Campy Rims
 

What specific tires are easier/harder to mount on Campy clincher rims? Conti GP3000's are very tough, and I would like to know if there are any tires that are easier. Also, are foldable tires easier or harder than beaded to mount? We're using mid-profile rims - Zondas and Eurus.

Apparantly my rims are clinchers (whatever that means), so I'll chime in.
I have a Kenda Kontendor in the front and a Hutchinson Tech 2 Flex in the rear. I've had to change the Hutchinson a few times at the side of the road without irons, and it's been pretty easy to take it off and remount.

I've yet to flat my front tire, but I'll let you know when it happens ;)

Vittoria Rubino was very tough on Protons.

Michelin Pro Race were not quite so tough on Protons or Zondas.

I have Camy Nuetrons and I've tried several tires (Hutchisson/Vreds/Contis/Michellin) and none of them were easy to mount. When I bought these wheels I was torn between these and Kryseriums and my LBS said you'll love riding the Campy's untill you have to change a flat on the side of the road. Boy were they right these are hardest wheels to mount a tire on I'd ever run accross...untill I tried to mount tires on my new Reynolds Alta's. I've pinched three tubes trying to mount my tires, something I've never done in the last 15 years of cycling.

Foldable are much eaiser to mount than wire bead. My Pro2 Races are really easy to take on and off, I have heard from guys on my team that conti's are fairly easy to get on and off from their campy rims.

haven't heard a single member not love Campy wheels and I love my Vento's too. But...but...it is a bear to fix a flat on a Campy wheel with Vittoria Rubino Tech's which have wonderful performance...and no doubt will handle high pressures with their unyielding bead design...but a serious PITA to change.
I am interested in board recommendations as well.
George

Ventos here. Conti GP wire bead go on easily for me. Vittoria Evo CX take some effort.

How much of the difficulty is due to manufacturing tolerance? You can't cut the rim extrusion to exactly the same length every time. Longer rims make for larger diameters, even if it is is only by a fraction mm. There may be batches that are bigger or smaller.
The same goes for tyres.
I don't think you can predict which tyre/rim combos will be an easy fit, you just have to try.

I'm a Neutron wheel rider too. I don't have any problems with the Conti or Vittoria tires that I've used. I've run the Conti: GP Supersonic, GP 4 season, GP 3000, and Ultra 2000. I've also run the Vittoria Open Corsa CX ...both manufacturers I chose only folding. None of these tires has been terribly difficult to mount. The easiest was the Vittorias.

I sometimes warm tires in the oven when they're brand new.

Michael...believe Campy's overall rim diameter which makes tire mounting difficult is intentional. The design priority is clearly skewed in favor of retaining the tire bead/sidewall under extreme pressure and temp with the consequence of difficult mounting. My educated guess is Campy's overall wheel diameter tolerance is very tight...less than 1mm or .040". Why? Because of how they process the wheels...they start with an oversized roll extruded V section and butt weld it into a closed rim. They then machine the wheels for a pristine and planar braking surface and easily control the O.D. of the wheel for runnout and size by finish machining which is critical to tire retention from a liability standpoint and of course affects tire mounting which are two competing factors of design...tire retention always getting the nod from a liablity standpoint as it should be...and why they do what they do.
George

Vittoria EVO CX's were difficult on my Eurus wheels. I popped a tube at first because I had such difficulty I tried to used a tire lever. Finally got those darn things in though. It's a good thumb workout.

Michelin carbons ... very difficult to mount on my Eurus (swearing a lot seems to help). Haven't needed to take one off yet.

thats odd...I've never heard anyone complain about carbons. michelins have been pretty good to me.

In my experience, it is hard to mount vittoria and conti tires on bontrager/matrix, sun and campy rims. I know this because as a new guy at the shop, I got to do that a ton...

we've actually had a woman come back a return a set of gp 4 season tires after she couldn't get them on her protons. she said she brought them to a group ride, and "two strong men" couldnt get the tires on.

Conti GP3000's are quite a pain in the butt to mount on my Protons - not the worst I've ever done, but pretty close.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a real consensus here.

I think George has it.

The deal with tires is, they're going to vary in size from one to another much more so than rims. That goes for any brand of tire or model within the brand. So there is no "one brand" that is any better or worse overall to mount on Campy's.

How do I know this? Well, I've had some easy to mount tires, some difficult, and a few that were impossible to mount of several different tire brands on Campy Nucleon's, Shamal's, and Zonda's. If I get a tire that is just not going to go on, I'll exchange it to the retailer for another of the same model and usually that does the trick.

Most of the time, after a new tire has been on the wheel for some miles, they'll stretch a bit so that if you do flat it won't be so hard to do as when it was new.

Live update:

I went out to the car to suit up for the regular lunch time ride with co-workers from Copper Mountain to Vail Pass and then back down.

To my dismay ...a rear flat. Ugh!

My rims: Campy Neutron
My Tires: Conti GP 3000

My experience: The tire came off and went on with only a quick stick in a matter of moments.

My belief: We're probably talking about new tires when we lament their obstanent behavior on the mount process.

My solution: Bake them baztards in the oven until they're a little more pliable than their stinky fresh and new stiffness out of the box nature.

Oh, the ride was lovely and the company devine. Bluebird skies. Female companion. Twisty downhill. :)

My experience is with both old and new tires. Example:

I put a set of Michellin Pro race on my Neutrons, major PITA. Changed a flat after several weeks, major PITA.

Took tires off Neutrons and put them on Open Pro training wheels, did it by hand.

Put a brand new set of Vred Tri Comps on my PowerTap wheels (Mavic CPX33's) Went right on by hand. Same brand/size of tire on my Reynolds Alta's three pinched tubes and tons of sweat.

Like I said in my original post the guy at the LBS warned me about this issue on the Neutrons. For the record my Neutrons are '03 models, this may or may not make a difference.

I definitely believe you 2Roadies. No doubt. My Neutrons are '01 models.

Same here Ventos and Conti GP3k's went on easy.

800 miles on my Eurus so far and I have only put on Vittoria Action HSD's on them the one time and they were hard to mount.

I'm currently runnning a pair of Veloflex Paves on a set of Campy Nuetrons. No problems getting tires mounted.

This could be common knowledge ... but not to me until today. :(

I have mounted Vittoria Rubino and Michelin Pro Race on Proton and Zonda wheels. All combos have been a bear to mount. I always end up with about 15-20 cm at the end that kill me. I just bought a set of Protons for the wife, and have spent several hours over two days trying to mount Michelins on the rims. I have huge blisters on both thumbs, and aches in my hands I never experienced before.

So at lunch today, talking to my friend about the issue, he asks "do you make sure that the bead is in the center of the rim? You know, the tube as airless as possible, and the tire and tube scrunched up in the middle? Um ... no, I actually try to make sure the far bead is as close to the other wall of the rim as possible. Why? I may have thought I knew a reason - read it somewhere probably - but I forget where I actually got the idea. So I came home, tried his method, and in about 30 seconds had it mounted.

I hope that this can help someone else. It sure makes my life easier.

Like my father always said, "Work smart, not hard."

I had to mend my first puncture today since putting my Michelin carbons on my Eurus rims. Pleased to report it was a hell of a lot easier to get them on/off than it was when the tyres were new. Needed three levers to get them off, but none to get them back on.

Ventos here - no probs with Pro Race