Originally Posted by
Snikerdoodlz
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?
Yes and no. As above, thicker tires and sidewalls are harder to keep pushed into the center well. With a lighter standard bicycle tire it's easy to get the beads to stay there. The heavier tire just requires more effort to maintain the slack in the bead that's needed to pull it over the rim's wall.
If you watch them change car tires at a auto shop you'll see that the principal is the same- they just have big hydraulic machines to do the prying and lifting of the bead.