beagledadi

I've been Mountain Biking for 12 years and bought a used Litespeed road bike. I am trying to put on new tires and I'm having the hardest time pinching the tube with the tire lever when installing the tire. What's the secret?? I've tried two different tire levers but ended up with three pinched tubes?? Any help is appreciated, thanks.

operator

Some tire/rim combos are hard to get on. Helps to have a strong but thin tire lever.

Rev.Chuck

You need to not use a tire lever when installing the tire, technique is your freind. Barring that, get one of these:
The KoolStop tire jack

oglala_1927

Practice,practice,practice! Make sure the tube isn't in the way of the tire tool. put a little air in the tube , that helps keep the tube from lapping over the rim, and look to see if the tube is in the way!

brianappleby

thumb pressure has worked for me... but maybe i've gotten lucky with my tire/rim combinations.

jemoryl

Some rim/tire combinations are worse than others: Campy rims are particularly tight, especially with Michelin tires. You want to have the tube inflated just enough to give some roundness without fighting back. Once the tire is used, you should be able to mount it totally by hand, without any irons. Until you get the feel, you might want to deflate the tube totally after mounting and inspect the tire at the bead/rim interface (by pushing it back) to be sure the tube is not pinched prior to full inflation.

Bekologist

think layer cake and spreading icing.

layer cake, in that you put the tire onto the rim in layers. first one bead, then get the tube fully onto the rim, partially inflated to ease it staying on the rim underneath the tire. then the last bead needs to go on. layer one (first bead) layer two (tube) layer three (other bead)

agreed, you don't need to use tire levers most times, using a palming technique lets you roll most tires onto the rim. deflate the tube fully again and roll the tire and tube flat. ensure the bead on the tire is free of the rim, allowing a few crucial mm of free play. then work the last bead onto the rim, opposite the valve stem. palm the bead over the rim like rolling a newspaper tight into a roll, i guess.

one of the secrets of using a tire lever is using one like a knife to spread a layer of icing onto the rim, pushing the tire into place via a rotational, and not a 'levering' action. circular smooth around the rim to spread the last bead into place.

i like the quikstik or a single pedros. but the lever free palming technique is usually a go. some road tires and some rims are a bear. sometimes, however, the bead jack posted by rev chuck is the only way to go.

dauphin

I had the same problem...and ditched the tire levers and bought a quick stick. Go to REI's website and look it up. Best tool I ever bought.

beagledadi

Thanks everyone. Looks like I'm going shopping for a Quickstik and then for some odd reasson I'm craving cake with lots of icing....

Retro Grouch 

While some tire and rim combinations are harder than others, there is a trick to minimize the difficulty.

What you need to do is to concentrate all of the slack into the area where you are trying to force the last few inches of tire onto the rim. To do that, go the opposite side of the tire. Pinch the beads together so that they can settle into the low center spot of the rim. Now working your two hands in opposite directions around the rim, try to consolidate all of the slack until you come to the part of the tire that is not yet installed. Chances are you'll be able to force it on just using hand pressure.

Incidentally, that same technique works when removing the tire from the rim too. I seldom find it necessary to resort to using tire levers.

donnamb 

Would those of you who are familiar with it say that the above tire jack might be able to minimize actual physical handling of the tire? I have a serious allergy to natural rubber latex, and I am still trying to figure out my flat repair strategy, which currently consists of paying someone else to do it. A $150 ER visit is more expensive than what anyone around here charges to repair a flat, but I like to be self-sufficient whenever possible.

cascade168

KoolStop Tire Jacks are great. They cost less than $10, so what's to lose. Very lightweight. Not the easiest thing to carry on a bike, but you can figure something out. I have one and hardly ever use it, but, when you get that rare, tough, tire/wheel combination, the TireJack is worth having around. It's the best solution I have found. Buy one here:

https://biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id...&item_id=KS-TJ

Allergic reactions are no fun. I had a bad one to penicillin and almost died. Have you considered getting some tight fitting leather gloves (like a golf glove, or something similar)? They would still allow for enough dexterity to change a tire and would keep your hands off the rubber. Another possibility would be the blue nitrile gloves. You can get these at Home Depot. Obviously, you are going to have to make sure that any solution is not going to cause anaphylaxis. I don't go anywhere without some Benadryl. Talk to your doctor about what medical personnel with similar allergies use as substitutes to account for latex, and/or talcum sensitivity.

Lastly, you might want to look into a tire/wheel combination that is easier to service. Your LBS can help you with this.

donnamb 

I probably hold the record for quickest non-medical use of a box of nitrile gloves. I've had this allergy for 15 years, and I think flats are the only workaround I haven't figured out yet. Well, that and balloons where I need to grocery shop... I'm not sure I could have a better tire/wheel combination with a Nexus 8. I'll look at these tire jacks. If they can reduce contact with my hands, they will be worth every penny. Thanks.

cascade168

I have no idea what that statement means. Huh?


The hub (nexus8) has nothing to do with how the tire fits on the rim. Sorry, I should have said tire/rim combination. If you had a good tire/rim combination, you would not be having a problem getting the tire mounted. Ask your LBS to find you a tire that's easier to mount on your rim.


Is your allergy specific to the tube (I'm guessing this is most likely), the tire, or both? There is no way you are going to do much in the way of not touching either (when fixing a flat), short of covering your hands with something. Even with the TireJack, you're still going to have at least one of your hands on the tire. Also, you can also get these through any shop that orders from QBP (which covers most shops).

LóFarkas

Dunno if it's been said... lazy.
Anyway, here it goes: Inflate the tube to avoid pinching it. Inflate it, stuff it in the tyre, put one bead of the tyre onto the rim. Then let a bit of air out of the tube to allow you to wrestle the other bead on, but leave enough air in it so that it keeps its shape.

CHenry

Nitrile gloves for handling the latex, and wash them when done as you would wash your hands.

I recommend rolling the first bead on, then inserting the valve stem and the tube and partially inflating the tube. This will clear the tube of the rim and elevate the tire carcass. Then get 3/4 of the second bead seated. That part isn't usually hard to do. The last quarter-circle may require a little elbow grease. This is where I have sometimes had to use the delrin tire "irons" to get the last 45 degrees in. Usually the last 15 degrees goes in easier, and that as been my experience with even the tightest beads. The critical step is partially inflating the tube--just a couple of pumps with a floor pump.

jemoryl

You are aware that most bike tires and tubes are butyl rubber, not latex? I'm not sure if that makes a difference with regards to your allergy. There are latex tubes, which will be clearly labeled as such (they are a special lightweight product which costs more). And I'm not sure latex is used in tires much, except maybe some very light weight racing tires. Some lightweight gloves would probably be the way to go (or get someone else to do it).

kommisar

I just built a front wheel. After getting the spoke tension pretty close according to the sound of a plucked spoke, I tried mounting my old front tire. It didn't go on easily and I punctured the tube using a standard tire lever to mount the tire. I thought about it for a moment and then realized I could adjust the rim's diameter through spoke tension. So I tightened every spoke a half turn and guess what? Tire went on about the same as it did on the previous rim and I didn't need a lever.

sknhgy 

Like Grouch said; I don't own a tire lever. Never seen one. I'm usually able to mount/remove tires without one. I have used the end of the smallest cresent wrench for a tire lever.

CdCf

Always makes me laugh when I read about people who never use tyre levers. I dare anyone to mount my Conti SportContact 32-559 on my rims with their bare hands. I took two broken levers, two pinched tubes, plus the hand strength of my dad, in addition to my own, to get the rear on (front was marginally easier but still took several minutes of incredibly hard work)! They're ridiculously difficult to get on. I've realised that if I get a flat on the road, it's likely that I won't be able to get the rear tyre back on, so I won't even try. I'll just have to walk to the nearest major road, call a taxi and get home that way.

Tapeworm21

The yellow Pedros tire levers have worked best for me. Just make sure that when your putting the tire on, the lever is fully on the rim. Every now and again, you'll pinch one though.

sac02

Sometimes a couple extra mm's is all you need to make tire changes a lot easier. On one particularly tough to mount wheelset I had, I ditched the cloth velox rim strip for velocity plugs, and it made a huge difference in ease of tire mounting.

Mac

Wil Davis

This has been dealt with in previous threads; I find that sliding the tyre-lever along the rim (as show by the arrows in the picture) works the best for me (YMMV); another tip is to lubricate the tyre bead with liquid soap. Good luck!

- Wil

FatBomber

For an easier roadside tube change I keep my tubes in ziplock bags with a healthy amount of baby powder. the powder will assist in preventing pinches and will also help in making things slippery enough to avoid using levers. I also inflate the tube with just whatever I can muster myself without a pump for easier installation and then finish the job with a pump or CO2.

Works for me anyhow.

atomsuite

From the responses, I think some of you have never ran into a "difficult" tire installation. When it's difficult, all the obvious advice about one lip first, sliding like icing, etc. really don't apply. There are some seriosuly rediculous installations that can happen that you would like at and think are impossible. I think most people know the obvious. I liked the descriptive advice given by Retro Grouch. It seems to make a difference. But eventually you're bound to run into one of those "impossible" combinations where applying all of the advice in this thread still doesn't get it done.

My first and only impossible situation was with a Campy Lambda Aero rim and Michelin Pro Race 2 tire. Friggen took me forever. I had to use two tire levers right next to each other to get enough pry leverage so that I could pry without them breaking.