Getting a tyre on...seriously.

FatMikeUK

Okay, first things first, I'm not a complete goon. I've replaced and serviced pretty much everything on my bike myself, and whilst I'm far from being a pro mechanic I know my way around a tool box. That's one of the reasons this is driving me mad. On to the problem:

I just took delivery of a new wheelset, Alex ZTR Crest rims, and am currently trying to put my tyres on, but it's proving literally impossible. The rims must be slightly wider than the last set or something, because the tyre's are refusing to cooperate. I've tried two different tyres, wired Continental Barons and folding specialized Fast Traks and neither will go on. I can get one side of the tyre on, as in all the way round on the rotor side, but when I try to get the other side in I can get all but about the last 6 inches then I'm just chasing the tyre around the rim. It's massively too tight. has anyone got any tips to make this easier?

Seriously I don't know what's wrong. Like I said I'm not an incompetent moron. If it was anything else I'd have given up and taken it to my LBS already, but the fact is I'm going to be needing to change tyres for different conditions and repair inevitable punctures, so I need to work this thing out. I feel like such a div having to ask for help on getting a bloody tyre on, but there you go.

mcnultycop

My Flows were like that, it just took some serious, serious effort, a couple of trapped fingers and some decent tyre levers. I was putting on a Loco Lobo and a Fat Albert. I'm considering running them tubeless (once I psyche myself up to take them off again) as I don't fancy a trailside repair when I get a puncture.

FatMikeUK

Yeah, if they're going to stay as bad as this I might end up doing the same and getting a second set of rims for wet and dry riding, but that's an expense I don't want. Just snapped a tyre lever too. Think I'm going to end up crying myself to sleep tonight...

Ouija

Just need to use the creep method. Assuming your right handed do the following.

Get as much of the tyre on as you can normally and then lay the wheel flat on the floor pressed up against something so it can't move or slide about (the right angled joint where two walls meet, for instance).

Sit on the floor.

Place one tyre lever under the lefter most part of the tyre and lever it on and press your left foot down on the lever so that it can't move (hence the need to have the whole wheel pressed up against a wall etc) or you'll end up chasing the tyre round the rim.

1) Take the two remaining tyre levers (i use plastic ones, which even work with Marathons and Continental tyres that are notoriously difficult to get on, despite being soft, bendy, levers) and put them under the righter most part of the tyre so that both levers are touching each other and form one wide lever. Now use both levers to pull the righter most part of the tyre over the rim and hold them there. You should now have a few inches of tyre left that you just can't get on.

Here comes the complicated bit, so pay attention. All references below are to the two levers you've got on the righter most part of the tyre, not the one you've got your foot on, even though i may talk about 'right' and 'left' (Got that).

2) Now, with the two levers still pulling the last bit of tyre you could manage to get over the rim, remove the righter most one (which should be in your right hand), leaving only the left most to hold the tyre in place.

(Here's where it gets weird)

3) Now. Slowly angle the left most lever back toward the center of the hub so that the tyre actually start to pop back over the rim (sounds counter productive, but trust me).

4) Swaps hands, so that you've got that remaining lever held in your right hand (careful, don't let the rest of the tyre pop all the way back off the rim when changing hands) and the spare, unused, lever now held in your left (hold the spare one in your teeth or something while swapping).

5) Jab that unused lever anywhere under the tyre between your foot (still holding down the left most part of the tyre) and the right lever (holding down the righter most). It's at this point that most people make the mistake of jamming it half way between the two and immediately trying to pull the remaining tyre with it by brute force, which either breaks the levers, scratches up the rim or is beyond your strength.

6) Instead, after jamming it under the tyre, slide that lever all the way round the rim so that it's touching the righter most lever again (still angled forward towards the hub). Forming one big fat lever. Now go back to item one and repeat.

The key thing in the 'creep' method is that all important letting the righter most lever forward so that the tyre pops back over the rim slightly. If you don't, you'll find that when you insert the third lever between the two levers currently in the tyre you then can't slide it along the tyre so that it's along side the righter most one (closest you'll get it is about 2 inches away). Most people would just shrug and go "oh well" and try and pull the center lever where it is, which requires huge amounts of force. By letting the righter most lever forwards again, you can get the central lever to slide along until it's right next to it. Pulling both levers situated so requires less force but does require you to repeat the steps above up to ten times before the final bit of tyre pops over the rim (hence the reason it's called the creep method, as you slowly creep the tyre on in many small stages that require little force rather than trying to yank those last few inches over the rim in one big almighty pull).

malbros

Hi Fatmike,

don't sweat it , any body who has messsed with bikes will probably come across this problem. I had a set of mavic rims on an Mtb which I could just rip off my flat tyres bare hands and replace with little effort. Then bought a bike with a set of suntour rims which I decided to change tyres on - as you do - wow what a shock. It's hard to believe difference between rims and or tyres - apparently there is some slight difference in size though we say 26" rims. Managed eventually to get tyres on with much knuckle scraping swearing bending/ snapping tyre levers and a lot of time. Out on the trail it would be omg if on a winter's day trail I flatted as opposed to warm summer day at home. I have built several bikes from parts and maintained so etc so feel competent enough to change a tyre - it's not your fault it's the rim and or tyre size variation.

All tyres and rims should be reasonably easy to change especially out on the trail and interchangeable according to their matching size. However this isn't the case as I have found out - like yourself. The trick to help is to use the inside depth of the rim as you have to fight for every spare millimetre. So as you have one side on and say halfway on the other side squeeze the bottom of both sides of the fitted tyre so they sit in the centre of the rim ie. its deepest part. Work your way squeezing and manipulating the tyre in both directions from bottom centre towards your half way position on both sides trying to get the tyre to sit in the centre of the rim. You have to pull and draw to gain every spare millimeter you can. Keep working the tyre in till you get to say 10mins to 2 position or 5 to 1 when tyre rim will be getting really tight now, and secure these positions with either a toe strap or a zip tie either side as tight as needed to stop dislodgement, this helps maintain these positions. You will of course have your inner tube in already with just a very slight inflation. Now some soap liquid or talc , chalk smeared on the last bit of rim and tyre rim can help and good tyre levers as you carefully lever the final 6 " of the tyre from both "fixed positions". You feel it will never go on but it will. Take care you have not pinched the tube before fully inflating and pray to whomever it doesn't flat while on the trail on a winter's day Good luck
If anybody has a better method or more advice please post.

Mal

Greer_

There is a technique to it! The first time I put a tyre on Crest rims I had to get help and use three tyre levers now I can get the tyres on with only my hands. (I could never do this on the previous wheelset). Just ensure the tyre is in the middle groove the whole way round. And whatever rimtape you were given with it, take it off, and replace it with a wrap of electrical tape. Normal rimtape is too thick and stops the tyre sitting in the groove. Hope this helps!

nicklouse

go to youtube and search for marathon plus

well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XUFVrl0UT4

02gf74

no you are not a moron as yes, some rims are hard to get tyres on plus also some tyres are harder to get on than others.

I like tyres that I can pop on or off with just my hands, schwalbe tyres are good for that,

mcnultycop

02GF74 wrote:

I like tyres that I can pop on or off with just my hands, schwalbe tyres are good for that,

Not necessarily, it depends on the rim, also.

FatMikeUK

Thanks for the help guys, I've finally got them on. After replacing the tyre levers I'd broken (4 of them! and purchasing this beast; http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/product ... tyre-lever) I managed it in spite of the sliced knuckles. Special thanks to Ouija, baby steps and a foot on the far edge helped massively, and Greer_, since I've never considered swapping rim tape for electrical tape, and it seems massively better suited to the job. Don't know why it's not the industry standard tbh.

Anyway, thanks all! I appreciate it!