Originally Posted by
Moe Zhoost
What tires are you using? I have a set of wheels with Rhyno Lite rims and have found it to be a challenge to mount new Kevlar bead tires. I almost never have to use my VAR tire jack but did this time. The tires seem easier to mount now that they're stretched a bit. Follow the excellent advice posted by others above, stay patient, and you'll do fine. Building up your thumb muscles is always useful.
I'm using Schwalbe Marathon road tires. Those tires are already tighter than usual, so the combination was brutal. I used to use Maxxis Gypsies, which were still unreasonable.
People are saying to guide the bead into the central depression. Does it not do that automatically when you pull on it when flipping tire levers?