. Some good and some not so good. Right from the start I thought that using wheels that you have to glue the tires to with Super glue was kind of stupid, but what choices did we have. I have had stock, hop ups, and even aluminum wheels. Anyway I have been seeing a lot of info on the beadlock wheels and for a while I was not very impressed. I was not too sure about the technique or the quality of these wheels, but I knew that I would have to try them sooner or later.

Low and behold I finally broke down and ordered a set of "Axial" oversize beadlock wheels, because of a promotion that I received from T/H that I just could not refuse. Anyway I had also ordered a set of 40 series Mulcher tires to use with these wheels. All of the stuff arrived last night and I was curious and kind of excited. Now that I have my two boys with us I want them to share in all of the cool stuff that we get to play with. So my son Tommy(11) assisted me in putting them together, and man what a work of art these wheels are. It was kind of a pain in the rear and it took the two of us almost two hours to complete the task since I was teaching him how they work and wanting to make sure that he does the job correctly. These things are just awesome to say the least.

After having to mess with gluing wheels for the last three years watching them come apart, and dealing with that mess, I can honestly say that most if not all of my wheels from now on will be of the beadlock style. I know there are a few different manufacturers out there making these, but I am seriously impressed with the Axial wheels. If you have not tried them I yet would suggest that you invest in some. Putting them together is tetious to say the least but it is well worth the time, money and effort. The only way for a tire to come off of the wheel is for it to tear apart, and if it does you just remove it and install a new one. How cool is that?? Way to go Axial.

[MTBikerTim]

I think you should bash them before giving them such high praise. I have no idea if you will have troubles or not but you have to bash test them.

I love my maximizers but sadly they don't make a 40 series wheel.

[lincpimp]

I have maximizers too, and have had decent success with them. You have to be careful when assembling them, or the tires will come off. They are a bit heavier, but overall seem like a good idea.

I will say that balancing the wheels and tires is something that is really necessary. I would recommend it to anyone. If you decide to try balancing, just do two wheels first and put them on one side of the truck. Then run the truck, the difference is amazing...

[MTBikerTim]

Originally Posted by lincpimp

I have maximizers too, and have had decent success with them. You have to be careful when assembling them, or the tires will come off. They are a bit heavier, but overall seem like a good idea.

I will say that balancing the wheels and tires is something that is really necessary. I would recommend it to anyone. If you decide to try balancing, just do two wheels first and put them on one side of the truck. Then run the truck, the difference is amazing...

Any tips on how you did it and what you used as weights?

I have been wanting to do it but don't have and thing to stick to the wheels. It has to be removable too because I am using beadlocks too.

[lincpimp]

Originally Posted by MTBikerTim

Any tips on how you did it and what you used as weights?

I have been wanting to do it but don't have and thing to stick to the wheels. It has to be removable too because I am using beadlocks too.

I used a airplane prop balancer, and the putty style 2 part epoxy. Seems like the epoxy would come off the wheel if necessary. I did not sand the wheel, and the plastic is smooth so it should come off with some elbow grease and a flat blade screwdriver.

Heres the thread with the info and pics of what I did, pics on the bottom of the page:

http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/show...t=14549&page=2

[JERRY2KONE]

Yea I had not even gotten to the point of wanting to balance wheels yet, but if there is any easy method of doing so please share it with us. Just off the top of my head I was thinking about the standard hobby sticky back weights that you can acqure at any LHS.

I do not know about the Maximizer beadlocks, but the design of the Axial beadlocks is about as perfect as I think one can get. The ring and groove tolerances are very tight and I do not see how they would come apart, but like you said one has to test them first. Hey TDC57 didn't you use them on one of your projects? How did they work on your vehicle? No matter what they sare still better than having to use super-glue. I am still waiting to receive our household goods shipment, so it will be a few weeks until we are able to do anything with our R/C trucks, but we are all very anxious to get out and have some fun.

[bdebde]

I use lead tape for swing weight from golf shops. Stays put but can be peeled off (be sure and wash hands after use; ITS LEAD!)

[jayjay283]

Jerry I use the axial oversized on my maxx, bought them about 6-7 months ago and havent used anything since. They hold the tires tight even with 6s and a 1Y. They only let go of the tire when you head over heels cartwheel down the street on asphalt, where it would have ripped the tire off a glued rim. Then unscrew 1/2 the lugs and tuck the bead back in and lock it back down. They sure arent for quick changing tires though. It takes hours to get a new set situated on them, so I bought a 2nd pair. 1 set black chrome 8 spoke with axial terraizer race tires and 1 set chrome 8 spoke with 40s mulchers. my thread with them g4maxx

older pics of them, they're in worse shape now

[JERRY2KONE]

Jerry I use the axial oversized on my maxx, bought them about 6-7 months ago and havent used anything since. They hold the tires tight even with 6s and a 1Y. They only let go of the tire when you head over heels cartwheel down the street on asphalt, where it would have ripped the tire off a glued rim. Then unscrew 1/2 the lugs and tuck the bead back in and lock it back down. They sure arent for quick changing tires though. It takes hours to get a new set situated on them, so I bought a 2nd pair. 1 set black chrome 8 spoke with axial terraizer race tires and 1 set chrome 8 spoke with 40s mulchers. my thread with them g4maxx


Yea thanks JayJay I have the black chrome set and they do look pretty good. Like I said from the looks of them, I do not see how they will come apart if you drive half way decent. The only thing is that now that I am doing some more reading I should have taped the tires before putting them together. Oh well we are still waiting on our household shipment anyway, so I have nothing but time to take them apart and tape the tires and put them back together again. It will be good practice for my son and I. I was also thinking about getting the spare set for quick changes in the case of any accident(good point). I guess I will have to look into the prop balancer stratagy and try that as well. Three years into this hobby, with over 30 years of engineering experience, and I still feel like a kid learning for the first time. Every time I think I have something figured out about these toys I learn something new. It sure is great to be a part of the RCM crew, where we all share what we learn along the way. I really do love these Axial beadlock rims though. After hearing some of the comments on here about the Maximizers I am curious to know how much different they are from the Axial's?? I like using the 40 series tires though, because of the very short sidewall. Less flexing to worry about in turning.

[Sammus]

I balance all my wheels/tyres. I find the wheels are always almost perfectly balanced as is, conversely the tyres almost never are. Often you can feel the rubber is thicker on one side of the tyre. I balance the tyres with tape on the inside of the tyre (further from the centre means you need less material).

Also I think the advantage of gluing is the much lower weight and rotational inertia of the wheel. Not so much a problem for bashing I guess, but you'd never use beadlocks on a racer :P

[JThiessen]

Do you guys use threadlock on the screws? I wouldnt think it would be necessary.

[Sammus]

if they were alloy rims i probably would.

[_paralyzed_]

I like axial and maximizer beadlocks way more than pro-line. My pro-lines constantly lost the bead. I still have occasional bead pop outs with the first two, and no longer use the pro-lines. Taping the tires helps a lot too, if the tires pizza cutter they tend to pull out of the bead, but taped it's a lot less of a problem. I always wear out my tires, so cost wise, it's better for me to glue tires. If the tire is shot, cut it off and reuse the wheel, which is a fraction of the cost of beadlocks, and if you've worn out 2 or more sets of rubber your wheels are probably hashed beadlock or not. So, in conclusion, I like the beadlocks, don't like the cost, but you just can't beat the cool factor....... "Yeah, those are real beadlocks!" p.s. I don't threadlock 'em, no probs

[TexasSP]

I have been up in the air for a while on using beadlocks. Obvious disadvantage is weight and balance. Still don't know if I am sold yet with the exception of rock climbers. I will watch this thread closely though.

[Arct1k]

I had a couple of sets of beadlocks (maximizers) but have given up on them.

They really couldn't stand up long term to 40mph and 6S (a123) on a revo and are too heavy for track work - I just opted for glueing...

If anyone wants to try them LMK...