Tyre won't sit straight

I’m using Kenda Tomac Nevegal DTC tyres, and love them, so don’t really want this to turn into a “You should be using xyz tyres” thread….

I’m having an issue with a my front tyre. It’s on a DT Swiss 5.1 rim, and is a real bar steward to get on and off. When I did a puncture repair a while ago, the tyre wouldn’t seat with the central tread straight, and there’s a pronounced “wobble” to the tyre when I’m riding.

I’ve taken the tyre off repeatedly and re-seated (which is a royal PITA) and each time it goes on with the wobble.

Any ideas what I’m doing wrong, is has the tyre buggered itself somehow?

either it is not seated right – have a look at the walls, should be clear. can be fixed with application of soapy water and pumping up to 60psi till it pops (like tubeless)

or it is the tyre some tyres the tread is not central to the 2 beads. my kendas were like this. you will never fix it – if it is new take it back. if it is old keep an eye on it some times it can be an early indicator of sidewall failure.

Are they sitting on the bead?

You should have a line going around the sidewall visible all the way round.

Lube it with some soap or chain lube and give it plenty of air. Mine were a struggle to get seated, and I had to replace them the other week because the bead on one was stretched and knackered.

I had this with these tyres on WTB Laser Disc rims. Had to pump them up to 60 PSI and then work around the tyre pulling the sidewall out until they popped into place.

Check the bead showing is even all the way around on both sides of the rim. If it is and it’s still wobbly, then it’s a duff tyre – discard.

If it isn’t even part of the bead is stuck to the inner rim. You can help it slip by putting washing-up liquid all around the beads, or sometimes I carefully use GT 85. Then pump to max pressure and it should all pop into place.

threaten it with bombers

or pump it til it pops (into place hopefully)

I have some cheapo wheels with Alex rims on. Every tyre I’ve tried seems to not seat correctly. I found that pumping them up hard & treading on the side wall of the tyre & levering the wheel forces it in to place. If I ;eft them not seated they were fine, but had a high spot that could be felt when riding on a smooth road.

All of the above really 🙂 +1

2retro4u
Marin County, Cali

One more tip. Soapy water on the rim. I had the same trouble mounting a tyre onto a Mavic rim, but on the advice from my pit crew at the LBS, I soaped the rim and pumped the tyre up to about 6 atmospheres…

POINGGGGG!

Problem solved.

Also check that the rim tape isn’t moving to block the bead seating properly.