Staun's Stealthy Bead Locks

Staun's internal bead locks aren't new, but many fourwheelers aren't aware of them. We think this is a shame because unlike conventional bead lock rims, Staun's internal bead locks are street legal pretty much everywhere. Other advantages include: modification requires only one extra valve stem hole drilled into your existing wheel, seats both beads at the same time, can function as run flat, allowing you to run on 0 psi, can be transferred from one wheel to another so a bent rim doesn't mean you lose the investment in your bead lock.

The Staun inner bead lock uses a belted inner tube to hold both tire beads firmly against the wheel rim.

Here you can see the difference between the Staun inner bead lock vs. a conventional ring bead lock at zero psi. Notice how the Staun protects the tire from rim damage. Driving with zero psi is very feasible with the Staun bead lock. Doing the same with the conventional bead lock would destroy the tire very quickly.

Do conventional bead lock wheel rings have any advantages over the internal bead locks? Yes. For starters, they protect the valve stems. And because they mount externally, it's easy to spot any problems and deal with them before the bead locks fail (eg: loose or broken bolts). But their biggest (marketing) advantage is probably the fact that they look cool and that's why they're so popular. Even the non-functional, "bead lock-style" rims are popular!

From the standpoint of your average fourwheeler whose 4x4 has to serve as a daily driver and weekend toy, the Staun bead locks make far more sense than a bead lock ring. For starters, you're not going to get busted for driving with them on the highway. For that matter, no one will even know you've got them installed. And although the price is close to USD$200 per wheel, it is still very competitive because it seats BOTH beads of the tire. In other words, that USD$200 needs to be compared against the price of TWO bead lock rings, and then also factor in the cost of converting your existing wheel to use the rings, or the price of a completely new wheel plus two-ring combination. And finally, since money is and will always be a constraint for Joe Average, if you ever damage your wheel, you can simply move the internal bead lock tube into a new wheel. Sitting inside the tire, the odds of the bead lock tube ever sustaining fourwheeling damage is very low. In contrast, the external bead lock ring is always exposed to damage.