cantgettyreon

So my father built his first custom wheels with Hope hubs and 29er BOR XMD 366 rims (tubless ready). Since weather got better he tried to put on his Schwalbe Smart Sam tires (29 x 2,25) on but as he said to me, he ruined 3 inner tubes and a rimtape. He even had problems putting on first tire side. As an experiment he fitted his Conti winter tire which is tubeles ready with relative ease. Since I can't help in person and I am not very experienced in MTB world I am not sure what seems to be the problem. Is it really incompatibility? Can you suggest tire that will fit and is affordable? Any bit helps!

RubeRad

Is he using a pocket knife to get the last bit of tire over the rim or something? If tubes are getting ruined by trying to put a tire on, he must not be taking care to keep the tube well inside, and it's getting pinched between the bead and rim. If rim tape is getting ruined by putting a tire on, then ... ? I can't imagine what would do this except for violent use of inappropriate tools.

Some tires are just tighter than others. I'm surprised that a MTB tire gives this much trouble, because usually wider is easier.

Make sure, when getting the last bit of bead over the rim (whether the first bead or the 2nd) that the rest of the bead is well down in the depressed center channel ALL the way around the rim, that should give the necessary clearance to get the last bit of the bead over the rim with HANDS only. One trick I've seen to make sure the bead is well-centered (and this was for Schwalbe tires) is to tie string around the tire in a few places to make sure the beads are pulled together and centered. Or zipties.

If that still doesn't work, look into getting a bead jack, or give up, take the wheel and tire to a bike shop, and offer them like $5 to put it on. (good luck fixing a flat on the trail though...)

cantgettyreon

Thank You for your input. Since he is riding now for about a year or a bit more I can't vouch for his tire seating technique and that might be the case, but is there any possibility that tubeless ready rim is not compatible with regular clincher tire like that? He says that rim is a bit shallower than that of his complete bike wheelset.

RubeRad

Tubeless-ready also means not-tubeless-yet, it shouldn't have any inherent problems with regular clincher tires. I have a new MTB that came with a tubeless-ready wheelset, delivered with tubes, and I have since converted it to tubeless.

Rims do differ in the depths of their center channels, so if this rim is shallower than others, that would help to explain why it might be tougher to get tires on.

rmfnla

Once it has been mounted and inflated for a bit it might stretch enough that this will not be a problem...

cantgettyreon

Problem is, those tires are used plenty before.

JonathanGennick 

Sometimes you just get a bad combination. I mounted a set of S-Works tires onto a wheelset the other week and thought I was going to lose my mind. Shallow center channel too - like with your dad's wheels - and I believe that shallow center was part of the problem.

squirtdad

No MTB experience but on road bikes some tire/rim combinations are a bear.

the solution for me is to use a tire jack Kool-Stop Tire Bead Jack With Handle > Accessories > Tools > Tire Tools | Jenson USA




remember that is tire is hard to get on it will be hard to get off...so if i have that combo on a bike I make sure I carry metal tire levers in case of a flat

rmfnla

Assuming his installation technique isn't at fault he needs different different tires...

Andy_K 

The inner profile necessary to make a rim tubeless ready means that there is less space in the center channel for the bead to rest while you are mounting the tire. It is specifically designed to encourage the bead to go against the rim wall. This can make mounting a tire harder, especially if you use a tube and regular (thicker) rim tape. It takes more work, but it can still be done.

As RubeRad suggested, he needs to push the bead toward the center of the rim (on both sides of the tire) for the parts that are past the rim wall. The tire jack that squirtdad recommended is a wonderful help in these situations. You just have to be careful to use it correctly or it will break too. The way the tire jack works is you rest the fixed arm on the rim on the side of the wheel where the tire is already in place and use the pivoting arm to lift the other bead of the tire over the rim. You still have to work your way in from the edges just like you would mounting the tire normally. If you try to lift further in the jack will provide enough leverage to snap off the pivoting arm. You have to be pulling in a place where the bead can be lifted over the rim.

ddeand 

This is likely the problem. The first time I tried to mount new tires on tubeless ready rims, I totally failed. Once I learned to make certain the bead was in the center of the rim, everything worked smoothly.

NYMXer

Compared to mounting road bike tires, mtb tires are much easier. If it is a used tire, maybe an older used tire, it might need to be warmed up to get it softer and stretchier so it can get mounted but beware, I hope you never need to fix a flat trail side.
I seldom need anything other than my fingers and hands changing a mtb tire, but I make sure the bottom bead is fully centered into the deep part of the rim and I always have a touch of air in the tube so it doesn't deform while installing the second side of the tire.
Maybe a little soapy water for lube would help?

davidad

It will always be a problem. I had a set of Marathons and they were never easy to remove or install. I bought a Koolstop tire jack to be able to get them on.

rmfnla

Bummer; thanks for sharing your experience...

Drew Eckhardt 

Switch to two wraps of 1 mil Kapton tape 3/4" (19mm) wide. That totals .005" not .010 for thin tapes and .020" for classic Velox which is enough to make the difference between cussing at tools and hand-mounting.

Finish at the valve.

RubeRad

I remember you mentioning that before, and I think you might have also said before, but how does kapton work as a sealing tape for tubeless?

Drew Eckhardt 

American Classic and other companies sell it for tubeless conversions, although I have no direct experience with that application. They use 25mm for (26" presumed) cross-country and 28mm for all-mountain.