Beadlocks vs. Glued Tyres: Which Works Better for RC Crawling?
When getting into RC crawling—whether you are tackling forest trails or technical rock lines—one of the first questions that comes up is whether stock glued tyres are good enough or if upgrading to beadlock wheels is worth the money. In this guide, we break down the fundamental differences between glued and beadlock wheels, how to tune them, and the 5 key reasons why beadlocks are one of the best first upgrades for your crawler.
The Problem with Standard Glued Tyres vs beadlock
Most ready-to-run (RTR) crawlers come out of the box with standard 1.9-inch glued wheels. While they get you rolling, factory stock wheels tend to have several drawbacks:
Stiff Rubber Compounds: Factory tyres often lack the flexibility required to conform over rocks, roots, and slippery trail obstacles.
Fixed Internal Foams: Glued tyres rely on an internal foam insert sealed permanently to the rim. Once glued, you cannot easily change or trim the foam to adjust tire softness.
Glue Failure Under Pressure: Under heavy torque or hard binding, the glue bond can break, causing the tire to spin freely on the rim and lose traction.
What Are Beadlock Wheels?
Unlike glued wheels, beadlock wheels consist of a multi-piece assembly (typically a wheel face, rear ring, center ring, and hub). Instead of using tire glue, the outer tire bead is mechanically clamped between the wheel components, locking the tire securely in place.
5 Reasons to Upgrade to Beadlock Wheels
1. Superior Traction & Zero Tire Slip with Beadlock Wheels
The primary reason crawlers switch to beadlocks is pure holding power. Because the tire bead is physically clamped between metal or high-strength plastic rings, the tire cannot twist off or slip on the rim, regardless of how much torque your motor applies.
2. Full Customizability & Insert Tuning
Terrain varies, and so should your tire setup. Beadlocks allow you to quickly disassemble the wheel to swap or tune your inserts:
Foam vs. Silicone: You can swap traditional open-cell foams for silicone inserts (such as green soft silicone inserts) or run a combination of both.
Trimming for Deformation: Trimming the outer edges of silicone inserts allows the tread to conform better over uneven obstacles while keeping the sidewalls stable.
3. Hassle-Free Maintenance of Beadlock wheels for Vented Tyres
Running vented tyres improves tire squish and air movement, but driving through mud or water traps moisture inside:
With glued wheels, trapped water ruins the foam and cannot easily escape.
With beadlock tyres, you simply unbolt the rim, remove the inserts, squeeze out the water, clean everything, and bolt it back together.
4. Built-In Weight Tuning & Lower Center of Gravity
Adding low-down weight is crucial for crawler performance. Beadlocks make it easy to add weight directly inside the wheel structure:
You can swap the internal center rings for heavy brass rings.
Alternatively, you can wrap thin strips of roofing lead around the center ring before mounting the tire.
Benefits of Low-Down Wheel Weight:
Lower Center of Gravity: Keeps the chassis planted on steep inclines.
Better Sidehilling: Prevents sideways tipping on off-camber trails.
Increased Forward Bite: Weight bias on the front axle helps drag the rig up steep obstacles.
Fewer Rollovers: Keeps all four wheels glued to the terrain.
5. Completely Reusable & Cost-Effective
Glued wheels are essentially consumable items. Removing glued tyres usually requires boiling, microwaving, or applying heat guns—methods that frequently warp the rims or ruin the rubber. Beadlock wheels, on the other hand, last indefinitely. You can swap tyres as often as you like without damaging the wheels.
Summary
If you are looking to take your RC crawler’s trail performance to the next level, upgrading from stock glued rims to beadlock is a game-changer. They clamp tyres securely, allow easy foam and weight tuning, protect against water damage, and offer long-term reusability.
Watch the full breakdown on YouTube: Fatboys RC — Beadlocks vs Glued Tyres
Checkout the Crawler review and see what adding these tyres did
