Originally Posted by
WhyFi
I've dealt with some hellaciously tight fits, and most road tires are too small for this approach - just not enough meat to step on. The best approach that I've found for breaking the seat is to do a rolling-up-a-newspaper motion - stand the wheel in front of you, 'cause you really need to lean in to it, and try to roll/pull to tire over the rim. If it doesn't pop within a couple seconds, rotate the tire and try another spot. You *need* to wear gloves, too - you'll blister up your hands right quick, otherwise (ask me how I know).
I think as more roadies adopt the 105% rule as a goal (rim exterior width = tire width x 1.05), tire fitting stories will become more prevalent. Seems simple geometry math to realize that as rim width grows, while diameter/circumference remains the same, a given tire width (eg. 25) will be harder to fit on a wider rim than a narrower rim. Tubeless just adds further difficulty.