Loose Fitting Performance Clinchers

vecfluxx

Can anyone advise on performance clinchers that fit easily onto rims? I have Pacenti SL23 rims and GP4000s are incredibly tight, I've just got some Vittoria open corsa SC's but needed levers and washing up liquid to get one side on, I haven't been able to get the other on yet. I've never had any problems on standard width R500's.

I'm looking for a subtle tyre like the SC, maybe something from veloflex or challenge? how are they to fit? any suggestions?

andi1363

Panracer:

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/cate ... -13-47409/

rolf_f

You were unlucky in your choice! I have a pair of Open Corsas. I managed to get them onto my Campag Neutrons but it took me most of an evening, a lot of swearing, badly cut knuckles and two broken levers to get them back off again! Poor design - about 6mm smaller in circumference than other tyres which is enough for them to not fit where the rim is shallow - you'll find them fine on anything even slightly deeper but you have to wonder what Vittoria were thinking.

Veloflex are much better. Still a bit of a faff as they are completely flat when uninflated so a bit awkward to get on (a bit like an oversized rim tape!) but you should find fitting them a realistic proposition!

menthel

Have you considered the fact that it might be the rims and not the tyres that are the problem. I have heard a couple of times now that they are a bugger to get tyres on and have seen one episode with my own eyes!

thegreatdivide

If you think it's tough getting a Vittoria Corsa on you won't want to try a Veloflex Corsa!

the_jackalcp

There is a knack to getting tyres on the Pacenti rim plus it makes a big difference what rim tape you have. Make sure you push the tyre all the way into the centre channel while mounting. If you have a search around the net you will find various gems of advice regarding these rims. For the record I am currently using Vittoria Diamante Pro2 and they go on with an average amount of effort. (not a great help as you can't buy them anymore)

RobinB2

I have some Schwalbe Ultremos on my road bike that are noticeably looser fitting than the Conti GP4000S I had previously

ugo.santalucia

Many tubeless ready rims are a bit tight... even A 23 with the new design is a bit of a bxtch. Technique on those is particularly important

patrickf

Don't know what people are on about with Vittoria Open Corsas - unless it's the rims and/or a different tyre to what I'm using (Open CX Corsa).

That tyre is looser than any other on my Archetype rims and I've got no more problems getting them on or off than any other tyre I've tried.

As Ugo says, technique is everything in getting tyres on. And no washing up liquid or levers needed.

mercia_man

I've always found Vittoria Open CX Corsas easy to fit - and I've got the same Campag Neutron wheels as Rolf F. Maybe he just got an unusually under-sized set of tyres. I've tried Michelin, Continental and Veloflex tyres on those wheels. The Vittorias have been the loosest fitting.

iron-clover

It's quite possibly your rims- I've found different rims to make much more of a difference. My Open Pros (also my widest) never give any problems, and I can almost get the GP4000s off without levers. Even Gatorskins aren't really a problem on those rims.

Put the same tyre on the stock Bontrager rims that came with my 1.1 and it's a completely different story. Not as bad as Gatorskins but still a royal blister inducing pain.

Then there's the WH-501 rims, which are somewhere between the two, but thankfully closer to the Open Pros!

I'm not too sure about tubeless rims- I fitted a pair of 4000s to a friend's new Ultegra wheelset and the tyres went on pretty easily- better than my Bontrager rims. But then a week later someone else broke 2 levers and burst 3 tubes fitting the same tyres, so I might have just been *lucky*.

rolf_f

Mercia Man wrote:

I've always found Vittoria Open CX Corsas easy to fit - and I've got the same Campag Neutron wheels as Rolf F. Maybe he just got an unusually under-sized set of tyres. I've tried Michelin, Continental and Veloflex tyres on those wheels. The Vittorias have been the loosest fitting.

I do love inconsistency!

Probably best be precise about this! Mine are the Corsa Evo CXs that I think PX were selling cheaply last year so other Corsas may differ.......

The problem is the shallow rim bed which effectively means that the Neutrons have a larger effective diameter for putting the tyres on than deeper bedded rims like Ventos. I've had no bother with any tyres on the Neutrons except the Veloflex just requiring a different technique and the Vittorias being utter gits. One variable though is that I think I had Veloplugs on the Neutrons when I tried the Vittorias - they may make the job harder than using rim tape.

The fact that Vittoria could produce a tyre this pointlessly undersized makes me entirely persuadable that their quality control is sufficiently lamentable for them to produce wildly differently sized tyres! It might be you that got the unusually over-sized set of Corsas by Vittorias standards!

Either way, it isn't a good result for Vittoria......

mercia_man

I'm sure you are right, Rolf. Tyres and rims no doubt vary in size due to various factors. There's a lot of inconsistency. I'm sure I remember reading that rims vary depending on where they come in the production run. Although I've used three sets of Open Corsas and they've all been loose fitting. However, I've never tried the new 320 tpi ones.

I took off a pair of Michelin Pro 3 Service Course last week to glue a couple of small cuts and replaced them while they were drying with a seven year old pair of worn Open Corsa Evo KS (like CX but with dual compound slick treads) in the old 290tpi format. They went on very easily just using my thumbs. I need levers to fit the Michelins on my Neutrons. The wheels have got the thin plastic Campag rim tape that they came with.

I've left the Vittorias on. The bigger air pocket makes them more comfortable than the Michelins when run at the same pressure (7 bar rather than the 8 recommended by Vittoria). However, the Michelins have better grip in the wet.

The worst tyres for fitting I've tried are Schwalbe Marathon Plus which I put on my wife's electric bike a couple of years ago. But she hasn't had a puncture since then. I fitted plenty of motorcycle tyres until the mid-80s when cycling took over my life. Cycle tyres are a doddle in comparison!

vecfluxx

Yes, its definitely the rims that are the problem, I was hoping there are tyres that are significantly easier to fit that the corsa SC, note its the tan side wall SC, not corsa CX, maybe there's a difference? I would have no problem fitting these to r500's.

How much technique is there to it really, other than making sure the part of the tyre already on is in the centre of the bead track?

Does any one have experience fitting challenge forte's or any other challenge open tubular?

supermurph09

Ultremo ZX

patrickf

Rolf F wrote:

Probably best be precise about this! Mine are the Corsa Evo CXs that I think PX were selling cheaply last year so other Corsas may differ.......

Which is why I asked if you had different tyres. Mine are the non-Evo CX Corsas. They are red-black-red. I believe others may be black-red-black.

housemunkey

I have some Corsa SC's which I found to be massively tight at first fit. However, with use they now glide on and off with very little fuss.

pianoman

Closest thing I've tried to these high TPI open tubs is the Specialized S-works Turbo. They fit really easy even on my Kysrium Elites

Tyre size and sidewall are usually the most determinative factors IME.