biker7

This is pretty frustrating if not a bit pathetic. I currently ride '04 Campy Vento wheels with Vittoria Rubino Pro Tires. They honestly mount pretty well and I have had good luck. I wanted to upgrade my wheelset for no good reason really but to have a backup wheelset handy or to upgrade and make the Vento's my back up...but so far no go. I scored a nice set of new '06 Campy Scrirroco wheels on e-bay which don't have the G3 spoke pattern in front which I prefer. The wheels came with a slightly higher end Vittoria Tire...a Rubino Pro Intrepid with Kevlar. Oh they are f-ing intrepid alright...to the point they refuse to mount. And I have worked on them for long periods...taking breaks...tire levers...tire in the dryer...every tip used from the archives...again...I have been mounting tires for a while now...but I can not get these on. And I mean every tip so best to not even go there. So...I tired of f-ing around with this combo. I want to ride these wheels eventually...but want to get some other tires. Ones I will not have to fight to mount on Campy rims renowned for their difficulty. The thing is Vittoria tires are supposed to be mildly forgiving with Campy rims...but not these. Therefore...if someone has had similar experience to myself and has found a relatively easy or at least a tire that will mount on Campy rims effectively, please post if you would your experiences.
Many Thanks,
George

fmw

Shoot, I thought you had those mounted by now. I've had no problems mounting any tires on any rims except for a pair of Kenda Kaliente. I've never had Scirroco wheels, however. I had a pair of Rubino Intrepid on my old Bianchi but I didn't mount them and it didn't have campy wheels. I seem to remember the Michelin tires all appear to be easy mounters - or at least easier than most. I would just stay away from the Kenda Kaliente which have a twine bead that doesn't stretch.

Extort

I have the campy protons and the Hutchinson Carbon Comp can be mounted with difficulty, but it can be mounted.
hehehe... I said 'mounted'

Surferbruce

michelins. i have 06 ventos and michelins mount fine.

Wil Davis

The Ventos on my Bianchi came with Vittoria Rubino Techs, and I've used Action HSDs and Pro Slicks on those rims without having to use levers to mount the tyres. The one brand I have had problems with (but not on the Ventos, rather on the Mavic E3s which I built up for my Schwinn), are Continentals. I'm using Ultra 3000s at the moment, but I have found that those (and the Sport 1000s) have to be mounted with careful use of a (plastic) tyre lever. Smearing a small amount of liquid soap on the bead of the tyre also helps.

- Wil

biker7

Thanks Guys...update:
Scoured the archives for even more tips. Search revealed an abundance of instances where Campy wheels are hard to mount. There was a nugget in there that I suggest all write down and keep in their tool kit. Long time knowledgable forum member gmason had a tip he said helped him mount an unmountable combination. He said make sure that every bit of air is out of the tube...everybody knows that one...but...make sure the beads on each side of the tire are together. What this does is make the effective I.D. of the tire bigger. But I will embellish slightly. Keeping the beads together is the most critical IMO for that last 5 inches of bead that won't go on. If the other side of the tire bead is all the way against the lip of the opposite rim section then you will have a much more difficult time getting that last section of remaining bead over the lip. I got my first one mounted with that tip. Thanks gmason for your wisdom.
I will try to mount the rear tire tomorrow when my thumbs recover a bit.
I may give the Michelins a try next time
Best Regards,
George

DocRay

I have Ventos and Zondas. Michelin,Vittoria, Continental, no problems (?).

baillieul

My son won a set of red Vittoria tires in a race last month. I received them for fathers day. The tires ride beautifully, but were a b**** to mount. To make matters worse, I flatted on last Saturdays group ride, in the rain. Got it fixed, but 'it ain't pretty'.

Wil Davis

I've found the following method to be ideal for "Those Last 5 Inches of a Difficult Tyre":

…insert a tyre lever (plastic) between the rim and the tyre and slide it along the rim in the direction of the arrows. I've found this to be the easiest way by far, and it saves the thumbs (like you wouldn't believe!!!)

- Wil

mrkott3r

watch the tube when sliding a tyre lever around.

biker7

Thanks Will for that tip. Speaking of tire levers...perhaps we can expand this thread a bit to get input from those that have experimented with different tire levers and have discovered their favorite. I have only used the little plastic blue ones sold by Park that some say are lousy. They for example, based upon their shape, do not seem conducive to sliding the lever along the bead as the yellow lever shown...perhaps they will. The blue Park levers have worked pretty well for me but there may be better out there.
Will...what kind of lever is shown in your picture? Any suggestions from others as well?
Thanks,
George

Wil Davis

The one in the picture is marked "PEDRO's Racing Service" and I picked it up from my LBS (now out of business). I have a set of 3 plastic levers from Bike Nashbar which are also good, but are skinnier than the one in the picture. I have some metal levers also, and these will work for the sliding trick, but can mark up the rim (which is A Bad Thing…)

- Wil

biker7

Its always darkest before the dawn
I got 'em mounted...Yeaaaaaaa! I am pretty stoked. They look sweet. I will post a pic of my bike after I install them. Thanks to all for your advice. Another thing I did was get the rear tire nice and toasty in the dryer and then take both feet and stretch the bead as much as I could. Not sure this helped other then compress my spine a bit. This forum is a great resource if not a self help group for the hopelessly possessed.
Thanks again guys!
George

pigmode

Good on ya. It just dawned on me--kevlar is used in hi-tech racing sails and line for its ability to resist elongation, and its properties in that respect are pretty amazing. Not sure how those properties are affected by heat, but I can't imagine a kevlar bead stretching much more than 1/8" if that. I've seen a 100'+ kevlar halyard (rope) stretch 2" in a big puff of wind, but then it immediately returned to shape when the puff subsided.

biker7

Hi PM,
Yup...you are right...tremendous strength to weight ratio...why Kevlar is used in tire beads among many other applications including bullet proof vests. I likely created no permanent elongation...may not have even elogated them into the elastic zone by tugging on them...more venting my frustration...lol. Only elongation I likely generated is in the dryer as most substances have a coeficient of thermal expansion. In any event the dam things are one there, and my thumbs are pretty sore but am excited to try the new wheels on the bike. These tires by the way are much more softer carcass and more supple then the Rubino Tech's I was riding which have I believe a much lower TPI then the Rubino Pro Intrepids which I believe can sustain a bit more air pressure. So might run them with a bit more pressure then the Rubino Tech's.
Will post a ride report of the '06 Scirroco's when I get the bike on the road. As mentioned previously, for
'06 Campy has upgraded the Scirocco's to have a radial spoke pattern in front which I prefer. I do like the G3 pattern on the drive wheel however. My Ventos have been amazingly bombproof...have taken everything I have thrown at 'em...hard to ask more from a low cost wheelset.
Cheers,
George

pigmode

George,
Gotta admit, I've been looking lustily at the Campy wheel option myself, so I look forward to your review. I have ran through a set of Vittoria Pave clinchers and the high thread count does make a better tire it seems. I just wish that tire was available in non-green.

Pedal Wench

Good idea. I broke those Crank Bro. Speedlevers in two seconds on my Zondas. I've had better luck with the big yellow levers from Pedros. I always have to use them to get the tire back on - just lucky that I haven't gotten a pinch flat yet.

biker7

PM,
To me for machine built rims the Campys are had to beat for cost/benefit. I really like the new '06 Campy wheels in silver...remind me of some of the older wheels in appearance...now lighter...silky hubs and most have the radial spoke pattern in the front wheel which makes sense for a non-drive wheel. I will post my bike before and after for some perspective. At some point I may pick up an '06 set of Zondas or Eurus and have these new wheels be my back ups and put the Ventos into the e-bay gene pool. Remarkable as you know how much a difference wheels and tires make not only in terms of performance but appearance.
Cheers,
George

Urbanmonk

I have the Campy Scirocco G3s and had a time taking off the Rubino Pros which came with the wheels. I switched to the Continental 4 Season Grand Prix (a tremendous reduction in flats=0 so far). The tires were much easier to get on and off. Just my experience.

Cheers

cuda2k

Bumping this thread for new readers. I just purchased a set of Fulcrum Racing 5's which are Campy built and been looking for recommendations for tires. I'll probably go with the Rubino Pro.

ri_us

I have Neutrons and I use Continental Grand Prix 4000s and 5000s. They go on fine but they can be a little time consuming to remove.

Wil Davis

I love the Vittoria Rubino Pro Slicks - they're so quiet, both on the road and on the rollers. A friend was visiting recently and asked about my rollers, and I when demonstrated they commented as to how quiet my rollers were compared to their CycleOps Fluid 2. Most of the noise comes from the tyres; any hint of a tread pattern on the tyre makes for noise. The slicker the tyre, the quieter the ride. Treads are for MTBs and automobile tyres.

FWIW -

- Wil

cuda2k

Got my Rubino Pros tonight. Spent the better part of a half hour getting the first one on the Fulcrum 5 rear wheel. Aired it up, and watched it very slowly deflate.

Decided since I am having to postpone my Flyte's finish date a month or so I'd mount the Rubinos on my Gazelle instead. Put both tires on the Mavic Open Pros by hand, no tools at all, in a matter of minutes. Wow what a difference. Guess I'm going to be practicing my tire installation techniques on the Gazelle's old tires for a while.

clausen

I think the Rubinos broke in from the first mounting. I mounted one on a Open Pros 2 weeks ago and it was pain.

cuda2k

Both went on without issues, even the one I hadn't previously mounted to anything. I ended up putting my old tires on the Fulcrums for now to at least get the rims off the ground. Unfortunately at this point the bike isn't much more than a scooter with really large wheels and no brakes.