Recently aquired a set of LB carbon rims and am really struggling to fit one of the tyres by hand, its far to tight. Reckon I Could definitely fit it with a tyre lever and a bit of force, but I’m terified I’m going to break the rim.

Anyone ever broken a carbon rim in this fashion?

ta

it was reported on mtbr once

but its never happemned to me and ive used tyre levers always to fit tyres on my lb rims

Are you getting the bead of the tyre into the well in the middle of the rim?

yep…I’ve never had an issue before, even with the usual tyre/rim culprits.

i use tyre levers on my ENVE rims fwiw – Plastic ones of course

It’s fine to use plastic levers, mine took quite a bit of force to get on, no damage, although I thought the lever was going to snap but didnt.

its getting ridiculous now…failed getting the tyre on, tried to get it off again and can’t. If I’m having these issues in the comfort of my home I’m not confident about bringing them out in the middle of winter.

tyre is a giant psl2 btw…

any tips

(the bead is as central as it can be on the other side of the rim)

Get some of these, they make tyre fitting effortless.

For me it is literally impossible to swap tyres without them. I wiped out my entire stock of plastic levers when I got a new bike with DT rims.

Pro tip- Wrap the ends in electrical tape for a bit of cushioning. Stops them digging in.

Leave the tyres next to a warm radiator for a while. Makes a world of difference sometimes.

I’ve not used their road rims, but the mtb carbons have a wee bit less “dip” than some competitors so I need to be a bit more correct in technique to get them on, making sure they’re properly in the well. Wouldn’t buy wheels you couldn’t use levers on, I love the lezyne powerlevers, I’ve used most of the favourite options out there and these are better imo… Perfect hook.

Mine were a nightmare, having folding tyres I suspect helps, which I have.
I used two toe straps tight round the rim to help stop the tyre slipping off for the last bit, plus fairy liquid to lube and just brute force with levers to get the last pesky bit on.

Ensure the bead that’s already on is right in the middle of the rim, to give a tiny bit more wiggle room.. You may need to repeatedly check the bead that’s on remains in the middle lowest part of the rim.
Check youtube for ‘fitting tight schwalbe marathon’ there’s an old guy who demonstrates most of the technique.

It helps to have a friend, as one of you can hold the tyre in place and kinda pull it onto the rim while the other pushes the bead on with a lever.

I didn’t hook the leaver under the tyre as you loose too much slack, rather use the blunt end to push the last bit of bead over the lip, against tth rim, while your assistant yanks on the tyre from the other side.

It’s quite a brutal job, but they do go on.

It’s a good job they are carbon, as a normal wheel rhus tight would get bent by the force required to get the tyres on.

I’m dreading getting a puncture, but hopefully now that the tyres are in I’m hoping the fitting process stretched them a little to make refitting easier.

egb81 – Member
Leave the tyres next to a warm radiator for a while. Makes a world of difference sometimes

+1 I throw them in a bucket of hot water for 5-10minutes

Had to use levers to fit a wtb vigilante onto my LB rim, it was a fight! (Usually manage without levers)

Surely someone does Carbon tyre levers? 😉

I’m using cheap continental levers that came with a tube and pouch bag, the bend I was putting onto them I was sure would snap them but they survived.

Use, less, thinner, rim tape, it makes things easier.

That’s what I plan to do.. I used velox rim tape which I feel is a little thick like band aid material, schwalbe do some thin blue tape which I may use as a replacement depending oo how much I struggle at the next tyre change /puncture.

The tyres are such a tight fit that every little helps.

Schwalbe tyre levers are the shizzle

I have busted a carbon rim fitting a new tyre (though it didn’t come from LB)… it came from a good wheelbuilder in the UK who agreed to build another wheel for me. When it came, it was a different profile to the dead one, so I think there could have been a design update.
The new rims are so much better, I can fit the same tyre that killed the old rim and not even need levers.

Have you got another rim you could fit it to, inflate and stretch the tyre?

I wouldn’t go near a carbon rim with those Park levers, they’re effective, but agricultural at best!

I use cheap plastic leavers if I need them, usually don’t though, on my carbon rims. I prefer the lever to break first than the rim.

Never happened BTW, I just tend to manhandle the beads over the rim when getting them on with my thumbs. If getting the tyre off I find only a very small in/hook/lift will take the bead back over the rim for removal, then just skim on the inside of the tyre/outside of the rim for about 1/3rd of the tyre before the tyre comes off.

We use the plastic coated metal ones on ours. Seem to work OK and not damaged a rim or broke a lever yet.