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We have an Isla bike to flog, however the tyres are such a tight fit that I can't get the rear one on again (after fixing a puncture) without puncturing the inner tube with the lever.
Absolutely no hope of getting it on without a lever, there doesn't seem much well in the rim, and the tyres are quite sturdy and try to stay "wide" rather than flop into the middle.
So, are any of these new-fangled tyre getter-onners any good? There seem to be a a few out there Tyre Glider, VAR Tools RP-42500 etc.
Any real world experience out there?
Have you talced the tyre inside and the tube - helps. Otherwise try washing up liquid.
Are you doing it in a freezing cold garage? Bring it in the house and warm it up to give it some flexibility. Then try soapy water before you buy any tools.
Would a new, thinner inner tube help? Put a tiny bit of air in it so it is round rather than flat and getting in the way of the tyre levers.
Last effort involved the kitchen, soaking the tyre in hot soapy water, using enough Fairy Liquid to affect the share price, and I still nipped the tube. Easy to spot the leak mind you, and it did make the floor tiles surprisingly slippery which was fun for about 2 seconds.
Edit for spooky, the tubes are proper skinny, even with a bit of air to give them shape.
Cushcore tyre bead dropper, treat it like you are fitting a tyre insert, once you have got the bead in to the well at a point put a cable tie around it to keep it there and move onto the next quarter, then throw around another cable tie and so on.
https://rehook.bike/products/rehook-tyre-glider-no-more-tyre-levers
These work amazingly well. Bought one after the guy was demoing them at an event.
Broke a tyre lever on the demo setup, it was never going on. This I managed first go. On and off.
Once watched someone use one of those BBB things on an old Mavic wheel; it folded the rim like it was a soft tortilla.
Soak the tyre in warm soapy water
I have one of those tyreglider things, helpful with marathon plus tyres as they are notoriously tight
I did it with tyre levers before I got it. I use a strap to keep the tyre seated while i'm working the other end (e.g. a voile strap), otherwise the unseated section just travels along the tyre. Then make sure the tyre is, as much as possible, in the middle of the tyre 'well', rather than on the edge of the rim, then work my way around from the strapped bit to the other end to give me a little extra to play with. Make sure the tube is fully deflated and then very slowly use a lever to mount the tyre.
My first marathon plus tyre took me a while... Try youtube for a marathon plus tyre fitting guide, would probably help
All useful tips but some combinations are just impossible. I binned a pair of Nokian mtb tyres as I could only just fit them in a warm shed using all the strategies above. No way were they going back on beside the trail
Have you got the bead of the rest of the tyre in the well in the center of the rim ?
That BBB tool in the pic up there ^^.
When I set my new MTB up tubeless and with a foam insert in, that thing just popped the tyre on no problems. Went up tubeless instantly with just a track pump.
I always recommend the Lezyne Powerlevers. The small ones with the hook on only one end, there's 3 different versions now and it's the only good one. Nothing really clever, it's just got a perfectly shaped hook that means you need less slack/force to lever a tyre on. They are not tough but they're also £5 for 2 so I don't mind snapping one every couple of years once they get tired.
The BBB tool's really good, though you still need a plan for getting the tyre back off. I didn't really get on with the tyre glider, just found it a bit too small and fiddly- I'd much rather have a version that was specific for fitting and another for removing, I think that'd basically sort the issues I had but equally I'm pretty sure it was mostly operator error and someone else might get on just fine.
Once watched someone use one of those BBB things on an old Mavic wheel; it folded the rim like it was a soft tortilla.
Yep, I managed to get a Challenge tubeless tyre on using one which was the tightest tyre I have ever tried to mount on a rim and it even worked for that. Looked at rim afterwards and it was bent and dented by the tool such was the force! I still use the tool as it is very good but am now aware of not going too nuts with it.
Soak the tyre in warm soapy water
This always, or bring the tyre(s) inside to warm up, especially during cold winter days. It's the best tip I have for getting stubborn tubeless tyre to fit & mount the bead easily.
I had a Rehook tyre glider delivered today and I’m really impressed with how good it is - no struggle at all!
Thanks @jonba for the recommendation