Help with wheel assembly
 

Hello,

I have just purchased a Gary Fisher Utopia. I tried to mount some 25c tires on the stock wheels to go on a road trip. I'm not experienced with bikes, so it took me about an hour to do this. This last part of the tire just would get on the rib by hand (I read that I had to do this by hand so as not to snag the tube). I don't know if there's some kind of trick to it that you guys use, but brute force just takes a long time (and it hurts too).

In the light of the above i'm considering getting a new set of wheels and have the road tires mounted on the one set and the stock dual purpose tires on the other. Now, how hard is it to assemble the wheels with the disc brakes and the cassette in the rear? And where do I get the parts? I'm not even so sure about the part numbers that I need, so I would apprecite any input on this as well.

Thanks a lot, and I apologize for asking too much info in my first post.

George.

It is important that you should get the same hub for the rear, because you need the cassette to be in exactly the same position or else you will find that you have to retune your rear derailler when you switch wheels. Look on the hub for make and model number. Your local bike shop should be able to build you a set - for road riding you can probably use a lighter rim. Note that the first time tire installation is always the hardest, and next time you do it you will wonder what the problem was.

Some tire/rim combinations are harder to mount than others, but there are a couple of tricks to make it a little easier. I almost never have to use a tool to install a tire.

First of all, install your tire so that the last bit of bead to go on is adjacent to the valve stem. Then, when you get to the point of forcing the last few inches of tire bead onto the rim, stop for a minute and look at the opposite side of the rim circumference. Make sure that both beads are pinched in toward the middle of the rim. That will give you a tiny bit more slack and make it easier to force the last few inches of bead onto the rim.

Thanks for the tips, guys. I'll try the tire installation a few more times, like you suggested. If it is still a big pain, then I'm in for a Felt F75 in addition to the Utopia. This will have the tires mounted :)

Retro, the instructions on the tube package say to start mounting the tire from the valve stem. I don't see any particular reason for that, so I'll try your way.

Thanks again.

Maybe it's just me, but sometimes I have to use a lever to get that last section of tire bead over the rim. Being a little bit careful, and using a plastic lever, it's never a problem. No big deal - makes things a LOT easier and takes one second flat. Just don't pinch the tube with the lever, and make sure you don't inflate the tube while it's sticking out under the tire bead.

The thickest part of the inner tube is where the valve stem is attached. That little bit of extra thickness can keep the tire beads from pulling as close to the rim as they would otherwise. Since forcing the last bit of tire bead onto the rim requires the opposite side of the tire to be as close as possible, finishing next to the valve stem is always going to be just a bit easier.

Well, on one of the tires, I had to use the plastic lever myself. It was just impossible to put it on. The other one, I managed by hand. After a lot of messing around with it, sore fingers, 15 minutes, etc. But it's a real pain. I don't understand how the hell they do it so fast at the LBS.

I inflate the tube initially to get it nice in there, but then at the last part, I deflate it completely to gain a little slack.

You've got the right idea. Everybody at the LBS does dozens a day. You just plain get better by doing it over and over. Even the LBS people will resort to a plastic lever to get it done quick and easy.