With steel levers is the risk of rim damage greater than with plastic versions?

I would make the assumption that in the wrong hands steel levers can cause damage to rims while plastic ones would snap before bad things happen. Also plastic is softer than any steel or aluminum rim. Does anyone have thoughts on this?

With so many people raving about the Pedros, I ordered a pair this morning off of ebay.

Motion Pro tire levers.
I got sick of breaking the plastic ones several years ago and pulled my dirt bike tire levers out of the tool box and never looked back.

You are correct, you can damage the finish on your wheels with steel levers if you are not careful.
Of course, riding the mountain bike in rocky areas can do the same thing.
Scratches on a bike are only signs that it actually gets ridden.

One time I was stuck out in the middle of nowhere and got a flat. I forgot my tire levers, but I remembered someone telling me once that you could use your quick release lever in an emergency. So, I tried. It sortof worked, but I couldn't get the last bit off bead of the rim. This was in an era before cell phones and seeing how I didn't want to die out there, I just used brute force with my bare hands and got the tire off. Now, I never carry levers at all. I got the technique down for removing the suckers without any levers.

My favorite tire levers are a set of Cyclepro aluminum levers I bought with lawnmowing money when I was 10. I still have 3 of the 4 purchased back then after 30 years, but these days I try my best to just use my hands. Less chance of pinching a tube that way.

Nothing beats "Var" levers in my opinion. They incorporate a lever system which enable the fitting of the last tight part of the bead.

http://www.bikeplus.co.uk/cgi-bin/qu...ct=TYS42&and=1

Me to... had them for a few years and never had one break on me yet.

And they are almost indecently cheap!

Yup. Bike Tools Etc. sells them in the US. Very nice for those really stubborn tires

Hmmm. This Var lever design is pretty interesting. Haven't seen anything quite like it. Looks like it has 2 or maybe 3 separate parts to it. You guys that have this Var lever. Do you only need one lever?

The ones I don't have to use.

It is in fact two levers as they come apart. The one in the middle comes out of there.The idea is that the lever which looks like a tuning fork, acts as a device to pull on the last difficult part of the tire. Difficult to explain but with this the notch part is placed on the opposite part of the rim directly across from the remaining section to go on. The hook section then goes over the top of the tire and hooks under the welt of the part to go on. Then, using the notch which is on the opposite side of the rim as a base, the tire is pulled back and into the well of the rim.

This sounds complicated but in reality is so easy and efficient. For women and those people with small hands it is a must. Again I would recommend it for those difficult combinations of tire and rim.

Well, I have a set of three gen-u-wine chrome plated STEEL tire levers complete with spoke hooks. No manufacturer's name but they say JAPAN on the back. They scare me for use on road rims but may be just the thing for MTB's or cruisers.

I had a set of Aluminum levers in the same configuration but, after bending two of them during a super tight Michelin tire installation, I threw them away.

I also have been using the Mafac tire levers for about 35 years now, still going strong.

Can I ask what the hook end is for? I have changed a lot of tires but never found a use for that end of the lever.

It's supposed to hook over a nearby spoke to keep the lever in place under the bead while you apply both hands to the next lever. My spokes are too wide for that hooks I have...

There were no tire levers in the USSR. I have this huge flat screwdriver and some flat pieces of scrap metal, and I've never thought of buying special tools to install/remove my tires.

When I was a kid I used a big stainless steel serving spoon from Mom's kitchen. It worked great ;-)

The sharp edge of that screwdriver is why you kept getting pinch flats.

Aren't you confusing me with someone else? I've never got any problems with flats.

Oh, nevermind. I thought you were that other user on here who kept getting pinch flats. He didn't know why, until he figured out that it was the flat-head screwdriver that he was using that was causing the pinches.