If you thought this article was for "full-size" rock crawling wheels, sorry to disappoint. However,  read on, you might just enjoy a whole new sport with R/C rock crawling.  These beadlocks from Stormer Hobbies are quite awesome.  They lock BOTH inner and outer beads of T or Emaxx tires for glue free and trouble free tire mounting.  I used these bead locked wheels on a rock crawling Emaxx (look for upcoming review on the Emaxx soon) and boy was it nice not to have to glue tires to wheels.  It also saves time and aggravation by not having to boil your wheels and tires to remove old tires if you want to re-use your wheels. 

The Stormer Maximizer Beadlocks come in a variety of styles and colors including aluminum.  I chose the five hole pattern, blue center, composite wheels.  Stormer backs these with a lifetime warranty against breakage.  You can get them in red, blue, purple, and black as far as the color choices go.  There are three choices of wheel style in composite and aluminum.  The choice of styles for composite wheels are Solid Center, Five Hole Center, and Five Spoke Center.  The aluminum wheel choices are Solid Center, Six Hole Center, and Five Spoke Center.  Also, now available is a new, wide offset faceplate for the composite wheels which widens the stance of the truck.  It is only available in one style (sort of a multi-spoke design) , but includes silver with the choice of colors listed above. 

Here are a few shots of the Stormer Maximizer Beadlocks disassembled and ready for installation on the Emaxx.  They come packaged in pairs and include detailed instructions which are short and to the point (not a bunch of elaborate non-sense).  In addition you'll also find a set of nice, stainless steel allen head screws included for assembly.

Sold in package pairs with all hardware and instructions. Click for full size image	All wheel parts ready for assembly, small bag has stainless screws. Click for full size image
Instructions and sticker included with each pair of wheels. Click for full size image	The thumbnail is "smooshed" a bit, but here is everything in one shot. Click for full size image

A quick step by step by step walk through and these beadlocks are ready for some abuse!  They provide an extremely strong grip on the beads and allow zero slippage (NOTE: On some of the new pro-line tires, the beads are thinner and you will need a different set of internal rings that are thicker for the beadlocks to work correctly).  

Face installed and ready for screws. Click for full size image	Complete wheel ready for use. Click for full size image

After some dirt hill climbing, and some rock crawling at the local track and construction sites, the wheels worked perfectly.  I may want a little extra width for the rock crawling, so I think a set of the Wide Offset Center are in the Emaxx's future.  The beadlocks do weigh a little more than a stock wheel and they do not come with air holes, so if you want to be able to release the air pressure from the tires you need to make holes in the "tube" and the plastic inner rings.  Or (this is my preferred method) make three or four 1/8" holes in the center tread of the tires, equally spacing them around the circumference.  This method will use centrifugal force when you spin the tires, forcing dirt and water back out of the tires. 

Following are a couple of pics with the first showing the wheels and tires mounted and the next showing them mounted on the Emaxx. I have also included a few action shots of the rock crawling done using the Stormer Maximizer Beadlocks. 

Tires mounted on beadlocks. Click for full size image	Wheels on Emaxx. Click for full size image
Going up! Click for full size image	Going down! Click for full size image

Any questions or comments regarding this article, please feel free to email me:

Glenn

depdog@off-road.com

Any questions or comments regarding this product, please direct to:

 STORMER HOBBIES

Stormer Hobbies

P.O. Box 126

Glasgow Montana  59230-0126

1-800-255-7223

Install the black inner plastic rings completely on the inside of the tires, making sure the foam is centered in the tire. Click for full size image	Next install the "tube" inside of the plastic rings, making sure not to pinch the tire bead inside of the rings. Click for full size image
"Tube" installed and ready for face plate (front view). Click for full size image	"Tube" installed and ready for face plate (rear view). Click for full size image