Originally Posted by
Wogsterca
Some rims and tires just don't seem to like each other. I think what happens is that even though a wheel is 559mm it's really 559 ± a certain tolerance,
if you get a rim that is at the large end of that tolerance and a tire at the small end of that tolerance, they can be a real son of a gun to get on and off.
I don't think it's usually the rim diameter, it's just that the valley in the middle of the rim isn't deep enough on some rims. I used some Rox ultra thin rim tape that made things a bit easier, but it only lasted a few months, then started wadding up and moving. I tried Velo Plugs, but the holes in this rim are large enough that I had to use the larger yellow Velo Plugs, and I couldn't get the tires on at all. I'm using some fairly thin stretchy type rim strips now, but it's a serious battle, even with my VAR lever. you know when you have to use a lever to install the first side of a tire, it's going to be a struggle to get it on. And getting it off is even tougher. Back when I had regular rim tape on the wheels, I had to dig it out first to get the tires off at all.