Beadlock Wheels

Beadlocks

So you’ve seen some bead-locks out on the trail.  Maybe you’ve even had problems with your tire popping off the bead, and you’re hoping that a good set of beadlocks will fix your problem.  First off, it’s important to understand that bead-locks are made primarily to help keep your tire on the bead when it’s at lower pressures.  By lower pressures we don’t mean 18psi, we mean lower then 10psi.  We actually run our beadlocks sometimes without valve stems in the tire!  So unless you actually plan on deflating your tires, you likely don’t need real bead-locks.

However, even if you aren’t running at really low pressure, sometimes it’s good to have a set of real beadlocks if you do a lot of Baja style racing.  In these harsh conditions when you’re jumping, crawling, and accelerating rapidly, it’s important to keep your tires on their beads.  Reality is though; in Baja they serve another purpose too.  Bead-locks by their very clamping nature help keep the tire from spinning on the wheel as well, because the tire is literally sandwiched in between two metal plates and bolted snugly together.

Also, bear in mind that beadlocks can be very dangerous to have on the highway, and are not street legal.  A big part of this is because bead-locks require a lot of maintenance to make sure that they are always in sound working order.  You constantly need to torque and recheck all of the bolts, and plan on replacing them at least annually to be safe.

Staun Inflatable Bead-locks

So, what if you’ve determined that you still want beadlocks, but you don’t want the maintenance?  One company has come out with a new solution.  Staun, previously known for their great tire deflators has introduced the Staun Inflatable bead-locks.  This innovative design by Staun acts sort of like a tube for your tire.  They inflate and deflate separately from your tire, and once inflated, these beadlocks always exhort the same sort of outward force you get from a regularly inflated tire. 

The Staun Inflatable bead-locks require that you install a second valve stem on your wheel to inflate them.  Users of these types of beadlocks tend to like them, and don’t require the significant maintenance that normal bead-locks do.  Since the Staun Inflatable beadlocks don’t have any external parts, and obvious points of failure like traditional bead-locks they are street legal.

However, there are some drawbacks.  There are a few common complaints that can be found online.  One is that with the way the air valve is setup on them, it takes longer to air up/down.  Another complaint is that installation can be pretty difficult, and since you have to drill your wheel for a second valve stem, if you make a mistake, you’ve just ruined your wheel.  The last concern with having these sorts of beadlocks is that you lose the benefit of the ring on regular bead-locks.  Without the ring found on normal beadlocks you risk your rim getting bent, and it can become quite scuffed up.  Despite that, if you want bead-locks with great performance that are street legal, the Staun Inflatable Beadlocks are the way to go.