The Beadlock Debate: do they hold up to today's brushless systems?

[kdvanb]

Title says it all....

Now discuss

[1911kevin]

I never had a set do me good. Put a set on my original chassis slash with proline switches, had to glue them. Got a set premounted with bowties, didn't work good at all.

If someone can list a process to making beadlocks work, I'm all ears.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I927 using Tapatalk 2

[zippogeek]

Title says it all....

THEY'D BETTER! I just shelled out a pile of jack on Axial beadlocks and Trencher 40s for my Maxx Brushless. I will not be happy if my investment is for nothin...

[Wolfslash16]

I like Beadlocks. I have them on my Slayer (Like a Slash ) and I havn't had a problem yet. I really like them. They are heavy, but I havn;t had any issues with them coming of.

[kdvanb]

I like Beadlocks. I have them on my Slayer (Like a Slash ) and I havn't had a problem yet. I really like them. They are heavy, but I havn;t had any issues with them coming of.

Are you just running the 3.3?
Or are you using like a os .18?

[Wolfslash16]

Just the 3.3 Ya, I know, that's not enough power to spin them off. But hey, it sounds cool.

[kdvanb]

Just the 3.3 Ya, I know, that's not enough power to spin them off. But hey, it sounds cool.

LOL
Ya like 45mph..
I so want a nitro next though
You can see I've done my research

[case182]

Have always glued tires. Picked up a set of Pro-line beadlocks this week. Get to test them out this weekend. Sure hope they hold up

[Wolfslash16]

Ya like 45mph..

*cough* 50mph *cough*

P.S If you have any nitro/Slayer question, pm me. I've been to the end of the world and back with nitros.


Anyway, back to the topic, beadlocks can be a pain to put together, each wheel has 6 screws with like a inch long thread on them. It takes almost 10 min just to put one tire together.

[kdvanb]

*cough* 50mph *cough*

P.S If you have any nitro/Slayer question, pm me. I've been to the end of the world and back with nitros.


Anyway, back to the topic, beadlocks can be a pain to put together, each wheel has 6 screws with like a inch long thread on them. It takes almost 10 min just to put one tire together.

Cough cough
That's what traxxas claims
Cough

......

Wow that's awile
I spent 10 minutes glueing up two tires
(not including taking off the mold release residue, just the glue part)

[RallySoob]

I have only tried the proline bead locks... I have had 5 sets in all... bought 2 used sets and 3 new. all were epic vers but one was renegade. All were ran on 3S batteries using vxl system and every single set failed one me. They would 'ALL' lose grip of the bead thus letting parts of it slip out. They all got extremely wobbly after hard use...not sure why but even if the bead hadn't broke yet the wheel still wobbles like its severely out of balance imo. I will never use headlocks again unless someone can really vouch for them and with 3S capability. I ended up trying to glue them tires into the bead locks and it held the bead but was so out of balance that I threw them away. All of them! swear to jebus

Ive had Hiper Tech3 headlocks on my honda 450r quad and they are awesome. They are my favorite wheels by far. A little heavier than douglas alum but lighter than alum bead locks & stronger. Someone should make RC parts out of the same plastic/carbon fiber mold that Hiper Technology uses. Its super strong, light and looks like black plastic. I bet its way stronger than any composite we have seen on an RC car. But the wheels are super expensive..like 350$ each vs normal 60-100$ wheels


look close at the material used to make them...

[rag6]

Those are some cool wheels!

I have had no problems on 2s with proline bead locks. Never tried to use 3s as I was racing. I did a weight lowering thread on them, and got the weight down to almost the same as a glued rim. I would not use 3s on them and would not expect them to hold with that kind of power. Sad that you bought 5 sets before figuring it out the first or second time. I hate blindly throwing away money like that. On 2s, they can hold up to todays brushless power. They were designed for racers to save money in the long run, and 99.5% of all tracks will have a 2s limit. They simply are not designed for and should not be expect to, hold up to 3s. Thats my view...

[billy-bones]

I think these people having so many problem's aren't mounting them right.
Just like I said in another post,some tires cant be mounted on bead locks,like my goose bumps,so I glued them.
And I have seen them both fail under the right conditions.
And if necessary,I can dismount one set,and remount another set of tires on bead locks in ten minutes(try that with glued)
Again,I have 12 bead locks and 18 glued,I purchased all the bead locks,and about 12 of the glued,really cant remember where the other 6 glued rims came from honestly.Oh ya,a guy I bought a truck from gave them to me ,since he had replaced them with bead locks,and wouldn't let me have the bead locks.
What's the best,personal choice.
What's my favorite,Bead locks 100%

[tachikoma1373]

only had 2 sets of beadlocks myself and my experience is one that I have seen others mention:

Proline beadlocks + proline tyres = No glue required
Proline beadlocks + other tyres = glue most definitely required

[billy-bones]

That's the best and easiest way to put it,good job,I just don't put anything but pro line tires on pro line bl's

only had 2 sets of beadlocks myself and my experience is one that I have seen others mention:

Proline beadlocks + proline tyres = No glue required
Proline beadlocks + other tyres = glue most definitely required

[kdvanb]

Those are some cool wheels!

I have had no problems on 2s with proline bead locks. Never tried to use 3s as I was racing. I did a weight lowering thread on them, and got the weight down to almost the same as a glued rim. I would not use 3s on them and would not expect them to hold with that kind of power. Sad that you bought 5 sets before figuring it out the first or second time. I hate blindly throwing away money like that. On 2s, they can hold up to todays brushless power. They were designed for racers to save money in the long run, and 99.5% of all tracks will have a 2s limit. They simply are not designed for and should not be expect to, hold up to 3s. Thats my view...

Yeah
The owner at my LHS told me they could only hold up on brushed systems...
What about a truck geared for 55mph on 2s
Would the blow up then ?

[rag6]

All I can say is that they will hold @ 40, and mine were subjected to about as much 2s force that you can get running on super high traction carpet, on a small tight track, with a 4pole castle system. Never went 55 with them. In fact it will be very hard to get a slash going that fast on 2s...

[orca44]

As stated above, if you use Proline tires on Proline beadlocks, you can and should be able to keep the tires on the wheels.

I run several different tires, Badlands, Gladiators, Trenchers, Suburbs and Slingshots mounted on my Proline Split six wheels. I tape all of my tires all of the time as well as balanceing them. I also use carbon fiber rings instead of the metal ones.

Both of my Slash's have a Castlel 4 pole 5700 kv motor, one geared @ 18/90 the other @ 19/90. I run 2s most of the time and the speeds are 41.9 and 44.2 respectively.

On 3s with 19/90, 52.4 has been my top speed and did not have a tire come from a wheel.

I did have a problem keeping the JConcepts barcodes on the Proline Split six beadlocks, almost the same tire as the Suburbs but the barcodes would just not stay on the Proline beadlock wheel.

[orca44]

THEY'D BETTER! I just shelled out a pile of jack on Axial beadlocks and Trencher 40s for my Maxx Brushless. I will not be happy if my investment is for nothin...

I have set of Axial beadlocks and could not keep the Proline Trencher 40 series tires on the Axial wheels for my E Revo. I had to use the Axial tires for the Axial beadlocks.

Maybe you will have better luck than I did.... Just saying they didn't work for me....

[RallySoob]

after watching videos on youtube of several slash with headlocks, it seems they are all out of balance... Some people don't notice it, the rest are in denial because they like the looks. But they are heavy and horribly out of balance...no way around it. Disagree? post a video of your back wheels going through the power curve so we can all see them wobble :P

[skye]

[orca44]

Here is a pic of the Badlands mounted on Split Six beadlocks with carbon fiber rings.....

I'll see if I can get a vid of the rear tires in motion.

[Basher 1]

Title says it all....

Now discuss

I’ve owned a couple of different sets of Beadlocks and NEVER had a set stay together more than a couple of minutes. Beadlocks are great for Crawlers and scale trucks but they have no place on a race truck or anything with major power.

Tires come off too easily and they weight a ton comparedto standard wheels. Get a normal run of the mill set you can glue the tires to and be happy.

As for the guy with the eadlocks on the brusless Maxx. I thikn you are going to be hugly dissapointed. I’d turn them around and sell them before ever mounting a tire.

I learned the hard way as well.

[billy-bones]

This is hard for me,because I don't like pro line. But I have seen them put up will 3s 3800kv,and never come off.
Fact is if you have a pro line tire come off a pro line bead lock,you either over tighten it and cut the tire,or didn't use the proper tightening sequence.
And again,I'm probable one of the biggest pro line haters out there.

I’ve owned a couple of different sets of Beadlocks and NEVER had a set stay together more than a couple of minutes. Beadlocks are great for Crawlers and scale trucks but they have no place on a race truck or anything with major power.

Tires come off too easily and they weight a ton comparedto standard wheels. Get a normal run of the mill set you can glue the tires to and be happy.

As for the guy with the eadlocks on the brusless Maxx. I thikn you are going to be hugly dissapointed. I’d turn them around and sell them before ever mounting a tire.

I learned the hard way as well.

[orca44]

I have to disagree with Basher on this one... My Badlands mounted on Splitsix beadlocks with the carbon fiber rings weigh 138 grams and Badlands mounted on traditional wheels weigh 127 grams.

I have Badlands, Trenchers, Gladiators, Sling Shots and Surburbs all mounted on Split Six wheels and have not had a tire come off a wheel yet!

I did put a set of JConsepts clay tires on the Split Six beadlocks and they did not stay on the wheel, just not a good match.
And my experience has been to keep the maker of the tire matched to the maker of the wheel.

[rag6]

I will back up orca44. I also made a thread showing how to get a proline split 6 beadlock down to within a 1/2 ouce each or less, of a glued split 6. I took off about 40% of the plastic rim material, and added rc carbonworks carbon fiber rings(which is what I think is in the pics above).
The rims stayed true, even with that material removed. I am sure if you cartwheel any plastic rim at 40 mph it will bend and wobble, but if you can drive without the big mishaps, there is no problem. Here is the thread of what I did:

http://traxxas.com/forums/showthread...s-on-a-diet...

[judgegixxer]

I've recently purchased a set of Proline beadlocks and proline paddles. Using them in snow maybe 1/2hour so far on 3S 2400kv geared 25/76. I'd say they are spinning in the mid 40mph neighborhood. I've noticed the inside lopro sidewall falling behind the hipro sidewall on the rims already.

[billy-bones]

1/2 hour on 3s,with 1/8 scale motor,in the snow,at 40mph,with no glue, and all you have to do is loosen some screws and re set the tire.
I think that's a compliment to the wheel not a put down.

I've recently purchased a set of Proline beadlocks and proline paddles. Using them in snow maybe 1/2hour so far on 3S 2400kv geared 25/76. I'd say they are spinning in the mid 40mph neighborhood. I've noticed the inside lopro sidewall falling behind the hipro sidewall on the rims already.

[judgegixxer]

1/2 hour on 3s,with 1/8 scale motor,in the snow,at 40mph,with no glue, and all you have to do is loosen some screws and re set the tire.
I think that's a compliment to the wheel not a put down.

Wasn't trying to put them down. Just stating my experience with them. I've never had them before so not really knowing what to expect.... I do know that the mounting of tires is less painful then dealing with glueing my fingers (gloved of course) together which seems to always happen no matter how hard I try not to. For what it's worth here is a vid I threw together of the first try of beadlocks with paddles. I must admit they work pretty good as far as I'm concerned.

[billy-bones]

WoW cool,how cold is it their?
That video has to prove pro line rims can take some power.

Wasn't trying to put them down. Just stating my experience with them. I've never had them before so not really knowing what to expect.... I do know that the mounting of tires is less painful then dealing with glueing my fingers (gloved of course) together which seems to always happen no matter how hard I try not to. For what it's worth here is a vid I threw together of the first try of beadlocks with paddles. I must admit they work pretty good as far as I'm concerned.

[judgegixxer]

It was -10 celsius or 14 fahrenheit when I did that.

[orca44]

I am unable to view your video... Could you possibly post a link?

[Next perce]

Nevermind I found one that will suit me.

[QUOTE=billy-bones;5422173]I think these people having so many problem's aren't mounting them right.

I am looking for an up to date youtube on how to put beadlocks together. Any suggestions? Saw a couple on youtube that were terrible.

[orca44]

Most of the instructions that come with the beadlocks (Proline etc) provide good info on how to do the task.....

[judgegixxer]

I am unable to view your video... Could you possibly post a link?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gnsC...krKwkg&index=1

[orca44]

Thanks for the link.... Nice snow video... I don't see snow where I live. We do get some snow in the local mountains, just have never gone when the snow is present.

We do go to Glamis sand dunes which is alot of fun....

[zippogeek]

Most of the instructions that come with the beadlocks (Proline etc) provide good info on how to do the task.....

I've got the Axial 3.8 monster truck beadlocks and they were a breeze to mount with my Trenchers. Granted, I cheated a little and used a 4V mini nut driver (48 screws! )

[orca44]

I used a mini elect screw gun also to install all thoes screws on the Axial wheels...To me it was still a chore.

[rag6]

I used a normal hex driver. After the first couple of times, I built up my beadlock mounting muscles and my hands dont get tired now 8°). If that elec driver spins too fast, it could heat up the plastic and strip them out, so be careful.

[orca44]

10-4 on turn too fast and warm up the plastic of which I did way back when I didn't know or pay attention to. That is why I now use the Skill screw gun. Nice slow speed with good torque, but no slipper clutch so I still must handle with care....

But thanks for the caution Mr beadlock forearms