Folding Bikes - How to take off Marathon Plus tires easily

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Reading how some people have a hard time removing these tires, I'd like to share the way I use and which makes it easy. I use two plastic tire levers and five or six pieces of ropes (each not even a foot long). Of course, first I deflate the tire as much as possible. Then I squeeze the sidewalls and push the tire against the rim, and use one of the pieces of rope to hold the squeezed tire as close to the rim as possible. This I repeat in regular intervals along the rim until I run out of the pieces of rope. Again, the rope is there to prevent the tire from returning to its natural shape; it's there to hold the tire as close to the rim as possible. As you can see in the attached photo, this has already created a gap between the tire and the rim at the top. Some rims, like Dahon's Kinetix Comp are tougher to deal with due to their shape. In that case I keep on squeezing the sidewalls (to force them into the deeper middle part of the rim) from the center string to where the tire lever is, on both sides. Eventually, this creates enough of a gap at the top for the tire lever to easily slide the tire off the rim. No more swearing and sweating :).

I just use 3 tire levers, set all 3 and pull them all down at once.
It dislodges enough bead to not pop back over., like 2 one at a time.

Or you could just use your bare hands:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xZ6Lybtc8Q

That was a marathon Plus off a Birdy wheel.

your method is quite interesting. with my 20 inches kojaks i just use 2 plastic tire levers.

your method is quite interesting. with my 20 inches kojaks i just use 2 plastic tire levers.
Marathon Plus tires are very stiff and thus can be very hard to remove. My experience prior to using the method mentioned above was of swearing, sweating, and spending a lot of time trying to take them off. From some of the posts I've read, others have been having these issues, as well. Not all tires are like that. Marathons are much easier to handle, and Marathon Racers easier still, for example.

I know Jur's video makes it look easy, but as I have reported her before, it was impossible for me to get the Marathon Plus tires off our Bike Friday rims. Even the method shown by Michel Blue would not please me if I had need to patch a tube in the field.

Our current Kojacks are a whole different story - they are a rim/tire combo that is doable in the field.

Lou

Does squeezing a tire together like that really always work as well as that?

No, I do have Continentals on my Moulton which require levers or stronger hands.

Or you could just use your bare hands:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xZ6Lybtc8Q

That was a marathon Plus off a Birdy wheel.

lol you are making it look easy ......
1. slide tire back into the channel on at least one side...
2. watch how he pulls down on the tire on both sides and makes sure that at least 1/3 of the tire is not seated but instead is in the center of the rim ...
3. now you have wiggle room to get the tire to pop over the rim

good job Jur

My general tip.
Hold the value fully open. Place both arms around the diameter of the tyre holding it to your chest and squeeze. Once as much air as possible leaves the tube, release the value so no more air is sucked back in before relieving the pressure. Then things are a lot easier in my experience.

I haven't had problems getting tires off, but getting them back on is another thing. I've found Pedros tire irons to be the best of the plastic irons, only broke one. For installation, I picked up one of these - http://www.amazon.com/Kool-Stop-Tire-Bead-Jack/dp/B001AYML7K.

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Holy crap! They are seriously that difficult to get off? Dang.

FWIW, regular 20" x 1.75" Marathons and Velocity 406 Aeroheat rims play real well together -- not too loose, not too tight. On the tighter side, sure, but nothing like you're showing here...

Some tires and some rims are just crazy difficult to mount and dismount even though the numbers on the rim and tire are the same.
For instance Schwalbe Stelvios and FMF Power-Moto rims (both 451) make getting a flat or changing a tire a 65 min. ordeal. If you do it in public people think you have never changed a tire before! Mounting is MUCH harder than dismounting them. Tried Velocity rims and it was just as difficult.
The guys from Schwalbe need to have a lunch-meeting with the people who manufacture 451 rims. I am sure they could come to an agreement on what 451 actually means.

Some tires and some rims are just crazy difficult to mount and dismount even though the numbers on the rim and tire are the same.
For instance Schwalbe Stelvios

Yelp, i got 2 puntures in the inner tube from all the effort of getting a stevio tyre on . How annoying!
Only way I found to actually get them on is to pre fit them twice with out the tubes and then add the tubes on the third time as they have strecthed a bit. They are fine to remove once used a bit.

Reading how some people have a hard time removing these tires, I'd like to share the way I use and which makes it easy. I use two plastic tire levers and five or six pieces of ropes (each not even a foot long). Of course, first I deflate the tire as much as possible. Then I squeeze the sidewalls and push the tire against the rim, and use one of the pieces of rope to hold the squeezed tire as close to the rim as possible. This I repeat in regular intervals along the rim until I run out of the pieces of rope. Again, the rope is there to prevent the tire from returning to its natural shape; it's there to hold the tire as close to the rim as possible. As you can see in the attached photo, this has already created a gap between the tire and the rim at the top. Some rims, like Dahon's Kinetix Comp are tougher to deal with due to their shape. In that case I keep on squeezing the sidewalls (to force them into the deeper middle part of the rim) from the center string to where the tire lever is, on both sides. Eventually, this creates enough of a gap at the top for the tire lever to easily slide the tire off the rim. No more swearing and sweating :).
To paraphrase Douglas Adams (http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/718.html):

Ah, this is obviously some strange usage of the word 'easily' that I wasn't previously aware of.

My experience prior to using the method mentioned above was of swearing, sweating, and spending a lot of time trying to take them off. You just don't know the right swear words.