I’m struggling to get my tyre on/off my ultegra rims with current tyre choice (currently using duranos but was planning on buying some ultremos) Am half toying with going tubeless but also wondering if there’s a better tyre choice for the rim that will mean the tyre comes off/on easier.

Anyone else run ultegra rims, if so, what tyres do you use? Or have you gone tubeless?

FWIW, the worst bit is getting the very last bit of the tyre back on. The kind bloke who stopped to help me on Saturday commented how tight a fit it was and had to wrestle it on, so its not just a technique thing – especially when i’ve taken tyres on/off other rims much easier and quicker (getting that in before druidh posts up 😛 )

Continental 4 season with tubes, no problem getting them on and off although they are a little tougher than on normal rims.

I use them with Conti Gatorskins, no problems fitting the tyres at all.

It’s probably more a case of Schwalbe tyres being a bit snugger than others rather than the rim profile causing probs.

I’ve never been tempted with tubeless, seems an awful lot of faffing for no discernible gain in performance. And the tyre choice is very limited.

It’s not just you. I was tempted by the £200 Ultegra wheelset from Planet-X a while back. My tyre of choice is Bontrager Race-Lite hardcase (yeah, I know they’re a heavy, wire-bead tyre but they have excellent puncture protection) and they were a major pain-in-the-neck to get on without pinching the inner tube. I haven’t tried road tubeless yet either, mainly because of the limited tyre choice. Not looking forward to having to take one off!

seems to be shimano wheels in general

i got a set of r500s on a bike i bought for jayne

she complained about being unable to get tire off ….

WHAT A NIGHTMARE it is i can usually take most tires off without levers(years as a mechanic) – those i cant i might need 1 lever to give a helping hand – ie a new comp 24 on a d521 but these i had to use three metal levers and getting them back on i pinched the tube. stupid things – the wheels have been consigned to the bin – no combination of tires i tried made it any easier.

Glad to know its not just me! 🙂 An excuse for new wheels now…

I might add that I had little trouble getting some Ultremo R1’s on my Ultegra wheels, although they did need a bit of persuasion. After they’d been on a few weeks though, I could get them on and off by hand. I recently fitted some Michelin Lithions on, and that was hell on earth. Snapped a few levers (never done that in 25 years), kept pinching tubes (again, a new experience for me). Annoyingly I managed to pick up a puncture after about a week, and I was dreading taking the tire off. It actually was considerably easier – I guess the bead had stretched a little bit? Have punctured once since and was able to get the tire on with little drama and one decent, plastic conti lever.