Written By: Chris Geiger July
1999
Ever wish you could air
down your tires just a little more but did not because you were
worried about the tire coming off the wheel? Ever worry about
trail damage to your aluminum wheels causing a flat? Have you
ever had to unmount a tire and clean out the bead? 
The answer is bead locked wheels! For the last few years I
have been running American steel wheels but both of the last two
sets of wheels have developed small bends in them. I have
also had several instances where I lost a bead and had to stop to
fix it. It's not that hard to unseat the tire and clean the
bead but with bead locked wheels I could air down even further and
not worry about bead problems.
After
hearing a rumor of another truck rolling on a trail after loosing a
bead on a side hill I decided to invest in a set of Eagle aluminum
wheels with Champion bead locks. 
Bead locked wheels are a little
different than other wheels. To make them, Champion starts
with most any aluminum wheel of your choice. They cut off the
outer rim lip and weld a new flange inside the tire.
Installing tires on the new wheels was not hard but a
little different than standard wheels. First the outer ring
is unbolted and removed. Then the tire is placed onto the
rim. It is not necessary to use a tire mounting machine to
put the tire on. Just lay it on the rim. Then install
the ring and bolts. A few drops of oil on each bolt helps
extend the life of the bolts. Air up the tire and your done.
The outer ring prevents normal tire weights from being used so
balance weights must be placed on the inside of the wheel or use
stick-on weights.
The two piece design
allows for easy tire dismounting and removal too. To remove a
tire from a rim: Turn the tire upside down on the ground and use a
Highlift jack under a bumper to unseat the rear bead. Next
remove the ring and bolts and remove the tire from the rim by
lifting it off, no other tools needed! 
A recent trip to the
Rubicon trail in California gave an excellent opportunity to
test the new wheels on the trail. Most every truck in our
group of 15 trucks had one or more tire bead problems. Many
hours were spent dismounting tires and cleaning the beads.
The bead locks prevented mud, rocks and sticks from getting into
the bead and kept the tires on the bead while I drove along at 8
PSI. Dragging the wheels between narrow rock passages caused
the wheels to come in contact with the rocks numerous times.
I found it necessary to tighten the ring bolts at the end of the
trail as three of the bolts were a little loose as a result of the
rocks.
These wheels have performed
very well and prevented anything from getting into the beads.
I solidly recommend these wheels for anyone looking to get the most
out of their trail truck. |
|
Contact Info:
Champion Wheel
1671 N. Brawley ave Fresno, Ca 93722 (559) 275-5183 |
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