12:46 am
Club Member
January 19, 2011
Offline
Bead Lock Rims
Any recomendations on type? Pros and cons?
Semper Fi
6:14 am
Club Member
July 10, 2003
Offline Beadlocks
They look really cool.
It is back breaking work to mount the tires and set all those bolts.
You won't blow a bead on the trail; it's time saver mostly since resetting a bead is fairly easy.
Not blowing a bead can be very important though if you wheel severe off-camber or in huge rocks; Rollover protection.
Blowing a bead is not such a big deal for the trails around here, so mostly for looks and time saving.
I personally like the looks of Walker Evans ($$$) but there are a ton of quality brands out there. Choose for looks mostly.
I used to wheel a lot. . .
6:30 am
Club President
April 2, 2003
Offline Pros
cool looking
function in some cases
cons
price
weight
most places will not mount them, or they charge you 80 bucks a wheel.
cn be very time consuming to mount yourself
my opinion is that there really isn't a reason to run them unless your rig is super heavy, like a full size. I have owned three different kinds of bead locks and run them. Race line and walker Evans seem to look coolest. If you know your tire flex and run proper pressure, you won't need them on any trails Dusy and north. My current rims cost $78 each...
6:52 am
Club Member
July 10, 2003
Offline Oh ya, like Brad said, the Race line wheels look sweet too.
I used to wheel a lot. . .
8:05 am
Club Member
February 26, 2014
Offline Hutchinson has a DOT approved bead lock wheel they look cool but I haven't herd pros or cons from anyone running them. And they are pricey.
8:14 am
Club Member
January 20, 2009
Offline B.A.D. Wheels look nice and lock from the inside.
I'm running Eagle Alloy non-beadlock wheels which were about $160ea. I didn't know it when I ordered them but the wheels have a thick outer rim. They had to reverse mount the tires from the inside rim.
8:16 am
Club Member
September 3, 2008
Offline I think in snow, beadlocks can be very beneficial. They allow you to air down much lower than a normal wheel. The outer ring also provides a lot of strength from rocks damaging the important parts of the wheel like valve stems and the rim lip if you were running non beadlocks.
I have ran several sets of beadlocks also like Trail Readys, ATX, Champion and Hummer beadlocks. In a perfect word, I would have double beadlocks that clamp the tire on the outside and the inside. With this setup, you could literally drive on a flat tire. Double beadlocks are fairly rare, but these are an example of double beadlocks: http://www.4wheelparts.com/Whe.....636-017-01
You don't have the lip protection with the example above though.
The biggest thing to know is that beadlocks for the most part are not street legal/DOT approved. That is why most tire shops won't mount or balance them. I enjoy mounting them and it can be fairly easy, just rather time consuming. That is why you joined a club so friends can help you mount them.
Personally, my favorite beadlock is ATX or Spyder Lock. They are pretty much identical minus the out ring design which is merely cosmetic. The outer ring is aluminum and very thick. I find that the inner bead is very tight and the design and function are far more superior to me than other beadlocks. If we were going off looks, I think a set of black Walker Evans or Trail Ready's with the fat ring look sweet!!
Really, I think beadlocks are worth it and I plan to have a set on my jeep soon. I think most beadlocks are well made and will do the job. If you want American made, look into Trail Readys. The last think I will say is don't buy steel rings or a steal rim beadlock. They aren't created equal to there aluminum big brothers.
Um...what?
12:51 pm
Club Trailmaster
March 13, 2015
Offline I ran the raceline steel on steel beadlocks without much issue. Will do again in the future but not something I would do on a daily driver.
Things I learned (specific to the wheels I had):
-Interco and pit bull tires have a extra thick beads so the rings were spaced out a little too far
-Carry extra hardware since they will occasionally fatigue with daily use and shear off on rocks (fatigue may have been due to the extra width of the bead)
-Lock ring failure on the highway isn't a big deal, easier than a blowout (tire just loses some pressure)
-You will feel the extra weight
-You will look cool
-Static balancing might require a ridiculous amount of lead
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