Trainer Tire mounting difficulty
 

I acquired a lightly-used Cannondale CAADX last summer, and a used set of rollers-plus-trainer-tires last month.

I've been unable to mount the trainer tires on the CAADX rims, although I was told they should fit and the numbers seem to jive.

The Cannondale rim is marked 700C 622x14C, the road tire that came off it is 28x135, and the trainer tires are 700x23C. When I place the trainer tire on top of the road tire the ID does look a bit smaller.

I could not stretch either bead over the rim after an hour struggling with various tire levers and an assortment of colourful descriptors.

This is the first time I've had anything to do with the Cannondale tires — things are altogether different on my Giant MTB where I can mount and dismount tires without using levers.

try soapy water.. the bead on the opposite side should be into the lower center well of the rim, not the seat.

A bit of warmth might help as well. Maybe try a hair blow drier if the soapy water doesn't work.

And if all else fails...
http://www.amazon.com/Kool-Stop-Tire.../dp/B001AYML7K

I've been forced to use the tire bead jack on a few occasions. It works!

This. Although heaven help you if you get a flat on the tire you needed to use the bead jack on.

Trainer tire Its Staying In one place.. on the trainer stand .. not Training Tire .. Right?

Trainer tire, yes. One place.

Thanks for the suggestions, will have another go tonight or tomorrow and report back. Much appreciated.

I find no need to buy a separate trainer tire, I just use older worn tires. Of course you do have to check the tread out closely for any embedded debris and take them out, plus you have to wash the tire really well, but they work for me just fine.

This has been my experience as well. When I converted my road bike to a dedicated trainer, I ordered a trainer tire because everything I read online said trainers "eat tires". Knowing I had no use for the old narrow tires on my new outdoor rider, I thought I'd just go ahead and wear out the old set. I think I've put nearly 2500 trainer "miles" on the rear tire now and its still fine...although after the first few rides there was a noticeable weardown of the tread, its still holding up OK.

Correct, the only reason a trainer will eat tires is if the tension on the drum against the tire is harder than it should be, must people for some reason set the tension too tight. I never see specs of rubber debris when I use my trainer.

So here is my report back:

I give up.

As a Model T owner I'm no stranger to clincher tires and am well aware of, and have used all of, talcum powder, warm tires, soapy water and levers to get the job done. And I tried them all on these %#@&]$?X trainer tires. Another hour this morning got me one bead and most of the second on one tire and three punctures in the tube.

Once I admitted defeat and patched the tube I had the original road tire on in five minutes with only one use of the lever. Now that's more like it. It runs a bit noisy (especially for use in a library) but I think I can live with it. Maybe someday I'll haul the wheels and trainer tires down to the bike co-op and see how it's done.

Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions.

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Cool machine! Do you use the crank handle, or did you add an electric starter? :)

My trainer tire was super hard to put on too. What I did was get it on as far as possible and then wait a while for it to stretch and then keep inching it on. I think it took me a few days, but its on and super quiet now.

Thanks, it's a real hoot to drive. Labour day weekend we drove to Silverton OR and back — 2.500 miles total.

I use the crank when there are others watching, but as a 1924 it has the optional electric starter that was available from 1919. Back then $35 bought you the starter, generator, 6-vt storage battery and electric tail lamp. Buyers who did not opt for the self commencer got kerosene tail and side lamps, and magneto headlamps — the faster one drove, the brighter the lights.

Supplemental questions yer honour...

I'm using the rollers now with my road tires, as above — they work OK but are noisy to the point where I can't hear podcasts or music on my MacBook. The trainer platform is isolated from the wooden floor by carpeted feet, but there must be some sound transmission and reverberation.

I'm wondering if a slick road tire would be significantly easier to mount than my %#@&]$?X trainer tires, and at the same time be enough quieter so as to make the switch worthwhile.

First photo below is of my current road tires. Second photo is a Gatorskin smooth folding tire sold by my neighborhood MEC store. Thoughts?

I'm also wondering about "wire" tires vs folding or otherwise. Wire tires appear much cheaper yet I would think be unforgiving and thus harder to mount. Is this correct?

And finally, I'm curious what are the fundamental differences between trainer tires, which seem to be the cheapest option, and road tires. The trainer tires I have are clearly marked Not for Road Use! Is it durability? Cornering ability? Or??

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I believe trainer tires are a much softer compound and would get destroyed quite quickly on the road. You could try a different trainer tire. I avoid this by just riding outside :)

I just can't stand to do cardio exercise and not be outside doing it in the fresh air.

I don't often say this, but really cool car!