Mike, I hope I'm not late to the party on this, but I'm starting to become more and more of a fan of production beadlocks like the Trailready HD slim rings or the Raceline Monsters. Those two wheels probably have the best reputations of any beadlock available right now. But the only the thing I don't necessarily like about having a wheel with an aluminum body is that you can't hammer out a bend in the wheel like you can with steel. My DIY locks have been OK, with the exception of slow leaks, pinch flatting, and a bent outer ring.
Last wheeling trip, one of my outer rings bit into the tire so hard that it sliced the sidewall in four places... not all the way through, but deep enough to require vulcanizing. I'll admit that it was entirely preventable- I was trying to bounce my passenger front tire over a tall undercut rock and taking about a 40 foot running start... Nothing new, just being my usual foolish self.
Knowing that my driving style isn't likely to change, I want to come up with a better solution for outer rings. I want a wider ring in general, to prevent bending (not talking about coning here but actually denting the ring in from hard side hits) and also spread out the cutting force (when the tire gets pinched) over a greater surface area. I've found a supplier that has sheets of .375" 6061 aluminum for a surprisingly affordable price. .375 6061 Aluminum rings are about 5% stronger than a .250" mild steel ring, and don't rust when they get hit. .500" thick 6061 rings are about 40% stronger than the standard steel DIY beadlock ring, and still affordable. This solution would also let me keep my existing steel wheels, that I can hammer back to (mostly) round again if it's ever needed. Since nobody in the industry is offering something like this right now, I need to track down someone who can take a CAD file and come back with some cut rings.
Also there's a huge difference between a staun and a real beadlock. The staun does nothing to prevent the wheel from bending on hard hits. Sure you can run wheel stiffeners, but they just add to your overall costs.
So to answer the question, all DIY beadlocks are pretty much the same and probably aren't the right fit for your customers, since they have to pay labor on the work that goes into building the wheels. And I think there is definitely a market for a DIY kit with a weldable steel inner ring and a "bulletproof" 6061 outer ring. I know a lot of people, including myself, that are disappointed with their DIY beadlocks.
Last wheeling trip, one of my outer rings bit into the tire so hard that it sliced the sidewall in four places... not all the way through, but deep enough to require vulcanizing. I'll admit that it was entirely preventable- I was trying to bounce my passenger front tire over a tall undercut rock and taking about a 40 foot running start... Nothing new, just being my usual foolish self.
Knowing that my driving style isn't likely to change, I want to come up with a better solution for outer rings. I want a wider ring in general, to prevent bending (not talking about coning here but actually denting the ring in from hard side hits) and also spread out the cutting force (when the tire gets pinched) over a greater surface area. I've found a supplier that has sheets of .375" 6061 aluminum for a surprisingly affordable price. .375 6061 Aluminum rings are about 5% stronger than a .250" mild steel ring, and don't rust when they get hit. .500" thick 6061 rings are about 40% stronger than the standard steel DIY beadlock ring, and still affordable. This solution would also let me keep my existing steel wheels, that I can hammer back to (mostly) round again if it's ever needed. Since nobody in the industry is offering something like this right now, I need to track down someone who can take a CAD file and come back with some cut rings.
Also there's a huge difference between a staun and a real beadlock. The staun does nothing to prevent the wheel from bending on hard hits. Sure you can run wheel stiffeners, but they just add to your overall costs.
So to answer the question, all DIY beadlocks are pretty much the same and probably aren't the right fit for your customers, since they have to pay labor on the work that goes into building the wheels. And I think there is definitely a market for a DIY kit with a weldable steel inner ring and a "bulletproof" 6061 outer ring. I know a lot of people, including myself, that are disappointed with their DIY beadlocks.
