Grand Prix 5000 tyres so hard to get over the rim

Kaiser Sose

Hi all,
Glad to be back on the forum, I've been away for a few years but always been a 30 miles a week kind of guy. However, I am seriously back on it again now my daughter is older and I'm doing 100 miles a week with a view to 200. Fitness coming back and I'm loving it!

Guys, regarding this subject of tyres. My lovely Mavic Krysium Elite rims. Lovely and got thousands of miles on them. I bought some new clincher Continental GP 5000's 25mm folding after reading good reviews to replace my aging Gatorskins. But wow, what a bi*** to get on. Boy..... Talk about cursing.... I have changed tyres a zillion times but these are almost impossible. Yes I did get them on eventually but I skinned my palms in the process with the "roll it over the rim" technique and regarding the front wheel I absolutely COULD NOT get it on without using tyre levers and wrecked an inner tube in the process.

Am I missing something guys? Will they "give" a little and stretch? I'm going to be riding in terror of a puncture.

Best regards, Steve

bobmcstuff

Yeah they are really, really hard to get on. I left them in the sun for a bit and then forced them over, it wasn't pleasant. I'm also not looking forward to the first puncture...

Kaiser Sose

bobmcstuff said:

Yeah they are really, really hard to get on. I left them in the sun for a bit and then forced them over, it wasn't pleasant. I'm also not looking forward to the first puncture...

Indeed Bob, especially if they are cold on a cold day out from wet and cold road 😱. My hands are wrecked after the exertions from earlier getting them on! Wonder if they will stretch a bit? (rhetorical question)

I've now spotted that the rear is rolling the wrong way so I put it on the wrong way round 🙈 Does it matter that much?

bendertherobot

They are hard. Initially I put them on my Ribble CGR with Ksyrium Pro wheels. Awful, and, as stated, worried that if I ever punctured, that was that, particularly under lockdown. So, I put my gravel tyres back on and they went on easy.

Instead I installed them on my basic Bontrager Affinity wheelset on my Domane. Put them on with fingers only. So there they stay.

They do seem to be on the small side but also wheelset specific

Kaiser Sose

....I thought the GatorSkin Hardshells were hard to get on for my winter bike but they are almost indestructible and I've never punctured in thousands of miles. I sure hope these GP5000's are as tough....

Just seems stupid they make them so hard to get on. Indeed, it's even hard to get them OFF!

I'm in two minds to send them back to Wiggle and go back to Gatorskins. But there is no Gatorskin 25mm that I can see.

bobmcstuff

No, you will notice a big difference compared to gatorskins!!

They will go on, and I am sure once you have done it once it'll get easier.

My go to tyres have been GP4Seasons and GP4000 in the past, I used Gatorskins once and I would only consider putting them on a commuter if I couldn't get any other tyres. Horrid road feel by comparison, it's like riding on wood compared to pretty much anything else. They are cheap and hard to puncture though I guess.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Oh this sounds fun, I've got a 23mm and a 25mm GP5000 to fit on 17mm internal rim width Hunt Aero Disc Lights with a pair of Supersonic tubes...

Possibly before tomorrow's ride.

Pray for NOTG! 🤣

mr.b-campag

Get one of the koolstop tyre tools they are a lifesaver! And bring it with you on rides...

Kaiser Sose

bobmcstuff said:

No, you will notice a big difference compared to gatorskins!!

They will go on, and I am sure once you have done it once it'll get easier.

I don't follow you mate... In what way? A good way or bad way?

Kaiser Sose

mr.b-campag said:

Get one of the koolstop tyre tools they are a lifesaver! And bring it with you on rides...

Will look into it, thanks.
I can't make my mind up whether to take off the GP5000's and send them back and get something else.

Kaiser Sose

bobmcstuff said:

Yeah they are really, really hard to get on. I left them in the sun for a bit and then forced them over, it wasn't pleasant. I'm also not looking forward to the first puncture...

Thing is, "the sun" might not be available on a cool early October evening when it's getting dark.....!

Kaiser Sose

Right I had another practise go. This time it took me ten minutes to get the tyre back on. I still needed levers and all my strength to roll the last three inches over the rim. But that's better than earlier.

What do I do... Send the blighters back or persevere???!!

Punctures are always a PITA and not exactly welcomed. But I've never lived in terror of them. But with this combo, will I? Maybe they may give a bit when I get rolling on them possibly.....

Dorset_Boy

They're not THAT hard to get on, though they're not particularly easy either. Make sure you squeeze the tyre all the way round once you get to the last bit to ensure it is sat in the centre & lowest part of the rim and then the last bit will be a lot easier than you have found.

Kaiser Sose

I'll give it a few more practise goes tomorrow before I go for a ride. I have to establish confidence in myself that I can get the things back on again in a cold rain storm 30 miles from home.
I'm an engineer by the way

Cargobike

I'd perservere with the GP5000's. I've been using them for the last 4 months while riding all manner of terrain, disused railway lines, canal towpaths, potholed country lanes and generally better main roads and have not had a single puncture yet.

I've slimmed down over that time from over 22st to just shy of 18st so am brutally hard on tires. Everything else I'd used before punctured on a regular basis.

Yes, they are hard to get on but if my experiences of them ends up being similar to yours I doubt they'll be coming off again any time soon.

The Koolstop tool looks like a godsend though.

hhelbein

I put GP5000's 25 MM on some HED Belgium C2 rims last week. Tough, but not too ridiculous with one of the Crank Brothers large tools.

Kaiser Sose

I’m a big, muscular rider too Cargoman. 17st in my case and targeting 13st.

shortfall

VAR levers are great for difficult tyres. It's also worth remembering that once they've been on the rim for a bit they stretch anyway and will be easier to remount if you need to fix a punture.

ibr17xvii

Kaiser Sose said:

....I thought the GatorSkin Hardshells were hard to get on for my winter bike but they are almost indestructible and I've never punctured in thousands of miles. I sure hope these GP5000's are as tough....

Just seems stupid they make them so hard to get on. Indeed, it's even hard to get them OFF!

I'm in two minds to send them back to Wiggle and go back to Gatorskins. But there is no Gatorskin 25mm that I can see.

I had some Hardshells & they were an absolute nightmare to get on. Only punctured once on them literally 200 yards from my front door at the end of a ride which is a good job cos I wouldn't fancy wrestling with them at the side of the road.

I tend to go for GP4000's or 4 Seasons which I find is the sweet spot between puncture protection & getting them on / off.

ibr17xvii

Kaiser Sose said:

Right I had another practise go. This time it took me ten minutes to get the tyre back on. I still needed levers and all my strength to roll the last three inches over the rim. But that's better than earlier.

What do I do... Send the blighters back or persevere???!!

Punctures are always a PITA and not exactly welcomed. But I've never lived in terror of them. But with this combo, will I? Maybe they may give a bit when I get rolling on them possibly.....

If you're struggling that much I'd send them back. The last thing you want is to be wrestling with a tyre by the roadside.

Kaiser Sose

I think I'm honing in on a technique to get them on and off, just did it again in five mins this time, which is OK, albeit tricky. It could be they have fractionally stretched.

Kaiser Sose

shortfall said:

VAR levers are great for difficult tyres. It's also worth remembering that once they've been on the rim for a bit they stretch anyway and will be easier to remount if you need to fix a punture.

VAR levers mate? What are they?

Hoping to do a 50 miler on them mid afternoon.

Kaiser Sose

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbO_03rKyPk

shortfall

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4YpFwzWoeLg

The link above shows how to use VAR levers. I got mine from the Cycle Clinic. The owner posts on this forum and his website has plenty of useful videos and links related to tyres and tubeless tyre mounting and repair.

Kaiser Sose

How ingenious! Great video and that chaps says exactly what the problem is that I'm facing, namely that last four inches of bead being impossible to get over the rim. I'm a strong lad and I cannot wrangle the GP5000 over rims without tyre levers (and the associated risks of using those to the tube). I have ordered the Crank Brothers one and will see how I get on with that.

I am going to stick with the GP5000's.

exlaser

I can tell none of you have ever put on a schwable marathon plus if you think that’s hard . They take it to a new level . You can only get them on , if you cable tie the tyre on as you go round then use a crowbar to get the last bit on . Last time I did one I pinged my tyre lever over a six foot fence and pinched two inner tubes before I got it on correctly. It’s a great tyre if your commuting. Just fit and forget, as near to puncture proof as you can .Heavy as sin, not something you would want on a racing machine though 😂😂😂😂

Kaiser Sose

I just did a 28 miler on them and stayed quite close to where I live in case of issues. All went well. They are much faster than my previous combination of tyres.

Kaiser Sose

exlaser said:

I can tell none of you have ever put on a schwable marathon plus if you think that’s hard

I looked into those since puncture resistance is a priority to me but I was put off by them for the reasons you cite. Speed is not my priority and I'm never going to be a racer.

exlaser

Kaiser Sose said:

exlaser said:

I can tell none of you have ever put on a schwable marathon plus if you think that’s hard

I looked into those since puncture resistance is a priority to me but I was put off by them for the reasons you cite. Speed is not my priority and I'm never going to be a racer.

Sounds very similar to me . I use schwable Durano plus ( folding version ) on my three road bikes. You get most of the good bits of the marathons but are a lot lighter. Never had a puncture in the seven years I have been using them , touch wood .
Which is more than I can say for the conti gatorskins and 4 seasons that I used to use.

Dorset_Boy

Just binned my first GP5000 today after 6,000 kms on the rear - just about 12 months on that wheel, and ridden through the winter months. Replaced with a brand new GP5000 this afternoon which went on really easily.
I think some need to work on their technique, though I do accept some rims are harder than others, but that's the rim, not the tyre......

bobmcstuff

Kaiser Sose said:

bobmcstuff said:

No, you will notice a big difference compared to gatorskins!!

They will go on, and I am sure once you have done it once it'll get easier.

I don't follow you mate... In what way? A good way or bad way?

A good way, the 5000 are a really nice tyre, they feel great compared to gators.

I expect to use tyre levers on any tyre to be honest, especially for the last bit.