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Product Focus: Atlas WB Lite

In the world of wheel balancers, few names are as renowned as Atlas Equipment. The American brand has been at the forefront of the industry for over four decades, offering a range of garage equipment from two-post lifts to tyre changers (and everything in between). Its products have proven themselves in garages across the US… and they’re now a force to be reckoned with here in the UK too.

Atlas isn’t a budget brand – but its WB Lite wheel balancer offers Atlas quality and user friendliness at an affordable price point. £995.00 excluding VAT, to be precise. We’re covering the model in-depth in this article, helping you decide whether or not it’s for you.

Proven durability & essential features

The WB Lite is all about being user friendly and durable. It’s not the most feature-rich wheel balancer out there (nor would you expect it to be given its sub-£1,000 price tag), but it has been extremely well designed and built to last. It comes with a 12-month parts and labour warranty for extra peace of mind, too.

It’s a hand-spin machine and does without automatic data entry, but the WB Lite still has all the essential features you’d expect from an Atlas product. It can balance rims up to 26” in diameter, for starters – more than an equivalent Redback machine. It also has static, steel, ALU and motorcycle balancing modes and a user-friendly brake pedal, making it easy to place wheel weights exactly where they’re needed.

Super compact

Another key attribute of the WB Lite is its compactness. Because it’s hand-spin and doesn’t need a hood, this machine is remarkably small – it’s the smallest in the Atlas range, in fact. This makes it ideal for crowded workshops where space is at a premium, and makes it the perfect solution for mobile installations. If you’re looking to carry out tyre changing and wheel balancing in the field, the WB Lite is the ideal sidekick. It can operate on single phase, 230V, or on 12V DC with the included adaptor.

Order yours today

Sold on the WB Lite wheel balancer from Atlas? We don’t blame you! You can get yours online from Tyre Bay Direct, with delivery available nationwide.

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Product Focus: Redback 109

The world of wheel balancing machines is a crowded one. With so many manufacturers vying for your attention with slick new features and technical enhancements, it can be tricky for those starting out to determine which brand to go for… let alone which model.

The thing is, not everyone needs dozens of modes and lightning-fast automatic balancing. If you’re looking to add wheel balancing to your workshop’s repertoire for the first time, starting out with a simpler machine may be your best bet.

That’s where Redback comes in.

About the 109 wheel balancer

Redback is one of Britain’s favourite entry-level garage equipment brands, offering a wide variety of products including tyre changers, lifts and, of course, wheel balancers. Most affordable among its range of balancers is the RB109, priced at just £525.00 excluding VAT.

So, what does it have to offer? Quite a lot, as it happens. Although it requires a manual hand spin to get it started (and you have to input the rim data manually), it’s still packed with a range of useful features.

First off, it supports rims up to 24” in diameter – more than enough to balance the vast majority of car, 4×4 and van wheels. It also features static, steel and ALU balancing modes, making it easy to get accurate results every time. Plus, the brake pedal allows you to quickly bring the wheel to a halt for precise wheel weight placement.

Its simplicity gives it another key advantage. Devoid of a bulky lowering hood, the 109 is one of the most compact wheel balancers around, making it perfect for cosy garages and mobile installations.

Assembly is simple, and it uses a standard 13 amp, three-pin plug. Plus, buying through Tyre Bay Direct means you’ll have access to our friendly team whenever you need. From spare parts supply to technical advice, our experts will only ever be a phone call away.

Order yours online today

It’s never been easier to get up and running with wheel balancing. Order your Redback 109 online today or explore our complete range of Redback wheel balancers, all of which are available to order with PayPal Pay in 3!

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Why Choose a Redback Wheel Balancer?

If you’re just starting your business, want to branch out into wheel balancing for the first time or plan to start a mobile tyre fitting and wheel balancing operation, Redback should be your first port of call.

Available in the UK exclusively from Tyre Bay Direct, Redback is one of the nation’s favourite budget brands. All its products have been created and refined based on feedback from those in the trade, so you can be sure you’re getting a machine that does everything you need it to.

Here are just a few standout reasons to choose Redback when you’re buying your first wheel balancer.

Unbeatable value

When it comes to value for money, Redback is hard to match. In terms of pure bang for your buck, a Redback machine is among the very best on the market – its entry level RB109 hand spin machine is available from just £525.00 excluding VAT.

Great features

Redback wheel balancers include all of the must-have features you need. Whether you’re looking for a simple manual, hand spin machine or an uber-efficient semi-automatic model, Redback is only too happy to oblige. All its machines support wheels up to 24” in diameter and come with three separate static, steel and ALU balancing modes.

Proven track record

Because of Redback’s popularity here in the UK, its machines have been thoroughly tested by workshops across the country – and they’ve more than held their own. Although they’re (naturally) not quite as tough as something from Atlas Platinum or Hofmann Megaplan, they’re still impressively durable.

Support when you need it

Buying through Tyre Bay Direct means you’ll get all the support you need, when you need it. From advice on the initial assembly and installation process through to the supply of spare parts to keep downtime to a minimum, our team has you covered.

Explore our range today

So, what are you waiting for? Explore our full range of Redback wheel balancers today and place your order online.

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Buying Guide: Manual Input Wheel Balancers

New to the world of wheel balancers, or haven’t bought one for a long time? Although the wheel balancers of today still look broadly similar to those of years gone by, technology is advancing rapidly – and there are plenty of exciting brands out there to consider.

To help you find a machine that meets your needs, we’ve put together a handy buying guide covering the different types of manual data input wheel balancers, who they might be suited to and which brands offer them. Without further ado, let’s begin.

Who are manual input balancers suitable for?

Manual data input wheel balancers have been around for decades – they’re the most traditional, tried-and-tested form of balancer out there.

In recent years, technical enhancements have seen the birth of semi-automatic and fully-automatic machines, which automatically detect things like rim diameter, width and offset automatically. These have been a boon for busy garages and tyre shops that are balancing hundreds of wheels a week; the time saved on each job can soon add up in these scenarios, allowing these more expensive machines to pay for themselves in the long run.

But what about garages that only need to balance wheels occasionally? If tyre changing and balancing isn’t your main focus, and you only expect to use the machine infrequently, the reduced cost of a manual input model makes them highly attractive.

Some manual input machines are smaller than their semi-automatic counterparts, too, which makes them perfect for mobile installations.

Hand spin balancers

The most affordable form of manual data input wheel balancer. With these machines, you have to input the wheel data manually (rim diameter, width and offset) and spin the wheel yourself to initiate the balancing sequence.

This may be the most rudimentary form of balancer we stock here at Tyre Bay Direct, but even the entry-level Redback 109 still has three balancing modes, allowing you to get accurate results every time. And because it doesn’t need a hood, it’s remarkably compact – ideal for a mobile installation.

The only real downside to these machines is efficiency. Because you have to do everything manually, you won’t be able to balance wheels as quickly as you can on auto spin balancers.

Auto spin balancers

With these machines, you still have to input the data manually – the process remains the same. However, instead of having to spin the wheel yourself to begin balancing, the built-in motor handles the process automatically. Although these machines are bulkier (often incorporating a protective hood), the time savings they can offer (and the reduced effort required to use them) can make them well worth the extra cost.

Comparing brands

A variety of brands offer manual input wheel balancers, and at Tyre Bay Direct we stock products from two outstanding companies: Redback and Atlas Equipment.

Redback is considered an entry-level brand, although its products have still proven their endurance in garages across the UK. If you don’t expect to use your balancer frequently and only want the essential features, you can’t go wrong with Redback.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for something more efficient, more durable and more capable, Atlas products are hard to beat. Capable of balancing a wider variety of wheels and with an incredible track record of success both in the UK and in their native USA, Atlas wheel balancers are packed with features and tough as nails! They still represent excellent value, too.

Explore our range of manual input wheel balancers

Hopefully our guide has helped point you in the right direction on your hunt for the perfect balancer. Now you’re done reading, why not explore our full range of wheel balancers? And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

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2D Vs 3D Wheel Balancers: What’s the Difference?

If you’re in the market for a wheel balancer for the first time (or haven’t bought one for a while), you might have seen mentions of 2D and 3D data entry and wondered what each term means. We’re here to answer that question once and for all – so let’s get started!

2D wheel balancers

A 2D wheel balancer is also known as a semi-automatic wheel balancer. By touching a measuring arm against the edge of the rim, it automatically detects the rim’s diameter and offset and inputs this data into the machine. Conventional manual wheel balancers require the user to measure these parameters and enter the data manually, so a 2D wheel balancer can deliver notable efficiency improvements – the process takes just a couple of seconds!

There is one further parameter that the machine needs in order to balance a wheel accurately, however: rim width. On a 2D or semi-automatic machine, the user still needs to use measuring callipers to determine this manually. Herein lies the difference between a 2D and a 3D machine…

What makes a 3D machine different?

A 3D wheel balancer automatically measures the wheel’s width using another measuring arm or a sonar system attached to the hood, which takes an accurate measurement in seconds. Simply attach the wheel to the shaft, select your balancing mode, close the hood and let the machine do all the hard work – it really is that simple.

Which should I choose?

Clearly, a 3D wheel balancer is the more efficient solution, but it’s not necessarily any more accurate than a 2D machine – and can be a fair bit more expensive, too. It all comes down to two factors: budget and intended use.

If you can afford a 3D wheel balancer and think you’ll use it enough that the time saving it offers will be worth it in the long run, this would be your natural choice. On the flipside, if you don’t expect to be balancing many wheels, you may be wise to save some cash and opt for a semi-automatic (2D) or even manual machine.

Explore our range of wheel balancers

Ready to start shopping? We have a wide range of manual, 2D and 3D wheel balancers in stock and ready to go at Tyre Bay Direct, with options available to suit any budget and requirement. View our full range online today and place your order – nationwide delivery is available, and we offer PayPal Pay in 3 to help you spread the cost.