Decided to treat myself to some new wheels the other week. They arrived and all good so I think “I know, I have a spare hour after work I’ll pop out to the garage and swap the wheels over”..

em.. no I won’t!  WTB trail boss and riddler are a complete pain in the ass to remove and refit on rims. Tyre levers destroyed, new rims marked as I had to use a metal tyre lever, inner tube punctured 3 times as I had to shove the lever in so far, and to top it off the tyres are now out of shape. I’m guessing the sidewalls are damaged so now looks like the wheels have a massive buckle (which they don’t as I checked).

Tyres off and on, inflated and deflated at least 3 times and still not sitting properly. New rims are a bit narrower but still within the guidelines of the tyres. I’m pretty good with bikes as I used to work in a bike shop many many years ago.. but sod it, I give up. I’m off for a beer.

ps.. what’s hot in the fit and forget tyre market? Preferably under £30 per tyre, looked at Maxxis range but my mind is blown at the choice and price. Used to run Kenda Nevegals and small block 8’s which I always got on with. 650b and no wider than 2.25”.

And breath!

Night before EWS Tweedlove I finally got round to fitting my new vigilante on my light bicycle rims, my hr2 was worn bare so I had to change it

2 hours of sweating and cursing, snapped every tyre lever I had, latex fluid everywhere. About 1am I finally got it on!

Somewhere in innerleithen there’s an apartment probably still with a load of stans sprayed all over the kitchen ceiling

After a while they do losen up on the rims but fitting the first time is a pita!

Mine go on easy but I’m using wtb rims i29 with 2.4 or 2.5 riddler trail boss combo.

How big were your tyres OP? Sounds like they are now damaged. Worth contacting WTB?

27.5×2.25 for both. I probably could as the tyres aren’t a year old yet but I never want to see a WTB tyre again. If that had been trail side I would have probably ended up walking home.

I have fitted countless tyres to rims and never had to battle like I had to battle with them. Even checked the diameter of the wheel incase the wrong size was ordered or sent. The last 8-10 inches of the tyre just refused to go on.

New tyre time, can’t believe a set of tyres has flummoxed me! Then to add insult to injury, I was just about to fit my new (to me) Deore brakes, popped the pads out to put some new ones in, pumped the lever to check operation of the pistons and out pops a piston and all the mineral oil.. wonderful!!

Step away from the bike tonight Mike, it’s not your night.

Bizarre. For balance, fitted 27.5″ X 2.6″ Trail Boss (with an ARD insert too!) and 29″ x 2.5″ Vigilante to 33 & 36 internal Light Bicycle rims the other week by hand, no tools, and went up with normal trackpump.

They were the new Tritec Tough casings if that makes any odds.

Yeah I got a tough / fast 2.4” Trailboss for a rocky uplift day over the summer and it went onto DT Swiss xm481 rims easier than any other tyre I’ve ever had. Not that hard to get in the rim to start with and went up tubeless first time with the airshot. Felt like cheating / too easy!

Schwalbe tyres are often cheaper than Maxxis – maybe Magic Mary addix soft on the front (2.35” might be the smallest size) and Nobby Nic on the back?

If you want even cheaper than On-one chunky monkey up front and Smogasbord on the back. The back tyre isn’t a winter one though – in slip you won’t get any forward drive with it. The CM at the front isn’t bad though for the money.

I feel for you. It happens to me every now and then and is seriously annoying. I’ve had the same with motorbike tyres…

… then just the other day I discovered a technique that I expect every other person already knows and I was just being stupid. Sorry if you’ve already tried this and failed, but who knows.

Put the wheel on the ground, get as much of the tyre on as you can before it starts to get difficult. Then go around the tyre that’s in the rim and push it as far across to the other side as possible. You’re trying to use the well in the middle of the rim to give you more space. Get your knees on the sidewall to hold it there if necessary. Then the last bit should drop in much more easily.

I felt like a proper pork chop after struggling for half an hour with a tyre before doing it in seconds this way. I don’t think i even needed a lever in the end.

I feel your pain, WTB are dead to me now ‘cos of this. I hear they’re better these days but once bitten, twice shy and all that.

650b and no wider than 2.25”

Get on Pinkbike classifieds or eBay, it will be a buyer’s market for this kinda tyre.

WTB are just too tight for certain rims. WTB and Stan’s rims, definite no.

I felt like a proper pork chop after struggling for half an hour with a tyre before doing it in seconds this way. I don’t think i even needed a lever in the end.

Don’t tell them it’s about technique. They don’t want to listen.

I loved the ride of my WTB Riddlers, but I stopped using them as they were so hard to get on and off (and they punctured a lot).
I cannot see myself ever buying WTBs again.

Sorry OP but you used a tyre lever to fit a tyre? And a metal one at that? Levers should only be used for removing tyres.

But sometimes, unfortunate combinations are a total PITA.

I would buy a couple of Nobby Nics or Hans Dampf, you can buy the old generation for very little money.

And drop the tubes while you’re at it.

Tyres

I’ve had good luck so far with specialised. 2.6 Butchers for dh days in black Diamond, butchers on the front in 2.3/2.6 for non dh day. The slaughter semi slick had been good for most if summer.

Some are still on sale.

Yeah, Spesh are decent tyres, easy to fit, as are Schwalbe in MTB form (road/gravel great tyres but can be bastewards).

@1981miked How much for the WTBs? Might go on my sons Bonty rims!

These help a lot with fitting. As above, making sure the bead is in the well of the rim helps a lot.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/x-tools-tyre-seating-tool/rp-prod122324

Yeah made sure the bead was in the centre of the rim, I had the wheel on the floor with my knee pushing down on 1 side whilst I tried to force the other side on.

Yes Nick I used a lever to try and get it on, believe me I tried to do it without one no there was no way it would have gone on otherwise. I was hesitant to use a metal tyre lever but seeing as it completely destroyed my plastic ones I didn’t have much choice. Thought about tubeless but I am a bit stuck in my ways with tubes, if it ain’t broke and all that. Plus the bike sits most of the summer as I ride my motorised bike instead. Tube just work for me.

Damned if I’m buying a special tool to fit tyres.. I’m far too stingy for that. Already sweating at the thought of paying £30+ for a single tyre. So much for cheap wheels!

DezB, I can’t guarantee the usefulness of the tyres as I suspect the sidewalks are damaged hence the wobbling. But if you want to take a chance then what.. £25?

Was it the tough carcass ones?

If so, the smug “you’re doing it wrong” merchants on here have no idea.

Tough is an understatement. There was no give in the tyre and to get the last bit on. I tried everything.

I liked the tyres aswell, low rolling resistance and decent grip. I’ll never have WTB tyres again.

they’re a doddle on WTB rims, the channel in the centre of the rim is there for a reason…

No help I know, but I’ve got wtb tough/fast trail boss on xm481 (same as a previous poster), and had no issues. I’ve had more issues getting tyres off my light bicycle rims. Not getting off the bead, getting them out of the dip/well next to rim sidewall.

I have a lot of bother with LB carbon rims and Shwalbe tyres.. Once they’ve been removed and refitted a few times they are doable as I guess they stretch a bit.
New tyre fitting is a 2 man job so a disaster if you have a puncture on your own, as above it’s getting the last couple of inches over the rim..

Seriously tempted to get one of those x tools things if they help? Currently carry a couple of pedal straps so I can ratchet the tyre in place whilst I wrestle getting the last bit off bead over the lip of the rim.