Tires from hell
 

Last summer I got a 1985 Gitane Performance off of Craig List. I do like the bike but I wanted to put "fresh" inter tubes on it. The tires looked new with little to no wear. Getting the Forte Strada-K 700C tires off turned out to be project from Hell. I am used to being able to remove and install tires using my hands only and only rarely needed the help of a spoon. Getting these tires off was EXTREMELY difficult and required 3-4 spoons working together. Indeed I ended up installing several inner tubes because of spoon pinching causing leaks. I thought maybe the problem was the Mavic module-E 700C rims. I have never had a problem like this before.

Very pleasant surprise today when I installed Michelin Dynamic Classic 700C tires. Yes it was a fight getting the Forte tire off but the Michelin's went on with no problem and no spoons required. Situation normal. :-)

No wonder the guy hadn't road the bike and sold it to me cheap. No way could I change the Forte on the side of the road, in a reasonable time, if I had gotten a flat.

Many many years ago I ran into that problem with Continentals and whatever rims I was running on my GT Strike road bike. This would have been the mid ninties. Long story short wheel and tire sizes are nominal and have slight variations between manufacturers making certain combinations of tire and wheel incompatible. On the opposite side of the spectrum I once ran Avocet touring tires on some wheels and they had a tendency to walk off the rim. Again, a long time ago.

Some tires and rims don't play together well.
The forte tires that I use are easy to get on or off velocity aero heat rims.

(Spoons?)

Spoons? Do you mean tire levers or are you using actual spoons from the kitchen? Tire levers don't puncture the tire tubes. And it's normal to use three levers to remove the tire from the rim.

When I was c. 10, I used to use a screwdriver as a tire iron. Funny thing was, I never damaged a tube!

Yes I've heard of people using spoons to remove tires ... the LBS guy even said it would work in a pinch. That, and a skewer.

You problem was the spoons. Use proper tools next time and you won't pinch your tubes.

They are called 'tire levers' or 'tire spoons'. Google either name and you get pics of same device. Do not know the history of the names. Yes, 2-3 are NORMAL. And yes I said I had to use four (4) because the tires fit so tight on the rim. That is why I said tires from HELL. And yes because I was fighting the tires so much I did pinch a tube or two.

[h=3]Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A tire iron (also tire lever or tire spoon) is a specialized metal tool used in working with tires. Tire irons have not been in common use for automobile tires since the shift to the use of tubeless tires in the late 1950s.[/h]

You want some really tough tires to get on and off? Try Forte Gotham 26x1.75, my commuter tires. They're heavy but I've never had a flat with them, so I'll keep them until they wear out. However, when I want to swap over to knobbies to go mountain biking and then put the Gothams back on, it is a new adventure in pain and cursing each time. I can get the knobbies on and off with my bare hands but those Gothams almost seem too small for the rims, as if they're really 25.5" diameter instead of 26"! :cry:

For really tough tire installs put a small dab of dish soap on your finger and lightly apply to the tire bead & edge on the rim.

Or windex. Or saliva, if no one is looking.

Mounting tight-fitting tires can be made easier by switching to thinner, lighter rim strips. These will give the tire more slack to fit over the edge of the rim. Rox is one brand.

I have a friend that used K-Y Jelly. He says it worked great.

Excellent !

I can see myself now on the side of the road screwing around with a flat tire with a tube of K-Y Jelly.

I tried to look-up what part of Kentucky KY Jelly is made in; couldn't find out...but it seems to be used a lot on Uranus, from what I could gather.