Tightest. Tire. Ever.
 

I've changed my fair share of tires...but good lord. Bontrager 29-3 tires on 29" Duster rims have to be the tightest fit I've ever seen. I got one bead off with some work, but I can't even make a dent in the other side! All I want is this tire off my rim!

I was going to save it as a spare, but I can't even imagine putting it back on. I may resort to cutting it off, but I don't want to damage the rim strips.

Any other ideas?

tire lever and the drop center are your friends

Can you fit a 29" tire in your oven? Otherwise, get the hairdryer out and warm it up.

Got it! I honestly never thought I would get that thing off. Hairdryer helped a bunch...thanks!

Avocet TT30 folding 630:20

The only tyres I almost gave up hope on ever being able to install.

Kool Stop bead jack:

http://www.excelsports.com/image200/...h%20Handle.jpg

I've mounted a lot of different tires in my life, and all of the tires that I've had serious troubles mounting have been Bontragers, I once had an especially hard time with some 700x32 touring tires. It's interesting to me that yours was again a Bonty tire that gave you fit problems.

change your rim tape to something thinner. or use veloplugs. the extra space has helped me out in the past. disregard if tubeless.

Gets it on, but no help getting it off. I'm not a fan of ultra tight tires, they need to be easy to remove and reinstall in the cold, dark on a rainy night because Murphy's Law dictates that those will be the conditions when I flat.

Like really wild sex, a tight tire requires a great deal of lubricant.

And for getting them off (this is my crude humor/bad pun sweepstakes
entry for this month :o), I've had good luck cutting the beads with
a farrier's nail nipper/shoe puller made by Black Diamond.

http://www.cooperhandtools.com/germa...iamond_Cat.pdf

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...1aTCae23Farzva

But I guess any nail nipper would probably work.

:wtf: I thought it was just me.........

Try squeezing a 700c tire onto a 27 inch rim sometime. THEN come and tell me what your definition is of a "tight tire". Back before I knew any better I thought that 27 and 700c were the same thing. I managed to get it on with lots of cursing but once I realized my mistake I had to cut the tire to get it off.

The good news is that after doing that one all the rest since seem easy.... :D

Yep. I did this once when a customer brought in a bike with a 700c wheel on the front and a 27" wheel on the back. I kept looking at the front wheel saying "It says 700c right on the wheel. Why won't this fit?" Mismatched wheels never crossed my mind. No tire has seemed tight since, except that 16x3" electric scooter tire that came in a month ago. Wowzah!

Isn't 700c equivalent to 29 inches? So wouldn't it be easy to get a 700c on a 27 inch wheel.

Forgive me if I dont know what im talking about..

700c and 29" are the same rim diameter (622 mm), but the 29" designation is a result of the tires being really wide and therefore 29" is about the diameter of the outside of the tire. 27" rims are just slightly bigger (630 mm) but are generally narrower so the outside diameter of the tire is approximately 27". Tire and rim sizes would be a lot clearer if we all switched to just using the ISO designations like 622-23.

You're forgiven.

The nominal sizes published as 27 x... or 29 x ... are only approximations of the outside diameter of the tire. To get the rim size (and a better approximation of axtual size you have to go by the ETRTO or ISO (the same) size molded in the wall as xx-xxx for width and diameter in mm.

all 700c tires are xx-622 as are all 29s. 27" = xx-630 and are 4mm larger at the rim than either. Tho overall diameter inflated varies with cross section which is why you often cannot put wider tires on forks made for racing bikes.

Lubing the tube and tire with talc helps immensely. With particularly difficult tire and rim combinations, soapy water can be very helpful.

I broke several plastic levers getting my Performance house brand tire on my rims, I had to resort to using metal ones, that bit the tubes, so I had to do it again. PIA.
I stopped someone where I volunteer wrench from trying to put a 700 on a 27, he had no idea there was a difference.
BUT the size tire that are the MOST consistant to get one and off, are 16 and 12 inch tires on kids bikes. It's not unusual for it to take two people to get one off or on. There just isn't much wiggle room built in.

Serfas Barrista 26" on a narrow MTB rim, broke an unbreakable tire lever on that one, dreaded having to ever have to fix a flat on it, but after a year or two on the rim it came off reasonably easily. Trust me, when I went to take it off I was ready for war and had multiple implements of destruction handy to detach the offending beast, but nope came right off and spoiled all my intended fun.

Are these "tubeless ready?" I've noticed some tubeless compatible tires being especially tight lately. They make them that way so they will seat easily and be less likely to come off the rim and/or burp air if they're run without inner tubes. The downside is they're usually a PITA to mount, at least some of them anyway.

I just mounted a few tubeless ready MTB folding tires, and they were some of the easiest I've ever used. Almost as easy as my 1984 Matrix tires, which are so dry they practically slide on and off. If anything, wire bead tires are usually harder to mount. I've never had to use a tire lever on a folding tire.

The worst tire I dealt with was a 26x1.4 city tire. Destroyed the tube, almost destroyed the tire too. I will never buy those.

I won't argue with you, and I didn't say all tubeless compatible tires are difficult to mount. Just that I've mounted some difficult tubeless compatible tires lately, and the tight fit does help in seating the bead and also keeping the tire firmly seated on the rim. Some manufacturers, at least, are making their tubeless ready products (rims and tires) this way for those reasons. The only tubeless-related problem I've ever had while out riding was a very loose fitting tire (not designated tubeless compatible, FWIW) blowing off the rim. I wouldn't be surprised if the OP's difficult-to-remove 29 x 2.3 tires are tubeless compatible, sometimes designated "tubeless ready." But obviously, we can all run into very difficult tire/rim combinations with a lot of tires and rims regardless of type.

Something for the tips thread?

i've got a set stretching from a hanger rod with a set of golf clubs as we speak. been there for a couple of months. i've got another set mounted on a pair of araya 27x1 rims. yes they are tight.

by the way, you don't happen to still own the avocet tt20 mms, do you?

edit: never mind. i failed to notice the "almost" in your post.

Please pardon my ignorance, and this isn't intended to criticize anyone or promote an agenda, I'm just curious.

With all the good choices available, what about these tires and rims makes them worth putting up with the difficulty mounting or removing them? I see there are ways to make it easier like the hair drier, but don't you folks ever get flats on the road?