Wheel balancing

I remember as i kid, growing up in tramendously hilly mountinous area in Wales that when i was flying down massive hills i would notice that my wheels would kind of huumm, suggesting that they were not balanced.
Ever since then i've used a reflector on the opposite side of the Valve which causes the imbalance, to kinda re-balance the wheel a little bit.
On my current bike i turned it upside down, spun the wheels to the max in the lowest cog and adjusted the balance by wrapping a small slither of lead around a spoke untill the humm went away. I can proudly say my wheels are almost perfectly balanced. doesnt make a huge difference at normal speeds but it just annoys me to think my wheels are umbalanced.

Does anyone else do this ? or is it me being totally perfectionist. when your flying at 30mph it does make quite a difference i think.

• my legs fall off if i go 30mph fixed.......
  and
  
• I'd have to turn down my ipod.
  
  

Do the TdF riders have reflectors ?

It's excessive. Rim designers and wheel designers know about this and a lot of rims just take it into account. My Fulcrum wheelset on the geared bike has extra bits cut-out on the valve side to make it lighter there, so that when you factor in the valve it's all even stevens.

But what if you opt for a longer- or shorter-valved innertube for some reason?
Then you're just screwed.

I guess so.

Maybe all rims should come pre-drilled with user-removable pop-out sections so you can balance with ease. Think of the cool whistling noise you could muster too…

Or else, free packs of bubble gum.