Tight tire beads!!!!!
 

I know my wrenching skills are a tad rusty, but today's misadventure carried tire replacement to an absurdly frustrating level.

I'm building up a gravel bike from parts gathered from here and there, and today I put new rubber on the wheelset I got off eBay. The wheels are Mavic CXP elites, and the tires are 35c Panaracer Gravel Kings. The Gravel Kings can be run tubed or tubeless, and being a retrogrouch, I opted to mount them with tubes.

These tires had the flippin' tightest beads I've ever encountered! The first one (on the rear wheel) went on with great difficulty, but at least it went on. The front wheel was a different story. I ended up flatting THREE tubes while trying to lever the last 10 to 12 inches of bead over the rim. I finally got the tire on, but I had to lube the bead with dishwashing liquid AND use my big honkin' Park Tools metal tire levers to pop it over the edge. I'm a big guy with fairly strong hands, but there was no way on earth I could come close to muscling those tires onto those rims. Now I'm paranoid, because I know if one of those tires goes flat on me, I'm going to have the devil's own time changing the tube.

These are Kevlar-beaded tires. Will the Kevlar relax a bit as time goes on? I hope it does, because if it doesn't, I might have to switch to a wire-beaded tire. I don't want to do that, because these tires cost $44 apiece. I don't like making $88 mistakes...

Try this. —> https://www.retro-gression.com/produ...tire-bead-jack

It's not the Gravelkings, it's the Mavics. I've used 35, 38, and 43 wide Gravelkings. They have all mounted without a trace of drama on WTB i19s, Crank Brothers Iodines, and Kinlin XR31s.

Some tires and rims just do not get along. Me and three guys at the LBS tried to get a Vittoria Randonneur onto one of the Kinlins-- simply was not ever going to happen.

Worst tire battle I ever had, was in the fall of '74. Tried for several days to squeeze a 20" Schwinn stingray tire onto a non-Schwinn rim. Schwinn had their own 20" tire size, thank you very much. Their rim was significantly smaller around.

Somehow after days of fighting I finally got the thing on, (sort of) ripped a hole in the sidewall in the process, and I remember a big lump in the tire as it rotated, but I had to ride it anyway, cuz we wuz po.

Why a different tire size Schwinn? Why???

I have a set of Prime Carbon tubed/tubeless wheels and Continental GP4kSII's that share a very similar story.

I need to buy a bead jack, I have the same flat fear.

Try putting a thinner rim tape on, like Contnental Easy Tape, or Kapton or reinforced packing tape. Any of them will allow more of the bead to drop down into the rim farther and give more slack for mounting.

Post #2 and #3 nailed it. Tire bead jacks rock. And Mavic CXPs are a real bastard to mount some tires on - you really gotta work hard to keep the bead in the well of the rim.

Good suggestion. I used Velox, which is pretty thick. Also, I've ordered a Kool Stop Tire Jack. The one suggested in Post #2 apparently doesn't work well with larger-diameter tires -- or, at least that's what the reviewers say.

Really, assuming the tire is indeed the right size, all you should need is some baby powder, lots of patience, and strong hands. I have never had any luck using tools, something always gets destroyed. My technique is going all the way around the tire bead with just my hands, on both sides, going around several times, and relieving every last gram of uneven stress on that tire bead.

If it doesn't go on at point, it's not going to happen, from my experience. But other than with the Schwinn tire, I've never actually had to give up on mounting a tire. Sometimes if you leave the tire for overnight and come back to it, it'll pop right on, for whatever reason. I think part of it can be tired hands.

If you need a bead jack or other tool to mount your tires, don't leave home without it. I won't run tires I cannot mount by hand.

Same problem with Panaracer Paselas on my Mavic MA40s. I had beaded Gatorskins on it briefly, no big deal with mounting. I wanted the vintage skinwall look, so I went with the Paselas. One day on the road, after a flat, it took three of us to beat the tire into submission, then I had another flat a mile later, defective patch job on my spare. Yesterday, all by myself I hit a giant pothole and pinch fatted the rear, even with 100 psi. I got it changed, but had to resort to the flat blade screwdriver on my multi tool to get the last 6 inches or so of bead to set. I wonder as these tires get better at flat protection with Kevlar liners, etc., are we getting out of practice changing them? This was only my 3rd flat in over 2000 miles on these Paselas. Turns out one if my Gators on another bike went flat sitting in the garage after a ride a couple of days ago. I guess I'll get some more tire changing practice now.

Reminds me of the time I forced my kevlar 700c tyres onto my (what I now strongly suspect were) 27" wheels. I could not for the life of me figure out why the damn things wouldn't mount, and punctured both tubes in the process. I had no idea 27" wheels existed at the time...

Learning is fun, right? ;)

Oops. Missed that it was tubeless. Reading comprehension fail!

The VAR tire jack recommended in post #2 isn't strong enough for really tight tires in my experience. Here's one that really works:

https://www.jensonusa.com/Kool-Stop-...SABEgLvyfD_BwE

Yea...my experience with GK SKs has been that they're a pain (to do tubeless) not because of being so tight--but because they're so loose. Need to compressor them to seat them as they go on (and come off) bare handed with ease.

For tight tires on a bike I own and ride, I have 2 VAR tire jacks,
and a 3rd tire lever.
in the bag with the spare tube , patch kit, etc.

the Kool stop ones are a good shop tool ,
I wouldn't be enthusiastic about carrying on my rides





...

I had a pair of Marathons that need this tool. My Panaracer Parcelas go on a little tough the first time, but usually ease up and go on and off by hand.

+1 on the Kapton tape. 2 layers is enough, and the difference between Kapton tape and Velox was noticeable when re-mounting the Compass Bon Jon pass tires. Check the width before you order, you can get it in several widths.

OK... according to what you wrote, these are tires that can be used tubed or tubeless. You're using them with tubes, so...

There is extra material around the tires' beads to allow them to seal when used without tubes. Second, you are using them on rims not designed for tubeless tires. Thirdly, you are using wide tires on pretty narrow rims. All of that adds up to a lot of material crammed between rims that aren't that far apart to begin with.

As others said, you can make more room by using a thinner rim strip. If you're using a thick fabric rim strip, yeah, I can see where it would be darn near impossible. If it's Velox (you said you're a retrogrouch), it will behave exactly as you describe. I would strip out the fabric rim strip and cover the spoke holes with the thinnest rim strip you can find- Rox* or similar. Then be very careful when mounting the tire- inflate the tube just enough to give it some shape and to keep it up and away from the tire bead. And try not to use tire levers when mounting the tire.

*https://fairwheelbikes.com/rox-ultralite-rim-strips/ : "One aspect we really like about the Rox rim strip is that it makes changing a flat easier because it is so thin. Especially if you have Campagnolo wheels which are generally regarded as one of the most stubborn wheels in regards to tire/tube changes."

The Kool Stop bead jack works great. It's just a PITA that I have to carry one on every ride now.

I feel the same way. I don't want tires on my bike that I know will be next to impossible to remount if I have to change the tube.

I use the Kool Stop tool in the shop and carry the more portable VAR bead jack on my rides. The VAR doesn't have as much leverage as the Kool Stop, but it hasn't failed me yet.