I’ve recently returned to some ‘serious’ cycling after little more than utility riding for 20 or so years. I loved the ’90 Cannondale touring bike I had way back when, so when a cheap 90’s Cannondale T900 was FS locally I picked it up. I found it harsher than I remember my ST600 being- but then, I’m older now, so maybe the ST600 was harsh and my younger self just didn’t notice/feel it. Anyway, I decided to give some Rene Herse Barlow Pass tires a try to see if they made things more comfortable (I'm doing mostly pavement-often rough- and a bit of gravel riding). Well, I’ve had an absolute b***h of a time trying to seat the beads (running them with tubes on the Sun AT18 rims that are original to the bike- there were crappy 32c tires on it when I got it (seated properly, and I briefly had some Gravelking SS 35c tires on, which also seated properly), but it originally came with Avocet 38c tires according to the old Cannondale brochure, so it seems 38c should fit). Tried everything. Soaping the bead, leaving the tires in the sun, massaging, doubling up the rim tape, riding on them at low pressure for a while, hard & fast inflation (which actually seemed to work, but the tube would blow almost immediately before I could release some air- even though I didn’t go over about 75psi… must have wasted 3 or 4 tubes this way)… But there’s always one spot that won’t seat (not always the same spot after each attempt). The thing is, I’ve done a couple rides on them not-quite-perfectly-seated and they’ve absolutely transformed the feel of the bike. It feels great. But yeah, I know it’s not a good idea to ride on a not-perfectly-seated tire.. These old Sun rims have a pretty deep well, and maybe they aren’t quite within the required spec? Kinda sucks, as these are NOT cheap tires. I’m wondering if there are any other tricks to try…. Or if maybe 35c tires would possibly be easier to seat (though really seems like it would be more dependent on the diameter rather than width… Shelling out more $ is less than ideal, but if I’m likely to get 35c tires seated and can get a similar quality ride, so be it. Ideas?