Fitting beadless tyres

Beckers62
Beckers62 Posts: 66
edited March 2013 in Road general
Bought and fitted some new beadless tyres to my Hybrid bike today

What a PITA... I had forgotten how fiddly these little feckers are (got to be 10 years since I last used beadless/folding tyres)

It's like trying to wrap live eels around a broom handle

Anyone got any tips.... (I am not looking forward to my 1st p**ct*re)

Comments

  • diy
    diy Posts: 6,473
    A little bit of air in the tube helps. You need enough for it to hold the tyre in position.

    It should be faster and easier to mount folding tyres. Personally I hate wire bead tyres as it means getting the levers out, whereas folding tyres I can do with my fingers easily.
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  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Beckers62 wrote:
    Bought and fitted some new beadless tyres to my Hybrid bike today

    What a PITA... I had forgotten how fiddly these little feckers are (got to be 10 years since I last used beadless/folding tyres)

    It's like trying to wrap live eels around a broom handle

    Anyone got any tips.... (I am not looking forward to my 1st p**ct*re)

    the tyres aren't 'beadless' - they still have a bead, but a folding one. If there was no bead, they would be effectively useless.
  • team47b
    team47b Posts: 6,425
    some air in the tube as mentioned and put your hand over the tyre above the valve as this is where the tyre does not want to seat, press as you add more air to stop it coming off.

    Warm tyres are easier, but then again you can't sit around waiting for that day in August can you :D
    my isetta is a 300cc bike
  • Beckers62
    Beckers62 Posts: 66
    I did put some air in the tubes, as I always do to help prevent pinching
  • bianchimoon
    bianchimoon Posts: 3,942
    when one part of tyre/rim is seated correctly, tie a cable tie round it tight so it can't come off the rim, the carry on round the rim putting rest of tyre on
    All lies and jest..still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest....
  • bianchimoon
    bianchimoon Posts: 3,942
    also a bit of washing up liquid on your finger and run it round the 'bead' helps it slip on a lot easier
    All lies and jest..still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest....
  • 58585
    58585 Posts: 207
    Much easier to see it done properly on video than reading a description, so have a look on youtube.
    That said...
    Put the wheel on the floor in fornt of you and work from the top of the rim
    Work the first bead over the rim, if it's tight then pull it down into the middle of the rim bed at the top of the wheel and use your body weight to stretch it round the rim
    Once you get to the last few cms you might need to flip the wheel over (keep the tension on as you flip it) and roll or rock your thumbs to get it onto the rim
    Pull the tyre back over/across the rim so you can get to the valve hole and feed the tube in (add a bit of air before you start)
    Then do the same as for the first bead, squeeze the tyre and tube down into the middle of the rim bed and keep stretching it with your body weight as you work your way round with each hand squeezing a few cms onto the rim after each other (left/right/left/right etc)
    Then flip it as you get close to the last few cms and start rolling gently so you don't trap the tube
    You might need to let all the air out for this bit (use one hand to hold the tyre and tube in place so it doesn't work it's way back off)
    Have 2 tyre levers ready sometimes you will need those depending on the tyre/rim for the last 5 cms

    And do practice a good few times at home so you are confident (and hopefully stretch the bead a bit) - especially at this time of year it's hard work with frozen fingers at the roadside, especially if you are used to using different tools at home....

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