It really is technique when it comes to getting the tyres on. I’m also running crests with tubes and Maxxis tyres – they were a right pig to get on first time, thought I’d have to carry metal levers with me for all my future rides.
As said above check out the video on the stans site for the correct way to fit tyres. I ended up wading through a whole load of youtube videos and it didn’t take long to find three key pieces of information that now let me fit with my soft pen pusher hands:
1. Start opposite the valve
2. Wear gloves for increased grip and to protect my baby soft skin
3. When working on the second side of the tyre, get in in the central channel of the rim.
There isn’t much of a channel on Crests, so you may need to chase the tyre bead into the channel more than once (maybe 3-4 times) as the bead becomes harder to fit around the rim. I’ve found that each time you push the bead into the central channel gives repeatedly more slack in the unseated section of the bead and allows the remaining part of the tyre to simply push on with little force.
I spent a couple of hours practicing in a warm kitchen and it’s now an easy job that I’m more than confident in undertaking on the trail.