putting tyre back on the rim

dave0992
dave0992 Posts: 27
edited September 2008 in Road beginners
in desperate need of some advice here regarding mending a flat. the problem i am having is getting the tyre back on the rim without the tyre levers putting holes in the tube. ive tried several times no but to no avail.

does anyone have any tips on this? i am using plastic tyre levers for the last part where the tyre is very tight requiring a hell of a lot of forse to get the bead over.

any help is appreciated

Comments

  • Slow Downcp
    Slow Downcp Posts: 3,041
    Don't use levers - you need to exercise your thumbs until they're stronger than Batfinks wings, and they lever on easily :wink:

    As you get to the final bit, let all of the air out of the tube, and the tyre should slip on (albeit possibly with hard work and sore thumbs). You get used to it after a while, I had problems years ago when I started but manage easily now. Although I've heard Campag rims can be a bit tight.
    Carlsberg don't make cycle clothing, but if they did it would probably still not be as good as Assos
  • Aidanw
    Aidanw Posts: 449
    Don't use tyre levers to get the tyre back on.

    It takes a bit of patience, and technique but not a great deal of strength.

    First get the inner tube in and start the tyre into the bead, push the tyre in as much as you can with your thumbs working so that the last bit of tyre to be flipped over the bead will be where the valve is.

    As you work the tyre you will reach a time when it is about 2/3 on and it gets hard to push on.
    Return to the bottom of the tyre and squish both tyre beads together, so they go into the center of the U of the rim.

    Keep pinching them together and move both hands around the wheel to where you last managed to push the bead over the rim, you should now be able to get it a bit further. do this a couple of times and you should get almost all the tyre over, when you are almost there push the valve up into the tyre, this pushes the inner tube up into the tyre away from the lip and reduces the chance of catching the innertube between the tyre and the wheel.

    Forcing the last bit of tyre over can be a bit tricky but using both thumbs with the wheel well braced between your legs and it should slip over.

    Once you have it on inflate the innertube a small amount (few strokes of the pump) then work around the wheel pushing the tyre away from the wheel to make sure the innertube is not caught anywhere and is in the middle of the tyre. Then inflate to full pressure and get it back on the bike!

    Hope that helps... that is my technique anyway which has worked for even tight x23 tyres.
  • dave0992
    dave0992 Posts: 27
    thanks, i shall give that a go, snapped one of the levers a few minutes ago anyway!
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,912
    do not use levers as others have said

    basically as others have said until last bit...

    the trick for the last bit is to "roll" the tire on as though "wringing a wet towel out"

    pushing with your thumbs can work but the wringing technique is better IME
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • Jez mon
    Jez mon Posts: 3,809
    mididoctors wrote:
    do not use levers as others have said

    basically as others have said until last bit...

    the trick for the last bit is to "roll" the tire on as though "wringing a wet towel out"

    pushing with your thumbs can work but the wringing technique is better IME

    I also like this technique
    You live and learn. At any rate, you live
  • Nuggs
    Nuggs Posts: 1,804
    When I fitted my last set of tyres (GP4000S on Open Sports), I tried every trick and technique in the book.

    In the end, the one which worked for me was the one where you swear a lot and throw things around the garden. Sometimes it's the only way!
  • dave0992
    dave0992 Posts: 27
    there was plenty of swearing and throwing things, maybe it wasnt loud enough?
  • SpinyBike
    SpinyBike Posts: 15
    Nuggs wrote:
    When I fitted my last set of tyres (GP4000S on Open Sports), I tried every trick and technique in the book.

    In the end, the one which worked for me was the one where you swear a lot and throw things around the garden. Sometimes it's the only way!

    Heh yeah, I just put one of those Conti's on too, a b***h ain't they.
  • page23
    page23 Posts: 182
    just wait till you enter the joys of tubs and gluing/taping them on. then you'll really know what frustration is.

    by the way, did anyone mention you shoudln't use tyre levers to put the tyre back on?
  • idaviesmoore
    idaviesmoore Posts: 557
    Page23 wrote:
    by the way, did anyone mention you shoudln't use tyre levers to put the tyre back on?

    Crank Brothers Speed Lever allows you to do this quite nicely. IMHO it's one of the true wonders of the modern world.....that and Post It notes :wink:
    'How can an opinion be bullsh1t?' High Fidelity
  • dave0992
    dave0992 Posts: 27
    i did it!!! after ten minutes of shouting and swearing it just popped into place, just like that, felt silly for shouting then

    thanks for all the wonderful advice, great help
  • STEFANOS4784
    STEFANOS4784 Posts: 4,109
    Lol, good job mate :wink::D
    winter beast: http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr34 ... uff016.jpg
    Summer beast; http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr34 ... uff015.jpg
  • idaviesmoore
    idaviesmoore Posts: 557
    dave0992 wrote:
    i did it!!! after ten minutes of shouting and swearing it just popped into place, just like that, felt silly for shouting then

    thanks for all the wonderful advice, great help

    How's yer thumbs :?:
    'How can an opinion be bullsh1t?' High Fidelity
  • NervexProf
    NervexProf Posts: 4,202
    idaviesmoore wrote:
    Page23 wrote:
    by the way, did anyone mention you shoudln't use tyre levers to put the tyre back on?

    Crank Brothers Speed Lever allows you to do this quite nicely. IMHO it's one of the true wonders of the modern world.....that and Post It notes :wink:

    Second the Crank Bros 'speed lever' - a true gem of a tool, simple, elegant and effective.
    Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom
  • Steve I
    Steve I Posts: 428
    Some tyres are so tight that it's damn near impossible to fit them without using levers. I use levers to fit tyres all the time, and I've never pinched a tube doing so. It's a useful skill to learn, as if you puncture on a cold, icy day, using your hands alone might not be an option if you can't feel them. You could try some talcum powder or soapy water on the bead. Work the tight bit up from each side with your hands or tyre lever rather than directly in the middle, (which is probably why you snapped a lever). If you're using levers, use them upside down i.e. the hook side goes onto the rim.
  • Steve I
    Steve I Posts: 428
    Doh, should have read the thread properly, and would have noticed you'd got the tyre on the rim.
  • dave0992
    dave0992 Posts: 27
    idaviesmoore wrote:
    dave0992 wrote:
    i did it!!! after ten minutes of shouting and swearing it just popped into place, just like that, felt silly for shouting then

    thanks for all the wonderful advice, great help

    How's yer thumbs :?:

    sore as hell, rubber burnt into my fingerprints but was worth it in the end

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