Originally Posted by
Cougrrcj
Unhooked rims were okay with stiff wire-beaded tires that held their shape and at moderate pressures, but with more modern and less stiff wire beads - or with any of the foldable/Kevlar beads forget it - if they aren't perfectly seated concentrically, they tend to blow off the rims at even 60-80psi.
I did just get some wire bead 27x1 1/4" paselas for my unhooked rims from 1972, they certainly went on the rims easier than the old tires, those were impossible to remove or replace without tire levers, the pasela went on without tire levers, but did require most of the strength of my thumbs to get the second bead on, considering the looser fit I was a bit nervous. I aired them up and they actually didn't want to seat up properly, IMO this is largely because the beads/sidewalls of the paselas are so grippy,so I spritzed both beads with windex and aired them up again and they snapped into position at ~80 PSI. So far so good for me, but I will certainly be keeping an eye on them. I will be running 55 PSI up front and 65 in the back, so I'm really not in the danger zone of potential bead pop off. But I weill certainly be keeping an eye on them.
Does anybody ever rub a bit of candle wax on the bottom edge of the bead of the Paselas when they are new to get them to seat up properly? I