Changing a tire out is a filthy dirty job. No doubt about that. If the OP took the photos right after the job I can see how the tire/rim would look dirty. It just appeared to me to be really, really dirty and the tires looked a bit beat up to me. My apologies to the OP if I spoke to soon. As far as Frogfarmer's comment about riding a filthy dirty bike I will simply say to each his own. Personally I take care of my stuff and it takes care of me. My bikes are not Garage Queens by any means but they do get maintained and well cleaned on a regular basis. Not only is it a safety issue but I would rather ride a clean machine than something that looks like ****. I have seen those bikes where the owner does nothing and just lets them go to hell. Not starting a pissing contest here. If I spoke out of turn or my original comment appeared abrassive, sorry bout that.

 

No and Yes are Ur answers in that order.

 

No offense taken here... I too like to ride a clean bike, but I do not get crazy about it. Spent about an hour yesterday cleaning the wheels. The first time I had done it since buying the bike last July. Could have probably spent another hour or two just on the spokes, but I think that the wheels look pretty good now. Got the tires all cleaned up too.

Anyway back on track here... I took the bike out yesterday for about 45 min and thought I felt a slight rhythmic vibration in the front, but really was not sure. I thought that maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me since I was Really Looking for something to be wrong. Took the front wheel off this morning and just stuck a big dowel rod through the hub and put it on some jack stands. I know, I know its not perfect but just wanted to get an idea. Anyway, it seemed to be balanced according to my unscientific test. No matter where I placed the tire it stayed put. If I just put a littel pressure on the tire, it would gently roll that direction. A guy on a local forum has a shop and said he would rebalance them for me if I like just to double check, so I may take him up on it just for piece of mind.

Still thinking about Dyna Beads too though. We will see...

Thanks again everyone for all the help...

Phil

 

Hard to get a good read on balance that way because the bearings in the wheel hub typically have too much resistance. You really need 4 precision and low resistance bearings set-up like a v-block to rest the axle into. Then you can get a really accurate read.

When I do mine, I can take the balanced wheel/tire and rest a 1/4 ounce weight just a couple inches off center at the top of the tire and the wheel/tire will rotate in that direction.

 

More good info...

Thanks a bunch! I have learned quite a bit this past week.

Phil