I’ve just managed (after 2hours) to get my Rubber Queen wired over the rims,
I’m aware the tyres are designed to be used tubeless but In this case I’m using tubes, until I can afford the new tyres and tubeless kit.

My frustration is no coming from not been able to get the tyre bead to sit on the crest Shoulder just inside the rim, as both sides of the tyre are already stretched to **** and only want to sit in the centre gully.

I’m at a loss and starting to regret my purchase!

Day off and the fricken sun keeps coming out and I wanted to get out on the bike, all I wanna do now is drink a large rum 🙁

Heres a picture to entice you to share your advice!

Replace the Hope tape with Stan’s yellow tape, which is thinner. Will help.

Bontrager XR4’s go onto arch’s really easily and also inflate with no hernia’s!!

Stick a bit of soapy water in the rim bed, pump them up to around the maximum recommended pressure, then ride around on them (slowly!) for a bit and they might pop into place?

Don’t overinflate them though. It really makes your ears ring when tyres blow off the rim, take my word for it… 🙂

have you read the instructions, you need to fit them in the gully, thats why its there and it is the only way you’ll get them on. When you pump them up, the tyres will pop onto the shoulders with a loud bang.

Try hot water soaking – maybe they will mold better?

Bontrager XR4’s go onto arch’s really easily and also inflate with no hernia’s!!

Arches are a looser fit, no points there.

Be wary of putting lots of air in, IMO far better to put 20psi in and pull the tyre about by hand. Otherwise you’re more likely to have a tyre blow off, and you don’t want that. Soapy water may help though.

bigjim makes a fair point: you have actually tried pumping them up, right?

far better to put 20psi in and pull the tyre about by hand

Sometimes that doesn’t work though – when it’s happened to me, riding around on them a bit sometimes does.

Neat washing liquid is better I find. Also as stated use the gully

If had some luck with crests and a racing ralph by inflating to max pressure, waggling the tyre from side to side, dropping the pressure, waggling the tyre and reinflating to max. After a few cycles the tyre had popped into the right place all the way around.

Wouldn’t fancy doing that at the side of the trail tho. Made good use of a track pump.

I thought this too. I got a pair of Advantages on there without too much issue, but I can’t get a brand new Beaver on no matter what I do.

#lubingupatightbeaver

Good luck I had exactly the same problem trying to fit Ardents onto Crests they were stupidly tight.!

In the end just continual working of the bead did it and once you put a moderate amount of air into them they should pop out onto the rim

Good luck I nearly had a massive tantrum trying to fit mine!

fitted some tyres onto these rims last night,pump them up to about 50psi and they will pop onto the rim

I sympathise…Crests are a royal PITA. Someone else (Mavic?) needs to make a lightweight rim that fits tyres properly….lot of threads with people with the same problem on here. I even heard that a major wheel supplier is complaining about it.

The problem is, they don’t advertise it but Crests have been made larger than normal to make them easier to run standard tyres tubeless. “Tubeless ready” tyres (like yours, I presume) have been made tighter than normal to make them easier to run tubeless on standard rims. So the two in combination make for a very tight fit.

You have 3 options:-

1) change your rims to something else: Expensive and crests anything else is probably heavier.

2) Change your tyres: You might be able to find something (non tubeless ready) that fits better. I tried Panaracer Fire XC Pro 26×2.1 on 26″ Crests and they went on with thumbs no problem.

3) Carry on with the Aligator wrestling: Warm soapy water, washing up liquid, gt85 on the bead to help it pop into place etc. Of course this is fine indoors, what about when you get a puncture on a cold, wet night ride?

its all technique — a few goes and you’ll find what works and what doesnt.

I tried Panaracer Fire XC Pro 26×2.1 on 26″ Crests and they went on with thumbs no problem.

Probably because they’re acknowledged to be too lose to use safely tubeless!

IMO once you’ve fitted them once they loosen up and fit more easily in future.

fitted some tyres onto these rims last night,pump them up to about 50psi and they will pop onto the rim

I’d be careful, there is a max pressure on Crests and I thought it was 45 but could be wrong.

I don’t know why people are trying to put the bead on the shoulder by hand, the air pressure will do that for you.

I had a similar problem with new Schwalbe Dirty Dans. A right pain to get them on.

Looked at a Stan’s video advising installation. Pushed them into the central channel and worked up to the valve then levered them on. Not easy! To get them to seat I pumped the tyres up to the maximum pressure until the clicked into place then deflated the inner tube to my normal pressure.

To go tubeless all you need is 25mm yellow tape and 2 valves – so less than £20.

I found DH tyre levers helped enormously to get the TLR tyres on – but not probably such a good idea with tubes…

Like Njee, I’d blame the rim tape. Get some yellow tape, and follow the instructions to put it on properly. Silicon spray can work well for getting tyres to pop into place.

I had a similar problem with new Schwalbe Dirty Dans. A right pain to get them on.

Why use tubeless ready tyres on a tubeless ready rim, with tubes!?

Less messy but more smelly. Use GT85 instead of soapy water.

This totally puts me off getting Crests. More so because no one from Stans has replied in an age to the complaints on their forum http://messageboard.notubes.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2895&start=30

I wanted to run them with tubes, for week+ long tours. No way I’m doing that if it takes ages, lots of sweat, and workshop items just to get the tyre off the rim!

It is a pain. They work fantastically with the older Schwalbe tyres, but those are obviously nigh on impossible to get now – it’s all the TLR ones, which are insanely tight.

The flipside is that once you’ve wrestled it onto the rim they go straight up.

I’m currently running new Schwalbe TLR tyres on my Crests, they went on fine first time with just a track pump, didn’t seem tight at all. I use bubble-mix (you know, for kids) to help get them on and seated properly, it’s brilliant stuff.

I had the exact same problem with Schwalbe Racing Ralphs, took me F*ing ages to get them square on the rims. Eventually i swapped to Maxxis Ignitors, they fit just fine in two minutes.

Well I think all this has convinced me that when I order my Hoops it will be Mavic or DT as I have no intention of going tubeless and introducing difficulty to installing tyres would seem stupid.

Thanks for all the advice, currently trying to get the second bead round the second rim so I can atleast ride the bike to try and pop the beads into the correct position…..

Well I think all this has convinced me that when I order my Hoops it will be Mavic or DT as I have no intention of going tubeless and introducing difficulty to installing tyres would seem stupid.

Oh how I wish I did a little more research!

Even If I get them on I pretty certain I’ll be selling them on, the thought of puncture while out riding these is not my idea of fun.

I feel gutted 🙁

One little tip is to pop the tyres into a bowl of hot soapy water for a few minutes, this will loosen them up a little and make them easier to get on the rim.

Not saying they wont blow off afterwards though…. but it’s worth a try.

Just send them back to whoever you bought them off if you bought them online. Distance selling act says they will give you a refund / exchange for any / no reason – you will be liable for return postage though.

I have massive issues with 29er Crests and the latest Schwalbe tyres and to a slightly lesser extent Bonty TLRs
They are way too tight a combo, when you do get them on they suck down so tight into the well, they deform
I tried them with no tape and they aren’t a lot better

Careful with the use of a high pressure too, I blew a RR off a Crest rim, wrecking both the tyre and the rim

After years and years of fitting tyres, I’ve never seen a combo as tight, not worth using at all if you cycle away from an easy push home

Had two people working on this rear tyre with no luck!
Having a break from this!

Contacting Wickedcycles in the hope they’ll take them back, but with the rotors and cassette already installed I fear the worst!

This all made harder by the sun making an appearance today 😥

Not had trouble with the pre-TLR Schwalbes, fine with all Maxxis eXception series, new Bontrager TLRs were easy peasy too.

I heard rumour that the 2012 Schwalbe tyres were going to have a higher ETRTO… anyone know?

just a thought, are you sure the rims are 26″ and not 29er? 😉

I had all of this when i bought some tubeless wheels….

the next day sent them back to CRC on got a refund.

Lifes too short to be spending 20 mins trying to fit some rubber and sweating like a donkey next to a meat packing plant.

You need to MTFU as well – they’re tight, but not so bad that I’d consider returning the wheels over it! I must confess to using a lever on the last one I did because I was in a rush. Once they’re on and have been inflated they’re loser anyway.

i put some nobbly nics on my crests (with tubeless kit) and didn’t even use tyre levers or an air compressor… guess i was lucky!

I had the same issue with mine… I was running nobby nics at the time… A fu****g nightmare! One thing is when you’re at home, out in the wet with a puncture is not that funny anymore… Even the trees around me learned to swear on that day! After that I switched to maxxis and the beads are so low that the tyre would just suddenly blow off the rim… Nasty shit… I just gave mine back to my LBS and got myself MAVIC XM 719 Disc rims. Never had issues since, amazing rims for a great price… Ideal for all mountain.

NJee – are you after some RoRos pre-TLR? I know where to get some new for £22 each – email me if interested and I’ll forward you details.

are you sure the rims are 26″ and not 29er?

Haha! Even considered this! but Nope both 26″ but how embarrassing would that be?!

Lifes too short to be spending 20 mins trying to fit some rubber and sweating like a donkey next to a meat packing plant

MTFU

We’re talking about two people trying to get on tyre on a wheel, With a bath full of boiling water, all different flavours of Fairy washing up liquid and the rest at our disposal! I’m not willing to find out how I’ll cope with a puncture, Life is too short!