Originally Posted by
squirtdad
IME is it not as simple as that.
historically (pre tubeless) some tire and rim combos just were difficult. And same tire on different rims often was not problem
Some classic rims have a reputation for being hard to put tires on. Ambrosio 19 elite were one of those
Some tires were known to be beast....forget specifics, but many schwalbe
enter tubeless ready rims and tires and it is a whole new world, my understanding is that full tubeless ready tires have more material in the side walls to prevent leakage, different bead shapes and more precises sizing...all in the goal of being airtight without sealant
My personal experience was putting a 2024 panaracer gravel king slick 28 mm TLR (note they don't offer tubed and tubeless versions and is speced for 60 psi tubess and 100 psi tubed on the side wall) on a MA40 rim. clearly not a good rim for this, but had not problems with a 2001 28mm gravel king non tubless ready tire
hardest install of my life. required a lever to get the first bead on, then multiple levers, soap, tire jack, inventive swearing and a stupid amount of time to insall. Took almost as much to get off
have not had a change to try on a more modern rim, but ingeneral from everything I have seen, tubless ready are tougher to install
You weren't kidding. I just put 35mm Panaracer Gravel King SK's on my wife's commuter and it wasn't something I'd ever want to try with a tube. The tubeless install was difficult enough. Had to use two metal reinforced levers to get both beads on. And managed to gouge the tubeless tape in the process. Luckily super glue is really great when sealing small holes or cracks in rims or rim tape.
Had I been using a tube I probably would have had to call it a day and order a bead jack. Actually I might do that anyway.
I suspect the new craze with hookless rims has caused a panic in tire manufacturers and this is the result. There's literally no need for tubeless tires to be this tight when using hooked rims.