Originally Posted by
ssmorol
I know the old tires were 700x23c...the ones I bought were 700x25c. Could that be an issue? Advise I got from here was that the 25mm wide ones would provide a better ride.
No, that's not the problem. However even tires of the "correct": diameter can vary in how easy they are to install and some rims are tougher than others. It depends on how the manufacturing tolerances add up.
The ultimate tire installation tool is the Kool Stop Tire Jack:
https://www.amazon.com/Kool-Stop-Tir...tire+bead+jack
If it won't install the tire, nothing will.