Originally Posted by
rpenmanparker
I know what you say is true, but what is there to do? You have the wheels. You have the tires. Are you going to chuck it all and go in search of an easy mounting combination? ....
Yes, I understand the problem, and I've never been a believer in scrapping rideable parts. In my circle we always considered it bad karma to fix what wasn't broken or waste good usable parts in favor of "better".
However the answer depends on where and how one rides. If riding far (beyond bus/taxi.friend pickup range) from home you have to weight the risk of getting stranded by a flat. As I said, I've seen people so stranded because the tire was so tight they couldn't slide a tire lever under it out on the road.
The real answer lies in not accepting this nonsense in the first place. Dealers know which rims and tires are always tight, and should complain to their suppliers, especially to bike companies using them OEM. They need to score them negatively when purchasing, and let the vendors know that it's an issue that could cost sales. Tipping the financial scales from stuff that doesn't work to stuff that does eventually will get better, more serviceable product out there.
Consumers can start the ball rolling by simply refusing to buy tight tires, and or returning some of the grief of tight rims to dealers by complaining clearly and consistently until the message is heard.
I ride tubulars on the road, so the only wired-on ties I buy are mtn tires, but when a dealer friend suggests a tire I know to be tight, I pass and tell him why.