Classic & Vintage - I'm either embarrassingly inept, or Grand Bois Hetres are impossible to mount

For anyone else out there with Grand Bois Hetres, how the hell do you get them to seat properly? I can't for the life of me get the bead properly seated... there's always at least one "flat spot" where the tire tread dips low when you spin the wheel (radially untrue), and where it happens corresponds to a section of the tire where the bead line dips down below the edge of the rim. It's almost as though the bead is too small for the rim (although, it wasn't hard to mount on the rim). I've practically gotten blisters on my hands from pulling on the tire in all directions trying to get the bead to pop in place. I've tried pumping it up to 85 psi to no avail. I've tried remounting the tire, no good. It's the same with both front and rear wheels (Velocity Synergy). Any tricks I should be trying?

Give talcum powder a try.

-Kurt

Give talcum powder a try.

-Kurt

I always powder the tubes, but are you referring to the tire bead itself?

An employee had the same basic problem, with a tire when the tube was replaced, so I do know from the factory in his case things were fine. Soapy water solved the problem for us. Over-inflate a bit, then let them dry overnight before use. He did not have the time, so I advised him to rely on the other wheel to brake if possible on the ride home.


Party bubble mix works well too, I forgot I have used that too.

Is the trouble spot at the valve stem?

I haven't had that problem with Hetres on Rigida Sphynx rims, but with other tires that stubbornly refuse to seat, I've used talc, WD-40, Windex, spit, and over-inlflation, sometimes all in tandem! Sometimes, too, I've found that the tire bead will take hours to pop into place: I've lubed it up, pressurized, gone to bed, and in the morning, everything was okay.

Neal

DON'T TRY THIS ON BIKES!!! But I thought I would share this.....At work we mount some pretty big tires on trucks and sometimes refuse to expand to meet the rim width or bead. Guess what we use? Lighter Fluid, we squirt some in and around the tire bead, then run a small trail of fluid on the ground away from the tire. About 10 feet or so. Light the trail of fluid and watch the flame travel to the tire....and BOOM tire seated on rim/wheel. Not for your faint at heart...

Mike

DON'T TRY THIS ON BIKES!!! But I thought I would share this.....At work we mount some pretty big tires on trucks and sometimes refuse to expand the meet the rim width or bead. Guess what we use? Lighter Fluid, we squirt some in and around the tire bead, then run a small trail of fluid on the ground away from the tire. About 10 feet or so. Light the trail of fluid and watch the flame travel to the tire....and BOOM tire seated on rim/wheel. Not for your faint at heart...

Mike

I can think of no legitimate reason that there's no video attached.

For anyone else out there with Grand Bois Hetres, how the hell do you get them to seat properly? I can't for the life of me get the bead properly seated... there's always at least one "flat spot" where the tire tread dips low when you spin the wheel (radially untrue), and where it happens corresponds to a section of the tire where the bead line dips down below the edge of the rim. It's almost as though the bead is too small for the rim (although, it wasn't hard to mount on the rim). I've practically gotten blisters on my hands from pulling on the tire in all directions trying to get the bead to pop in place. I've tried pumping it up to 85 psi to no avail. I've tried remounting the tire, no good. It's the same with both front and rear wheels (Velocity Synergy). Any tricks I should be trying?

Anton, I ran into the same problem. I am watching this thread with a lot of interest to see how/if it gets resolved.

I can think of no legitimate reason that there's no video attached.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9MfnKoTM6c


Check 1:17.

Oh yes.

BTW, I always find that with hard-to-mount tires, just overinflate them a bit and be very careful. It helps to have an air compressor with a regulator on the output. I start every tire at 60 PSI, and bump it up 5 PSI from there until its seated, or until I reach optimal pressure, depending. I've never ever had a problem with seating them wrong (no matter WHAT the tire, and I've done it with 6 different brand/models before), and have only had one blow off, and it was a chromed straight sided wheel that was warped previously, running Bell tires.

Is the trouble spot at the valve stem?

Nope, it's random, and if I try to correct it in one area, another area unseats.

Thanks for the tips, all! I may skip the lighter fluid until I'm desperate! :)

DON'T TRY THIS ON BIKES!!! But I thought I would share this.....At work we mount some pretty big tires on trucks and sometimes refuse to expand the meet the rim width or bead. Guess what we use? Lighter Fluid, we squirt some in and around the tire bead, then run a small trail of fluid on the ground away from the tire. About 10 feet or so. Light the trail of fluid and watch the flame travel to the tire....and BOOM tire seated on rim/wheel. Not for your faint at heart...

Mike

I've used spray ether inside car tires before... also not for those with weak hearts and a fairly good way to blow yourself up if you're not careful.

As for bicycle tires, I've never actually had one I couldn't seat with some careful overinflation and positioning by hand so I'll do more learning than helping.

Thanks for the tips, all! I may skip the lighter fluid until I'm desperate! :)

You do it for the story, man! Take video!

Has anybody asked Jan Heine about this, or posted a question on his blog?

air compressor with regulator if you have it. Over inflate a bit until you hear it pop (seat). Use some soapy water or windex type liquid if needed for lube.

I had the EXACT problem mounting a pair of Panaracer Paselas onto some Weinmann rims. I tried talcum powder on the tire bead and tube to no avail.

VAR tire levers solved my problem!
http://www.cyclebasket.com/smsimg/93/92zzzvar.jpg

Has anybody asked Jan Heine about this, or posted a question on his blog?

I haven't, but I've consulted several of his reviews of tires (which included Hetres), for answers. He has commented on other Grand Bois tires being difficult to mount, and that Grand Bois experimented with increasing the bead circumference by a couple of mm to overcome this problem on other tire models, but that they've since returned to the standard diameter. He hasn't commented on any difficulty with the Hetres.

I ran into the same problem w/ Col de la Vies on ZAC19 rims. Soapy water fixed it, but only temporarily. A couple days later they were back to the same. Funny thing is, I don't have that problem with SOMA B-Lines (which are, by the way, AMAZING tires) on the same rims. Go figger. Oh, and both CdlV's and B-Lines are made by Panaracer. Go figger even more...


SP
Bend, OR

DON'T TRY THIS ON BIKES!!! But I thought I would share this.....At work we mount some pretty big tires on trucks and sometimes refuse to expand to meet the rim width or bead. Guess what we use? Lighter Fluid, we squirt some in and around the tire bead, then run a small trail of fluid on the ground away from the tire. About 10 feet or so. Light the trail of fluid and watch the flame travel to the tire....and BOOM tire seated on rim/wheel. Not for your faint at heart...

Mike

that's actually the same method I use now to put my bike tights on since I've put on some weight. I have to be flamed into them.
I believe many women and hipsters must use this method to get into their jeans as well.

I just spit soup all over my keyboard. Thanks for that, Brian.

"In some cases it may be beneficial to lubricate the side of the tire. This can be done with soapy water, but I usually use spray window cleaner for this, because it doesn't leave a soapy residue on the braking surface of the rim."

- Sheldon Brown (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/flats.html)

I had the same problem mounting Hetres. The bead did not want to seat no matter what I did. I then followed Sheldon's advice...sprayed windex around the beads and inflated to 80psi.

Bead settled in pretty well - not perfectly, but 1000% better than my initial efforts. I'll leave at 80psi overnight and then set to my riding pressure 50 & 40psi.

I hope a bit of riding will stretch these tires enough that any roadside flat fixing isn't a PITA.

We used Pam cooking spray back in the old days.

that's actually the same method I use now to put my bike tights on since I've put on some weight. I have to be flamed into them.
I believe many women and hipsters must use this method to get into their jeans as well.


I just spit soup all over my keyboard. Thanks for that, Brian.

:lol: made my day :).