i can't for the life of me to get a tire properly seated on my 26" mtn bike rim. the tire is a schwalbe marathon (old style), 26x1.75. the wire bead on one side refuses to properly seat along the rim lip. as a result, as i ride, i feel a slight "flat spot" with every tire rotation. here's what i've tried so far:

-- deflating the air pressure to about 5 lbs and "pulling" the bead outward with my fingers. this just causes the bead on the other side of the tire to cave in toward the center of the wheel.

-- pumping in 10-15% higher pressure than the tire's max rated pressure and riding around for awhile. still won't seat.

-- deflating the tire and wetting the bead with soap water. nothing.

-- deflating the tire and putting talcum powder around the bead. nada.

for the record, i've mounted at least two other brands of 26x1.75 tires on this rim without a hitch. so i'm beginning to think this schwalbe is defective.

any ideas or suggestions? there's no way i can exchange the tire for a replacement.

This is a long shot, but is the rim strip, by creeping up on one side or being too wide, interfering with the tire seating on the rim? I've had this happen ONCE, but I imagine it's pretty rare.

Put in just a little air pressure (~10psi) and then go around the tire pressing the tire bead in away from the rim to try to get it to seat better. A "rolling" action may also help where you start to roll the tire off the rim.

The tire's sizing may not match the rim size . check ISO numbers on the tire with the problem againist one than fit . The ISO numbers is a three digets code on the side wall of the tire.

Is the wire bead badly kinked? That could be the cause of the uneven seating.

I've never seen this, but I imagine it could happen, but is the bead smooth? Maybe bad manufacturing led to a lump of rubber that keeps it from seating correctly?

+1 I bought a set of Schwalbes at a swap that were marked 26" but the diameter wasn't correct for my mountain bike rims.

ISO size is correct (559).

Try a lot more soap in your "soap water". I use very little water, maybe 20-30%

Don't you hate it when this happens? I have certain tire and rim combinations (same spec and sizing) that do this!

I have nothing to share other than sympathy...

thanks. will try this. i was using more like 90-95% water.

is there any harm in having residual soap inside the rim and tire bead? will it deteriorate the rubber?

Use more air pressure. Keep going until the bead pops into place. A little soapy water won't hurt either.

I bet it's a pinched tube...

Thought I'd revive this thread because I had the same problem on an organized ride last week. Changed my tube out roadside and could not for the life of me get the tire (Bontrager) to seat properly. So, I hobbled with my wobbly tire down the road to the next SAG stop where the driver whipped out a Park Tool "Tire Seater". Worked like a charm.. but not something you would carry with you on the road.

This weekend i was trying to refurbish an old trek and could not get the tire to seat. After looking at the inside of the rim i figured the gum from the cloth rim strip was messing up the seating. Got some steel wool and cleaned out the inside of the rim and new rim cloth, worked perfectly. It seemed like maybe the new tire was bad, so i tried another one and the same problem and that narrowed it down to the cruddy inside rim.

It was amazing that these over 30 year cloth rim strips were still intact. Cheap rubber ones hardly are able to handle a few years of active use.

Oh great, another tool I need to go out and buy 8-) Just kidding, I love to buy single purpose- tools especially when not having them is a royal PITA. I have had that tire seating problem only once and it was a beatch to get it to seat. Talcum, (didn't try soap), a lot of fiddling with my hands until my thumbs were raw, and inflating to about 3X the normal pressure. Finally got it to seat. I'd have gladly bought the tool for just that one instance!

So what was your diagnosis? Was it just a bad tire? I just have the cheap came-with-the-bike tires on there and was thinking of investing in a better set.

Had a specialized tire give me problems lately. I turned the whop section to the valve and inflated it. Everything smoothed out. It's still a pain if you get a flat and need to pump it up to get it right.

If y'all don't mind, I'll revive this yet again.... ICE T tadpole trike. Came with Schwalbe Marathon 20x1.5 tires on 406 size rims. Bought NEW Marathon GG tires in 20x1.75 AND the correct Schwalbe tubes.

Tires won't seat. Tried different tires on different rims. Tried different tubes - old/new. Put the old tire back on - worked perfectly... Here's what's been recommended in here (I've tried them ALL for the last 24 hours):

-- deflating the air pressure to about 5 lbs and "pulling" the bead outward with my fingers.
-- pumping in 10-15% higher pressure than the tire's max rated pressure - in THEORY, the tire is good for 8.5 BAR, which is 116 p.s.i, although the rating on the side is 70 psi.
-- deflating the tire and wetting the bead with soapy water. Inflate. Repeat a half dozen times. nothing.
-- deflating the tire and putting talcum powder around the bead AND on the tube. nada.
-- I checked the rim strip on all 3 rims - they're in the center, not going up either side.
-- Checked the tire bead very carefully - no nubs, globs, chunks, oddities, rough spots, or anything on the tires.
-- Put in just a little air pressure (~10psi) and then went around the tire pressing the tire bead in away from the rim to try to get it to seat better. A "rolling" action may also help where you start to roll the tire off the rim. Did this repeatedly. Made no difference when filling the tire.
-- Checked ISO numbers on ALL the tires and the rim. Everything matches.
-- Checked all THREE tires - no kinks ANYWHERE on the brand new tires.
-- Tried multiple tires on multiple rims with different tubes of different sizes to see if that mattered. Nope.
-- I made some soapy water that was not more than 10% water. Made no difference.
-- Use more air pressure. Keep going until the bead pops into place. A little soapy water won't hurt either.
Don't think I have the guts! Tires say 70 psi. I ran them to 105 then set them aside to see if they'l seat. I'm not sure I want to get anywhere near one of these at 2X or 3X the recommended pressure.

-- down the road to the next SAG stop where the driver whipped out a Park Tool "Tire Seater". Worked like a charm..
Went to the LBS. They had one of those tools. Air in. Grab with tool. Twist. Nope. Let air out. Do same thing. Repeat several times. Swear. Let air out. Wet with soapy water. Repeat previous. Tell me the rims ICE uses aren't very good. Suggest I ride the bike and maybe the tires will seat.

At this point, ONE tire seated, one has a low spot on one side, the third has a low spot o both sides. Finally, I wet 'em, mounted 'em, plugged 'em into the compressor, and filled them to 100+ PSI and set them aside. I'll later if they're better...

WHAT A PITA! Anyone have any other ideas?

hm... This things sitting here like feces in a punchbowl... Nobody has any magic cures for getting impossible tires to actually seat?

Since the entry I even tried silicone spray... I've got 2 tires seated and one that still has a low spot... Given all the horror stories I've read about the Marathon Plus, and I've NEVER seen one about the regular Marathon, I can't IMAGINE trying to get the Plus(s) to seat if these are this difficult...

I flip bikes, and not like most flippers, I replace the tires and repack the bearings though out every bike I sell. So i put on about 20 sets of tires in the past 3 months. So i run into this crap all the time lol I just keep letting it down and pumping it back up till I get it right. I always use soapy water, but if I am really having a hard time, like I have already tried about 10 times without getting it right. I resort to using WD 40 instead of soap. I pump the tire up about 15 pounds over recommended pressure if I have to. Keep your face as far from the rim as possible when doing this.

I never fail, but sometimes it takes me a lot of tries. By the way I am 40 years in the tire business and am expert on repairing and mounting tires from a wheel barrel to earthmoving tires, you have to stand inside them to repair the tire.

I was under the impression that I shouldn't use petroleum products like wd-40 on tires and tubes. I DID try silicone spray, which got me one tire on. The rear STILL isn't cooperating and has a low spot on both sides, but it's LESS bad than it originally was.

I have nothing against WD40 if it'll work better than the silicone.

I am having the same problem. Did you ever find a solution to this?

Did you find a solution? I am having the same problem.

First make sure all mounting surfaces are clean, especially the wheel.

Then I mount the tire and before adding air, use a 1/2" paint brush and liberally "paint" both sides of the tire bead with bubble making solution (the kind kids use to blow bubbles).

Often times need to go 5 or 10 pounds over the recommended inflation before I hear that wonderful pop that tells me the tire is fully seated, but hasn't failed me yet after many, many times.

I don't do this as a matter of course, only with difficult tires.

Bubble solution is more convenient to use and store and maybe more "slippery" than soapy water even though they are very similar.