Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 47 total)
  • Getting tires off rims
  • Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    Had a puncture on the way home for the first time with this bike. The tires are tubeless ready but have tubes in.

    Could I get it off the rim?

    Could I ####.

    My plastic levers were too fat, and when I did get it under the bead it just bent. Will try again with metal levers later, but in the meantime is there a knack other than brute force and swearing?

    dustytrails
    Full Member

    Make sure the tyre is un seated from the rim – push the tyre to the centre of the rim all round where there’s a channel – the tyre should become loose enough to allow removing with levers

    mattyfez
    Full Member

    Yeh.. And careful with metal levers, you can scratch your rims.. Get some good plastic ones.. Plastic ones are fine with the right technique.

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    granny_ring
    Full Member

    If you haven’t got pedros plastic levers try those as well as what dusty said.

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    Pushing it with a flat seems to have unseated the bead nicely 🙂

    I know what to do next time. Thanks for the info.

    This is yet more conclusive proof in my mind that tubeless and tubeless compatibility are a waste of ####ing time.

    simondbarnes
    Full Member

    This is yet more conclusive proof in my mind that tubeless and tubeless compatibility are a waste of ####ing time.

    Well it is if you’ve got tubes in there 🙂

    Having slagged of tubeless for many years as being a waste of time and too much hassle I now won’t use anything else given the choice.

    Pawsy_Bear
    Free Member

    I use my foot on the tyre trapping it to the floor then push the wheel away. Maybe a twist helps sometimes. Try it in garage once you get it it works a treat

    No leavers required no damage to wheel

    br
    Free Member

    Yeh.. And careful with metal levers, you can scratch your rims..

    While I carry plastic ones (which take a load of technique), in the shed I’ve a pair of these:

    http://pedros.com/wp-content/uploads/DownhillTireLever1.jpg

    spooky_b329
    Full Member

    Should’ve whipped the tubes out when you bought it, then you’d know to unseat the bead to get the tyres off, and most likely would only notice todays thorn/nail in a years time when you remove the tyre to replace the sealant 🙂

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    Damaged the rim with a lever to the extent that it has holed two tubes. Seriously, whoever thought that this was a good bit of design needs to have a word with themselves. How do you make something as simple as puncture irreparable?

    The initial hole was caused by a piece of glass that left a 5mm gash in the tire and tube. Would a tubeless system have survived this? I’m absolutely f-cking sure that a regular tire and tube would.

    doodlebug
    Free Member

    Could be one of my best bike purchase to date, saved blood and many, many hours :

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kool-Stop-Tire-Bead-Jack-Handle/dp/B001AYML7K

    spooky_b329
    Full Member

    You are running a regular tube and tyre so no, it didn’t survive it 🙂 The tyre just doesn’t need the tube. A tubeless system probably would have coped, but if it hadn’t you could repair the tyre from the outside within a couple of minutes, and not even need to pump the tyre back up.

    If you unmount both beads and then get the first one into the well in the centre of the wheel, they should come off like normal tyres (same method as normal tyres too). I have struggled with unbelievably tight rim/tyre combo’s on normal wheels/tyres and also tubeless compatible wheels/tyres. All my current tubeless ready wheels can be done without tyre levers.

    The main issue is if you use a rubber/plastic tubeless conversion rim strip, this is because it sits in the well of the wheel, making it tighter to get the tyre off. But you won’t have those strips fitted.

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    The bike came as “tubeless compatible” with a tubeless tire and rim, but with a tube and rim tape.

    Wresting with it in the dark and the rain for 20 minutes (before walking 3 miles home) has caused me to shag up the rim tape so much that the replacement tub, when I finally got it in, punctured instantly against a burr under the tape.

    Against my every instinct I think I’ll go tubeless, once I’ve checked the rim out to see how stuffed it is and seen if the initial hole in the tyre is too big.

    A puncture should cost the price of a patch to fix, or at most the price of a tube, and you should be able to repair it and be on your way in 5 minutes. So far it has taken a 3 mile walk, two hours of faffing about, 2 tubes with at least 2 holes in each and now the prospect of getting a tubeless kit. All with no guarantee that it won’t happen again should I get a puncture that the tubeless system can’t cope with.

    And after that i’ll have to sort out the back wheel too.

    Really pissed off.

    What a shit and needless system this is.

    Sandwich
    Full Member

    In the dark at this time of the year I am unable to fix punctures at all. My short distance vision is hopeless when I have my contacts in, add working by torchlight and I don’t have a prayer. I usually call out the rescue vehicle (SWMBO) to collect me.

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    In twenty odd years of riding pushbikes I can’t remember a single slashed tire incident, plenty of thorn punctures though. It sounds like tubeless should be OK but I still feel rather pushed into it as, for as far as I was concerned, there was nothing wrong with tubes.

    I usually call out the rescue vehicle (SWMBO) to collect me.

    Sadly my rescue vehicle would turn up with a couple of kids in it so wouldn’t have room to carry anything bigger than a Brompton. Also the driver would have a temper on her like an Alsatian after a head swap. It would be preferable if I walked or just laid down at the trail side and quietly died.

    gonzy
    Free Member

    Harry – i had the same problem. my front tyre is tubeless ready but the rear is a conventional folding version
    rear one is easy to take on and off but the front is an absolute pain in the arse
    i’ve figured out a technique though. as mentioned make sure the tyre beads are off the rims and squeeze them into the deepest point in the rim then do the same at the opposite side. then stick a tyre lever in and prise one side of the tyre bead up to the rim and lever it over. i use the blue park levers and they have a hook at one end. once i have part of the tyre over the rim i hook the other end of the lever onto a spoke then whilst still hooked to the spoke with the lever still wedged between the tyre and rim i then push the lever along the rim so it slowly levers more of the tyre bead over the rim.
    to get the tyre back on its a case of slowly doing the same as you would normally to get a tyre back on but you have t be a bit more forceful with your hands to get the tyre on. if you’re doing this at home then soapy water makes this process really easy.

    EDIT: as you’re converting to tubeless make sure you use soapy water on the rims and tyre beads when fitting the tyre as it helps the bead seat itself onto the rim better

    spooky_b329
    Full Member

    If you convert to tubeless, don’t do it the night before a ride. Guaranteed toys out of handbag situation. Do it when you have plenty of time.

    STATO
    Free Member

    The initial hole was caused by a piece of glass that left a 5mm gash in the tire and tube. Would a tubeless system have survived this? I’m absolutely f-cking sure that a regular tire and tube would.

    Er…? You were using a tyre and tube. A tubeless ready tyre just has a slightly different bead profile, a fully tubless tyre is actually thicker than non-tubeless so your ‘regular’ tyre would have been just as bad.

    As for not being able to get it off and somehow damaging the rim!? good job you dont design the things, they would be even worse!!

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    Er…? You were using a tyre and tube.

    As supplied by Cannondale.

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    Make sure you have Parks or Pedros tyre levers.
    Make sure you unseat and push into middle ‘well’ of rim (or similar).
    Use your ‘thumbs of steel) to ‘push’ the slight slackeness around the tyre to where the levers are waiting.
    Lever..repeat the ‘push the slack’ and repeat levering with second, then third lever.
    Done.

    br
    Free Member

    What a shit and needless system this is.

    Or, you don’t know what you are doing…

    molgrips
    Free Member

    for as far as I was concerned, there was nothing wrong with tubes.

    Well, from my point of view there is.

    Tubeless is faster and also can give you more grip and more comfort. I used to have to run 45psi, now I’m on 25psi.

    GregMay
    Free Member

    Tubeless over 8 years here. Currently 4 sets of wheels, including commuter. Won’t use tubes unless I really have to. It just works once you invest the time into setting it up right*.

    Getting tyres off just involves doing it right and using your thumbs. Only case I normally resort to levers is WTB tyres on WTB rims – as they are designed as a tight fit.

    Personally use the Spesh SWAT levers (metal under plastic) and I’ve only snapped one in the workshop. Basic Park ones in my eyes are rubbish. Pedros are ok.

    *I’ve had it go horribly wrong with tubeless for CX after straying from the righteous path of tubulars. It’ll never happen again.

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    These are WTBs on DT Swiss. Tight as a sharks arse.

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    But still do-able – how did they get them on in first place?

    Better technique needed…

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    But still do-able – how did they get them on in first place?

    With a machine or they hire the gorilla that put the tops on Tesco olive jars.

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    😆

    Time to hit the ‘roids…

    belugabob
    Free Member

    The other things to consider is to start removing the tyre from around the valve area, as the opposite side of the tyre can sink further into the rim (not having the valve to impede it) giving you more slack.

    Dales_rider
    Free Member

    My philosopy on tyres is if I cant get them on and off without levers then I dont use them.
    And before you ask I run all sorts of bikes and tyre combinations
    Not worth the hassle at the side of the road/muddy moors in the cold.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    There’s nothing wrong with tubeless rims at all; there might be something wrong with these specific rims but don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater, there’s bad non-tubeless rims too.

    Though, history tells us that most threads that start “It’s impossible to get these tyres on/off” end with “And then I went to the bike shop and he did it in 3 seconds just by looking at them”

    If you want a better lever though, try a lezyne powerlever. Way better than Pedros- the hook’s much thinner so it lifts the tyre quicker and doesn’t need as much slack to do it. Not indestructible, I’ve broken a couple (dualplies on tight rims) but totally worth it.

    Harry_the_Spider – Member

    With a machine or they hire the gorilla that put the tops on Tesco olive jars.

    Most likely fitted by a taiwanese child.

    Harry_the_Spider – Member

    The initial hole was caused by a piece of glass that left a 5mm gash in the tire and tube. Would a tubeless system have survived this? I’m absolutely f-cking sure that a regular tire and tube would.

    Couple of other folks picked this up but; I don’t get it. You’ve got a regular tyre and tube and it obviously didn’t survive it. I guess you meant something else?

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    Ah, but I could have changed the tube and been on my way inside 5 minutes.

    edlong
    Free Member

    Tubeless over 8 years here. Currently 4 sets of wheels, including commuter. Won’t use tubes unless I really have to. It just works once you invest the money into buying spare wheels and the time into setting it up right*.

    Fixed etc…. I use the same bike for commuting (roads) and also for falling off into various bits of mud at the weekend. I swap my tyres over in 15-20 minutes – I suspect if I went tubeless it might take a little bit longer than that, as well as being quite a bit messier.

    I could buy a whole spare set of wheels, but frankly that seems excessive when there is an easily available and much cheaper solution (tubes).

    Northwind
    Full Member

    edlong – Member

    I swap my tyres over in 15-20 minutes – I suspect if I went tubeless it might take a little bit longer than that, as well as being quite a bit messier.

    I’d allow about 10 minutes to change 2 tubeless tyres, and no mess unless I do something stupid.

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    Or, you don’t know what you are doing…[/quote]Sounds like a good dose of the latter.

    STATO
    Free Member

    . I use the same bike for commuting (roads) and also for falling off into various bits of mud at the weekend. I swap my tyres over in 15-20 minutes – I suspect if I went tubeless it might take a little bit longer than that, as well as being quite a bit messier.

    I dont think tubeless is trying to solve your particular problem tho, a new bike will 😆

    globalti
    Free Member

    Get some proper tyres, they’re better than tires.

    Cover everything in talc, the best natural dry lubricant ever for sticky rubber.

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    Job done.

    Took the wheel to my lbs (the excellent Cooksons) and watched them struggle to get the bugger off the rim. When it did come off we saw that the bike had been fitted with tubes, but no rim tape – just a seal strip.

    Two new tires (that you can get on and off with your thumbs), two rim tapes, two new tubes, one chat the Shaun and the others and one very competitive price later and I’m up and running again. I’ve got to try and get the rear off myself though 😐

    I thought about going tubeless, but for what I do and where I ride I see no advantage. I run at 35 psi and rarely get a puncture. I want to ride in the knowledge that if it happens again I can fix it in 5 minutes and not have the risk of repeat of the other night.

    breadcrumb
    Full Member

    I used to pinch puncher a lot. A lot.

    Went tubeless over 3 years ago, had two punchers that I’ve noticed. One sealed itself the other was during the Strathpuffer and kept enough pressure to finish the lap, at which point I went to a tube, at a higher pressure than if normally run.

    njee20
    Free Member

    Punchers? That sounds nasty. I’d expect that sort of thing at the Strathpuffer though, Scottish savages.

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    Tire 2 done.

    Sidewall ripped trying to get the bead out of the seat!

    Farewell crap tires.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 47 total)

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