Can't get silly tiny road bike tyres on. Help!

I’m trying to build a 650c road bike for my missus (who’s only little)

But every time I try to put the tyres on, they pinch puncture!
Tyres are 650X23c Conti Ultra Gator skin (wire bead)
Tubes were sold as 650c from Probikekit.
Tubes are very tight around the rim, but I’ve been really careful kneading the tyre on with thumbs, not levers and checking all they way round to make sure the tube isn’t caught under the bead, but every inflation, it goes flat.

Would I be better off with other inner tubes (thicker perhaps) or would kevlar bead tyres help?

in my experience Conti ultra gators are a pain in the ass to fit. I ended up using a steel tyre lever very carefully to get them to mount. Since I moved to kevlar bead tyres it has been easier, but still not a simple case of rolling it on with your thumbs like some people would have you believe….

I struggled with my 26″ Gator Skins, Best way I found was to heat the oven up to 50 degrees C, then put them in for 5 mins, I coiled them up with and tie with a bit of string to stop them touching the sides of the oven. Works everytime when awkward tyres. Other people have suggested soapy water, though I had no joy with the Gators using this method.

Cheers.

On One have some bargain folding tyres. That might be the way to go. If she can cope with yellow tyres on a blue bike…

I do better with road tyres when I put talc on the bead where its going to contact the rim so the tyre moves easier on the rim. I’ll start off at the valve and work the tyre on both ways a round and then when it starts getting tight opposite the valve I push the tyre both ways around from the valve to try and free any slack. I take it you’re putting just enough air in the tube to hold it into the tyre? Oh yes, ant talc the tube as well.

talc’d the tube, but not the tyre
And hadn’t tried semi-inflation either. I’ll give it a go in a sec (once I’ve patched the tube AGAIN…)

Doesn’t need a lot of air, just enough to give it some shape. Good luck! My brother is still laughing his head off that I pinched a tube changing tyres on a brand new bike that i hadn’t done a single mile on.

Same as above with a slight amount of air in the tube although I don’t worry about the talc.

You should be able to get most of the tyre on using just your fingers – about the last 8-10 inches or so remaining. I find the use of a tyre lever (held in an inverted fashion i.e. the curve facing toward the rim) helps to gently lift the last really tight bit of beading, obviously taking care not to stick the lever into the tube. Once you’ve got about half way along the last bit seems to pop on with minimal encouragement. I’ve had success this way with wire and kevlar beads.

I don’t know if tyre levers are supposed to be used like this but it seems pretty intuitive to me…

that didn’t work
🙁

Anyone want a pair of unused Conti Gator Skins in 650c?

Make sure the edges of the rims aren’t too sharp. I’ve had similar trouble with 26×1 tyres on an Islabike. In the end I ‘scraped’ round the edge of the rim with a metal tyre lever to make the edge rounded rather than the razors edge it had become.

you want me to nip round and coax em on for you……… 😉

but on a serious note, if a tyre will not go on when building a bike at home, then do not use the tyre.
cos just imagine the fun you will have at the side of the road sorting a puncture.

just imagine the fun you will have at the side of the road sorting a puncture

Even more so when its a bike for the missus. 😕
Just ordered a pair of folding tyres…

I had a similar problem with some Geax road type tyres in 26 inch flavour. After immense struggle and variou punctures i managed to get them on . Realising i’d never be able to repair a puncture on them i decided to remove. Hello hacksaw was the eventual answer.

Rim tape makes a big difference with tight tyres. Velox cloth tape always seemed good compared with plastic tape, nit sure why though.

Also agree with the comments about being able to change it once out and about

http://www.michelinbicycletire.com/michelinbicycle/index.cfm?event=mounting.view

Soap round the bead of the tyre can help.
Wearing a pair of work gloves can help get to grips with the tyre.

These are very good indeed for stupid tight tyres

Conti tyres are a complete PITA, especially their Tubs. Try imagining doing what you’ve just tried, but with a tyre that has to be glued on, and you don’t want to handle it too much in case you take the glue off.

Me, I’d go with another brand.

Don’t you guys know anything?

Sprinkle talc on the tyre and rim, it’s the best natural lubricant for dry sticky rubber.

Don’t you guys know anything?

Sprinkle talc on the tyre and rim, it’s the best natural lubricant for dry sticky rubber.

Its all been said.
velox rim cloth
talc the rim and tyre
make sure the tube has a little air
and make sure you got thumbs of steel

Gator skins are the only tyres i have ever had problem getting on a rim in 30 years of fettling btw They are well known to be a pita.
They’re good tyres though

Cheers. Ordered some velox tape too 🙂

The semi is also the way forward. Completely limp will see you getting it caught between a rim and a hard place, possibly leading to an awkward rip and a bang as it gets harder.

The award for the most double-entendres in one post goes to pmj 😉

not had an issue with my gaterskins or GP4 seasons.. go on fine onto the halo aeroage rims on my SS

looks like you just have slightly low tolerance tyres and high tolerance rims..

for tight rims doing as above helps. also I find that when the tyre is mostly only giving it a firm tyre levering helps, not to fully fit the tyre, but just to really seat the rest of the tyre then with the extra bit of slack this give finish with thumbs – as above talc helps.

Uplink, just got that gismo to fit a b****** tight Brompton tyre, cheers, it worked a treat.

APF

Rema Tip Top Universal mounting paste.
Soap.
http://weldtite.co.uk/videos/using-weldtite-tools

So, Velox rim tape and kevlar bead tyres. And they went on, and inflated!

Sadly, 10 minutes later they were flat. Having patched the inner tubes 3 or 4 times without even riding the damn thing, unsurprisingly, they leaked. So, time to buy new inner tubes…