Campag protons/conti gatorskins
portuguese mike
Posts: 695
I know there have been several threads relating to this but this wheel/tyre combination is such a pig.
on monday i had a p****ure, it was the first in 2500 miles with these tyres so fair enough. what wasn't was the 25 minutes it took me to get the f***ers of and on again.
i had another p***cture today and try as i might there i cannot get the tyres of the rims - my tyre levers are knackered from mondays exersions - this is something that has never happened on any other bike i've ever had in 20 years of cycling. i've tried the brute force appproach but my thumbs just aren't strong enough. fortunatley it happened just outside work and someone gave me a lift - next time i could be 25 miles from home and its pissing down
my question is this: are their any tyres with decent P***ncture protection that go on these rims without such hassle or do i need to bite the bullet and get different wheels (an excuse to buy new kit may make up for it).
on monday i had a p****ure, it was the first in 2500 miles with these tyres so fair enough. what wasn't was the 25 minutes it took me to get the f***ers of and on again.
i had another p***cture today and try as i might there i cannot get the tyres of the rims - my tyre levers are knackered from mondays exersions - this is something that has never happened on any other bike i've ever had in 20 years of cycling. i've tried the brute force appproach but my thumbs just aren't strong enough. fortunatley it happened just outside work and someone gave me a lift - next time i could be 25 miles from home and its pissing down
my question is this: are their any tyres with decent P***ncture protection that go on these rims without such hassle or do i need to bite the bullet and get different wheels (an excuse to buy new kit may make up for it).
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Comments
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Unfortunately, a regular post! It seems Campag rims, judging by posts, are the toughest to get tyres on to, and Contis are the toughest tyres to fit!
My solution was to purchase a "VAR tool" - BikePlus and SJS cycles will do them mail order - Bikeplus pack theirs with instructions.
It reduced 7 days of struggling, and torn skin, to 7 minutes of joy!
Light and small enough to carry too - paul_smith of Bikeplus recently posted on this, with a link to great photos of how they work.
By the way, I run GP4000 25c with reflective sidewalls - they don't look terribly puncture resistant, and some would argue, but I find them very good.
I recently bought 4000-S 23c for the road razor, although I've not done many miles, they seem piles better - Allegedly easier to fit too! But then I've done over 1,000 miles p*ncture free on my 4000/4000-S, so wouldn't really know!0 -
Many thanks OnTow, i'll order some of those levers asap.pm0
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No worries - you only need one though!
It's poss. to ride with just this, however I also carry two normal shaped Park Tool plastic levers to assist.
The VAR tool comes with a removable lever in the middle. The remainder of the tool is used to lever over the last remaining difficult bit... though one end can be used like a standard lever too.
Do a search for the Bikeplus thread with VAR tool instructions - If it's been erased by a Nazi moderator, then check out their website, which I believe also has a link - It makes use of said tool very clear indeed - though being of an engineering nature, I figured it out in 10 minutes.... so you shouldn't have too much difficulty... it's just that one or two people posted to say it wasn't obvious how to use it. :?0
