Selling Beadlocks - - Styling & Performance

Selling Beadlocks

Publish date: Mar 1, 2005
By: Tom Morr
Source: Off-Road Business

Mickey Thompson Classic Lock wheels feature an added beadlock-type ring. It gives the look and feel of a real beadlock without the expense. Its available in sizes 15x8, 15x10, 16x8, 16x10.

Beadlock wheels are mandatory gear for hardcore off-roading. Whether crawling over boulders, clearing a mud pit or blasting through the desert, no self-respecting master of his terrain is caught without beadlocks. In fact, multiple bolts protruding through wheel rings are so synonymous with off-road testosterone that a cottage industry of faux "bead-look" street wheels now capitalize on this "extreme" style. Whether customers want the real deal or just the look, the demand is there. We quizzed a few prominent beadlock manufacturers to see how retailers can profit from selling beadlocks. Call it the lowdown on tire lock-down if you will.

GO-FAST RACING ROOTS A few years before beadlocks became popular for off-road tire/wheel retention, the technology was developed for drag racers and dirt-track roundy-rounders. Champion Wheel Co., one company that's been in the off-road beadlock biz for decades, introduced its sprint-car applications in 1985. A year later, the company began beadlocking Suzuki quad wheels. By the late-eighties, off-road buggy beadlocks were available. Champion president Milan Garrett says, "The original advantage for the off-road cars was that beadlocks allowed you drive on a flat tire to the next checkpoint without the tire coming loose."

American Racing machined the detail of a beadlock into the outside flange. This wheel is their one-piece forged Sidewinder wheel.

More recently, recreational off-pavement enthusiasts embraced "aired-down" traction advantages: If lowering tire pressure a little increased the tires' footprint and sidewall flex to improve traction, then releasing most of the pressure should provide even greater grip. Unfortunately, too much throttle, sideload on the tires, or grippy traction can cause the rubber to roll off the rim. The hardcore crowd "tired" of remounting rubber on rims in remote areas: Tie-down straps contained the tire around the wheel, potentially dangerous ether explosions sucked internal air out to pop the tire back on the bead and a remote air source was required to restore pressure. Allied Wheel president Greg Mulkey adamantly advises against using ether to mount a tire: "It can blow wheels apart, turning them into lethal weapons."

Beadlocks quickly became the hot setup for off-roaders who ran low pressures and subjected their tires to high sideloads in the dunes. Granted, beadlocks are higher maintenance than standard wheels. They're often more expensive, take longer to mount, their bolts require regular inspection and torque checking and they can be prone to air leakage. But beadlocks can reliably allow single-digit tire pressures to be run, so the additional garage time is outweighed by the improved off-road performance.

The Bassett ring style wide-five wheel beadlock utilizes 100% spun-form shells and rings, which are stronger, lighter and have less runout than roll-formed beadlock wheels.

RETAILER ADVANTAGES Why sell beadlocks? OMF president Tim Orchard laughs. "Profit for all of us," he says. In general, successful off-road shops offer their customers a spectrum of possibilities, from true beadlocks to the "bead-look" street locks. Many beadlock manufacturers offer ready-made wheels in a variety of popular sizes, and most will convert existing wheels to beadlocks as long as those wheels meet certain criteria. Larry Trim, president of TrailReady, says, "A shop can be confident that we can build anything they need. This is particularly beneficial to anyone building a totally custom rig."

Dealer arrangements obviously vary among manufacturers. Champion, OMF and TrailReady are examples of companies that look for storefront retailers who sell off-road products full-time.

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Tom Morr

Articles by Tom Morr

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Tom Morr

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