Almost stranded touring because of my impossibility tight tyres. Advice please

I don’t bget the love for pedros levers. They might be unbreakable and generally good but they are totally the wrong choice on in possibily tight tyres. The hook is to thick and shaped wrong making the actual removal harder than it needs to be.

You want a very small very distinct hook that places the bead right at the end of the lever. This get under the bead then minimises the amount you have to lift it to get it over the bead. Similarly you want it as thin as possible so there is minimal gap required to get the bead past the rim.

Var one is pretty good but the schwalbe flat blue one are amazing.

Joshvegas owner of the famed vision 30 rims used on planet x road bikes.

jimmy748Full Member

@oceanskipper it won’t.

Ah cool, thanks for that useful info. 👍

As others have said, get the tyre into middle of the rim opposite the valve. The key point being to work the slack to the valve, then there should be enough slack to lift the tyre over the rim.

Always hear the advice about getting tyre into middle of rim, ending at valve etc,. but that simply doesn’t work with really, really tight tyres.

The worst I had, mentioned earlier, was a handmade Challenge CX tyre (the tyres come completely flat and rolled up)

I ruined a rim getting it on and then almost had to cut if off but as rim was already ruined I could go all out.  It made absolutely no difference doing the middle of rim stuff.

If a tyre is that tight now I don’t even bother with it and no way is it coming off/going back on if I need to put in a tube when out riding

I have Marathon Plus on my Brompton, luckily only one puncture in 18 months… I don’t have a problem getting them off with plastic Park levers, and my trick for getting them back on is a cable tie in the emergency kit. Tighten a tie around tyre and wheel and it stops the bead jumping out when you are closing the gap. So you’re using one lever to force the bead over the rim while the tie does the job of the other lever, holding the tyre in place.. You also need something sharp to break the tie off, my front door key does the job.

I was back on the bike 15 mins after the puncture… Never leave home without a few cable ties

I broke a Pedro’s lever saving a chap in a similar predicament. He was too cold to get the tyre, a hateful Gatorskin back on the rim.

The forces involved were pretty extreme. Can’t imagine a carbon rim taking it to be honest.

Ive seen a chap get the bus home from along distance ride because he couldn’t repair a puncture.

It’s becoming ridiculous..

In my experience Mavic rims have always been a nightmare. As have WTB tyres/rims. So much so that I won’t buy either brand.

As I’ve also been caught out a couple of times with difficult combo’s I always have a go in the garage first when getting a new bike/wheel and tend to buy Panaracer, Maxxis or Hutchinson tyres as I’ve never had a problem with those.

In my experience Mavic rims have always been a nightmare. As have WTB tyres/rims. So much so that I won’t buy either brand.

Late 90’s when I was working in a London bike shop, we sold loads of Specialized Rockhoppers – they were cheap, good quality and made excellent commuter bikes, so much so that the most common request was to swap the off-road tyres they came with for Specialized Nimbus commuter slicks.

I have no idea what it was with the Ritchey rims and those tyres but we hated it. It got to the point where we’d be warning buyers that – should they get a puncture – they’d likely be unable to get the tyre off. That particular combination was a total nightmare.

a hateful Gatorskin

They’re truly awful tyres, lethal in the wet, wooden and dead to ride on and yet somehow, everyone still goes “oh yes, GP4000 in summer, Gatorskin in winter!” I feel like Conti are the Muc-Off of the tyre world. Well known products with decent marketing yet never live up to their reputation.

Thanks for all the advice.

this morning, using the advice above, I took both tyres on and off the rims a few times.

3 of my knuckles are bleeding now. Haha

and I noticed a dent in the rim (probably where the tire was originally taken off on my tour. Bummer as it’s right on the weld/join (hope that’s not weakened the rim)

anyway, I can’t be arsed with that at the side of the road. Think I’ll sell and try something like a green marathon or something

Probably regular wired too (the Contis are folding).

I foolishly fitted a set of the cheaper, non tubeless, wired bead, Conti Race Kings  to my MTB rims and set them up tubeless. Had to cut the tyre off the rim in the end – it was absolutely never coming back off…

I feel like Conti are the Muc-Off of the tyre world. Well known products with decent marketing yet never live up to their reputation.

It took me a while to come to the same conclusion, I’ve gotten on much better recently with Vittoria, Schwalbe and WTB tyres both on and off-road.

It feels strangely now like the GP5000 has become the (expensive) benchmark for all road tyres, while the rest of their product line is just ‘Meh’ at best.

I found the GP4 Seasons OK for a bit, but not as hard wearing as its fans or the pricing suggested, Rubino’s just seem to roll better for less cost and comparable durability, Corsa’s are better feeling IMO (good for summer). I think I originally got put off of Vittoria because of some crappy Zaffiros I’d had, which in retrospect were no worse than Conti sport contacts, thin, low TPI showroom only tyres that will pick up flats within the firsts 500 miles.

UPDATE.

So, I gambled with the 35mm green marathons.

They seem pretty much as difficult to get on as the contis. So it’s obviously the rims that are the main issue.

Plus they blow up 35mm exactly and don’t fit (wheels won’t turn in my mudguards)

But the Pedro’s made it easier to get the tires off ( maybe a better shape / hook)

So I may keep the contis. And prey they don’t puncture. Perhaps I’ll try the slide on lever things and make sure I have a few more spare tubes incase I nip the tubes getting the final part of the tire on (I did nip and puncture a tube just now in my kitchen)

Palms of hands got some brushing now when trying to roll the beads over the rims.

“So it’s obviously the rims that are the main issue.”

I put a tight rim beside another known good rim and measured it. Approx 2mm bigger diameter which sounds like nothing but in combination with a shallow well it was enough to make me bin the rim.

Rigida Chrina- supposedly poor QC. Some are OK others not.
<!–more–>

Rigida Chrina- supposedly poor QC. Some are OK others not.

Rigida (now called Ryde) are shockingly bad for QC.

Somehow, they seem to appear a lot on touring bikes, especially the ones sold by the likes of Spa and Thorn Cycles. What the hell is wrong with just getting a decent set of DT Swiss and having done with it?!

Maybe I could carry a tiny bit of fairy liquid or chain lube to help the last bit of the bead over the rim?

Don’t use chain lube, some can degrade rubber/innertubes.

Somehow, they seem to appear a lot on touring bikes, especially the ones sold by the likes of Spa and Thorn Cycles. What the hell is wrong with just getting a decent set of DT Swiss and having done with it?!

A pair of DTSwiss rims at wholesale are probably twice what the Ryde/Rigida ones are.

Craig – I (literally) feel your pain. I have had some very similar experiences. Usually in winter, with freezing cold shit covered wheels, in the dark and rain, at furthest point from either work or home, with Reynauds Syndome and arthritis is both thumbs just to make it even more fun.

PS it’s the Real Ale Wobble on 28th and we’ll be heading your way. Drop me a line if you available for selection.

In fairness for Ryde/Rigida both my wheel sets with Sputnik rims are fine for getting tyre on. Also bombproof. Though I suppose with a deep well they are more forgiving of any variation in rim diameter.