Regarding wheel balance, I haven't written about this here before, but
I've received comments asking:
「Should wheel balancing be done?」
「Should it be done on all wheels? (aluminum rims vs. carbon rims)」
「What are the merits and demerits of balancing?」
Also, thank you for being a fan of the crab beam. That's much appreciated.
You mentioned "as long as it doesn't violate the Meshinotane Code," which makes this an easy question to answer since it definitely doesn't.
While it wasn't a job I personally handled,
I once saw a wooden disc wheel with absolutely terrible wheel balance
where the wobbling sensation during rotation really affected the riding feel.
Wood is a material with significant density variations in different sections,
so that's probably what caused it.
Even though the disc wheel was on the lighter side for that type,
we carefully applied weights to get to a reasonably smooth riding feel,
but it ended up becoming as heavy as a standard disc wheel
and looked absolutely terrible in the end.
However, I don't think ordinary wheels need to be concerned with balance to that degree.
At least Mavic and Campagnolo (Fulcrum) wheels are designed to be balanced
around the valve hole area and the opposite side of the rim.
Even so, if you do feel wobbling, it's mainly during high-speed descents.
We're talking about speeds of 60 km/h, 70 km/h, or higher.
On flat group rides, even if you're not at world professional level,
you might average around 50 km/h or slightly more.
At those speeds, I don't think you'd notice poor wheel balance at all, especially while pedaling.
Only when you really pick up speed on a descent might you sense weight imbalance
within the wheel's vibration.
At that point, you might be spending more time not pedaling anyway,
making you even more sensitive to it.
If you correct the wheel balance at that speed, you can avoid or nearly eliminate the wobbling sensation, and
the basic method for correction is「adding weights to the outer rim」.
When you consider what proportion of your total riding time involves conditions or speeds
where you can clearly feel poor wheel balance,
it seems like it doesn't have much practical effectiveness.
※The image is unrelated to the article content.
I don't want to add even 10g or 5g of weight to the rim for such limited situations.
That said, it's true that most wheels have room for balancing work.
I'm not denying that, and I don't deny the act of balancing itself either.
I've been planning to write here sometime about "How much meaning does hub rotation lightness really have?" which is somewhat related.
Wheel balancing, when you really get into it, can change significantly even if the valve length changes slightly.
Also, with lighter rims, even 1g of weight imbalance has a larger effect.
But the fact that lighter rims tend to vibrate more on descents—while some of it is due to sensitivity to balance issues—is basically just because the rim has lower rigidity.
Even if you balance the wheel to reduce straight-line wobbling,
the flex in corners won't change.
With such a light rim, all the more reason not to add weight to the outer edges.
Wheel balancing doesn't violate the Meshinotane Code because
our shop doesn't have a business model where we charge for wheel balancing services.
That said, I'm not denying that such services exist elsewhere.
I haven't yet seen a wheel where descents feel scary due to wheel balance issues
(and definitely not due to lack of lateral stiffness).
Maybe that wooden disc wheel I mentioned earlier.
I imagine manufacturers also put reasonable care into wheel balance during production.
So, to summarize wheel balancing:
The merit is reduced wobbling, the demerit is increased weight on the outer rim,
and whether it should be done depends on the individual—
but wheels that absolutely must be balanced are extremely rare, in my opinion.
I've received comments asking:
「Should wheel balancing be done?」
「Should it be done on all wheels? (aluminum rims vs. carbon rims)」
「What are the merits and demerits of balancing?」
Also, thank you for being a fan of the crab beam. That's much appreciated.
You mentioned "as long as it doesn't violate the Meshinotane Code," which makes this an easy question to answer since it definitely doesn't.
While it wasn't a job I personally handled,
I once saw a wooden disc wheel with absolutely terrible wheel balance
where the wobbling sensation during rotation really affected the riding feel.
Wood is a material with significant density variations in different sections,
so that's probably what caused it.
Even though the disc wheel was on the lighter side for that type,
we carefully applied weights to get to a reasonably smooth riding feel,
but it ended up becoming as heavy as a standard disc wheel
and looked absolutely terrible in the end.
However, I don't think ordinary wheels need to be concerned with balance to that degree.
At least Mavic and Campagnolo (Fulcrum) wheels are designed to be balanced
around the valve hole area and the opposite side of the rim.
Even so, if you do feel wobbling, it's mainly during high-speed descents.
We're talking about speeds of 60 km/h, 70 km/h, or higher.
On flat group rides, even if you're not at world professional level,
you might average around 50 km/h or slightly more.
At those speeds, I don't think you'd notice poor wheel balance at all, especially while pedaling.
Only when you really pick up speed on a descent might you sense weight imbalance
within the wheel's vibration.
At that point, you might be spending more time not pedaling anyway,
making you even more sensitive to it.
If you correct the wheel balance at that speed, you can avoid or nearly eliminate the wobbling sensation, and
the basic method for correction is「adding weights to the outer rim」.
When you consider what proportion of your total riding time involves conditions or speeds
where you can clearly feel poor wheel balance,
it seems like it doesn't have much practical effectiveness.
※The image is unrelated to the article content.
I don't want to add even 10g or 5g of weight to the rim for such limited situations.
That said, it's true that most wheels have room for balancing work.
I'm not denying that, and I don't deny the act of balancing itself either.
I've been planning to write here sometime about "How much meaning does hub rotation lightness really have?" which is somewhat related.
Wheel balancing, when you really get into it, can change significantly even if the valve length changes slightly.
Also, with lighter rims, even 1g of weight imbalance has a larger effect.
But the fact that lighter rims tend to vibrate more on descents—while some of it is due to sensitivity to balance issues—is basically just because the rim has lower rigidity.
Even if you balance the wheel to reduce straight-line wobbling,
the flex in corners won't change.
With such a light rim, all the more reason not to add weight to the outer edges.
Wheel balancing doesn't violate the Meshinotane Code because
our shop doesn't have a business model where we charge for wheel balancing services.
That said, I'm not denying that such services exist elsewhere.
I haven't yet seen a wheel where descents feel scary due to wheel balance issues
(and definitely not due to lack of lateral stiffness).
Maybe that wooden disc wheel I mentioned earlier.
I imagine manufacturers also put reasonable care into wheel balance during production.
So, to summarize wheel balancing:
The merit is reduced wobbling, the demerit is increased weight on the outer rim,
and whether it should be done depends on the individual—
but wheels that absolutely must be balanced are extremely rare, in my opinion.