Help Needed - Impossible tyres

squired

Hi.
I have a mountain bike with fat tyres (Schwalbe Nobby Nic Evo 27.5+ * 2.8) on Rodi TR40 Rims. The bike is great, but the tyres seem to be puncture magnets even on the road. I've had two punctures while on the road in my last half dozen rides, which wouldn't be a massive problem (albeit annoying), but the issue is that it is virtually impossible to get the tyres off and then back on the bike. They are tubeless ready rims, which do seem to make things harder. I wouldn't be against going tubeless, but that still wouldn't help with the problem with the tyres being near impossible to fit and remove.

So the obvious question is whether anyone can recommend some tyres that would potentially give me a little more protection, but more importantly ones that run a little looser. In the case of the puncture today I ended up with a near two hour walk home and after an hour at home I managed to get the tyre off, but can't get it back on.

Anonymous

I have Smart Sams on one of my MTB'S ...Also have the green puncture seal in the tubes. ( 2 bottles purchased last year from Aldi at £3 A BOTTLE )..I appreciate it adds weight but not that I notice and so far no punctures ..PLUS its added reassurance that if I do get a puncture it should hopefully seal it enough to get home....saying that I will probably get one next time out now !!

The Rookie

Getting tyres on an off is 80% technique and 20% parts, there are lots of helpful YouTube vids that will help you improve that technique.

02gf74

Are the tyres wire beaded? These are harder to get on/off than their kevlar beaded counterpart.

I've had many different tyre/rim combinations and regardless of technique, a very small number of tyres, foldable, have proved to be extremely difficult to get on. I sold them on as if puncture occurs, I'd be stuck.

squired

Thanks for the comments guys.

These are foldable tyres and as someone that has been a heavy cyclist over 25 years I've got plenty of experience with tyres. Other than some studded tyres a decade ago I've never come across anything like these bad boys. At 1am last night I finally got the tyre off the wheel, but I spent an hour this morning just trying to get one side back on and failed. I definitely need to find something with a looser fit.

cycleclinic

What levers are you using? How a tyre fits will be rim specific it is almost random. trial and error I am afraid.

swod1

all tyres are made differently and so we can’t say a make of tyre will fit.

What is difficult with the tyre is it getting one side of the bead off?

I’ve had an experience once with a continental race king tyre and a mavic rim got one side on but even with the side on pushed into the centre channel of the wheel I just couldn’t get other side on even with a good set of tyre levers.

mattyfez

My rims are terrible with new tyres (folding) once they've been levered on and off once or twice though, they are easier. A bit.

Shwalbe xc tyres on LB carbon rims.

It's still a bit of a wrestle and I cary 2 toe straps so I can ratchet the tyre up against the wheel for getting that last bit on without popping the rest off again.
I've also resorted to solid steel tyre levers. Plastic ones either just bend or snap.

That said my 2.4inch front tyre is quite a bit easier than my 2.25 rear, a lot of it is just pot luck with the tyre/rim combo.

I'd suggest mounting and removing the tyre a couple of times in the comfort of home to stretch the bead a bit, as you'd have no chance with cold fingers if you get a flat when out somewhere.

squired

I've decided to have a go at going tubeless. After a bit of searching on the internet I came across a couple of posts on other forums from people with the same rim/tyre combination as mine, telling of similar woes. One guy wrote about spending 1 hour 45 on a trail just trying to get his tyre off.

Ultimately the issue with these tyres is that they are so tight on the rim that while still mounted there is barely even any room to get the tip of a lever under the bead of the tyre. As you might imagine, if it is that difficult to just get a lever under the tyre, getting it over the rim is even more of a challenge.