Fifty Plus (50+) - One tough set of tires!

Tough to mount, that is.

I just finished mounting a new set of Bontrager race lite hardcase tires. I hope they never flat, because it took me quite a while to get them on the rims, and boy are my thumbs sore - I would not want to replace them on the road. I think I'd prefer to have softer tires that are easily repaired - I hope I didn't pinch the tubes, as I had to use a tire lever for the last bit. Maybe I'll invest in a folding tire to carry on the bike.

These are 28mm tires, and I bought new tubes sized for 28-32 mm. Would I have been able to use the smaller tubes that were in the old 25mm tires? These larger tubes seem a bit fat for the rims.

Don't know what rims you were fitting them on- but Some tyres are easy to fit and some are not- Same with rims- some are easy and some take a bit of time. And fit some tyres to some rims- and they fall off as fast as you try to locate them. You were not unlucky as Bontrager tyres have a reputation for being a bit stiff to fit. As To getting them Off-- Can be a problem. Tyrelevers- and unless you are lucky to have some steel one (That will bend the rim if you are not carefull) are mostly made of Plastic. I have some Park Tool ones in Blue. Not bad untill you go to fit a Tight tyre. That is when you find they are Flexible and don't work with a Tight tyre. I have about 4 sets of Freebee ones from magazines and they are perfect- Rigid with just a bit of give. I have the Ultegra wheels- and I caused my own problem with these. The rim tape I put in was the Velo Thick cloth type and they take up most of the space in the well of the rim. I have no room to Push the bead of the tyre into to make fitting easy. Or taking them off for that matter. So it is down to two levers to get the tyre off and hope I don't snap one of the levers. And I have done that before so best of luck and don't get any punctures.

the rims are the Xero XSR-3 that were stock on my OCR-1. I bought these tires because they were on sale at the LBS and I've heard they are pretty decent. I'll stay close to home for my first few rides - just in case.

I also read about a tool called the Kool Stop bead jack - this wouldn't help with removing a tier on the road, but would help get it back on the rim.

Tough to mount, that is.

Would I have been able to use the smaller tubes that were in the old 25mm tires? These larger tubes seem a bit fat for the rims.

Yes. You can use smaller tubes and they do make mounting a tough tire a little easier.

I just finished mounting a new set of Bontrager race lite hardcase tires. I hope they never flat,

I have about 2500 miles on a set of these that came stock w/a Trek 520. So far, not a single flat, despite lots of miles on crappy city streets/potholes.

Yes. You can use smaller tubes and they do make mounting a tough tire a little easier.

I had a pair of those, and ain't NOTHIN' you can do to make 'em easy to put on. Besides which, they're slow, harsh riding, and don't corner worth a dang. The first pair of road tires (in 30+ years of road riding) that I hated so much I didn't even come close to wearing 'em out before I replaced them.

Scott P
Bend, OR