Psimet2001 

Personally I don't care but I do have a growing number of customers who have been insisting on builds that have rims with non-tubeless construction. These are people who, for whatever reason even after being shown and taught, can not seem to easily be able to mount or change tires on tubeless ready rims.

Those people will have to eventually get with the program and figure it out or simply just realize that now they need to take their bike to a shop whenever they want to put on new tires....kind of like how they can't figure out how to work on or maintain their hydraulic brakes now.....or troubleshoot their electronic systems...or work on their e-bikes. The industry is really doing a lot to help us shops out lately I guess. While it's kind of a shame that we have seemingly lost the "everyman" simplicity of the bicycle I do appreciate the level of tech that exists. Things change and move on. Kind of like how we don't get owners manuals for cars that include how to adjust the valves.

So to noodle soup 's point it doesn't matter in theory because you can run everything on the same rims (we ship every wheelset with tubeless tape on it to be used as a rim strip or for actual tubeless use - and it still seems to confuse people) but there are definitely people who do not appreciate the tubeless rim design and how much tighter it makes the tire and rim system.

Psimet2001 

^This. I just don't have much if any sympathy for people that have a difficult time mounting tires. You can conquer it with brute strength or by technique or a combination of both. This is no different than any other thing in cycling...like climbing. No one who climbs well has any sympathy for me when I go jetting out the back - some are natural climbers and some have become good climbers by training and technique. I was naturally blessed with meat claws as hands.

I have to admit I sometimes enjoy selling a buddy a set of conti's and having them come back swearing it's impossible to mount them on their wheels and how they broke 2 levers only to mount them by hand without a lever right in front of them while they are still telling their story about how impossible it is. Simple things entertain me.

robbyville

LOL, totally true. Psimet, and Noodle, would love to know what technique you are using. While I don't have meathooks for hands, I've spent well over 30 years in the industry in some fashion, used to build wheels as a kid for Marinoni, help change all tubes when on group rides, etc. I've been on Tubeless since 2013 and these dang tires are the only ones that have given me grief. I always need to use a lever, and my "technique" for whatever that's worth must be so useless that even with a lever causes me to use words that I'm sure have never been uttered before... This last one took me almost 15 minutes to mount onto the rim, used soap and water, etc.

noodle soup

+1

Years ago I worked at a shop that had a 20 something girl, who worked on weekends. Part of her job was to fix flats, and replace tires while the customer waited. We all enjoyed watching the lazy cyclists be emasculated by a 100lb "little girl".

JohnJ80

It doesn’t prevent you from using any other pump. My comment was specifically aimed at pumps with a built in mechanical gauge. If that wasn’t clear, my apologies.

But you still have the same problem with any gauge unless it’s calibrated. You wind up living in your own little world with regards to tire pressure and you have no way to correlate to anything external. It that’s ok, then fine. Doesn’t work for me because I want to be able to replicate it with the several pumps I have and with others with whom I ride. I also want to be able to compare results with others. I can’t do that with an uncalibrated gauge.

So, look - it’s not worth the argument. If you find that works for you, great. It doesn’t work for me and it drives me nuts if I can’t replicate the pressure across my pumps and bikes and I don’t want to have to carry around my gold standard gauge all the time either.

J.

DaveSSS 

If you don't have an accurate pressure gauge, then a pressure calculator program is of no value. The gauge on my old pump was off by quite a bit, so I was using a significantly lower pressure than I thought. Calibrating my old pump was worth the effort.

cxwrench

Why not just mess around w/ pressure til you figure out what works best for you? Why bother w/ all these conflicting pressure calculators? Are people so unsure of their ability to make a decision they can't figure out what they like best and have to rely on someone else to tell them? I guess it might make sense for a starting point but most people seem to have an idea of that as they've been riding for a least a little while.

Koyote

I'm genuinely curious, since I did some research online before choosing the gauge that I pictured above, and never came across "calibrated" gauges for bike tires. Is this something you purchase, or is there some standard way of calibrating a gauge?

hsuBM

GP5K 28mm will be a real difference over 23’s.
GP5K 32mm will blow your mind.

Eric F

I'm not sure I can get a 28 on my bike. Definitely not a 32.

WhyFi

Even with the smaller sizing of the GP5k (relative to the GP4k II) in mind?

jadocs

My technique is to get one side hooked in the center channel, then slowly work the opposite side while simultaneously pulling (or pushing - depending on how you are oriented) each side as I work the bead over the rim....but before that, I make sure to center the "Schwalbe" logo over the valve stem. LOL

Eric F

Looking at the 25mm GP5ks on my bike now, there's not much room under the brake arch for something significantly bigger. 28s, maybe. 32s, nope. Being that I just put a new pair of 25s on last week, it's not going to be any time soon that I will think about something different.

DaveSSS 

I just happen to own several brand new, high quality liquid filled pressure gages that eventually will get used for monitoring water pressure in a large irrigation system. I made a manifold with two of those gages and a presta valve mounted to it, so I could use my 30+ year old Silca pump to pressurize the manifold. My two new gauges agreed within 2 psi at 80, but my old pump gage registered about 8 psi higher, so it's reasonable to assume the the old gauge was not accurate. I did another check, with a third gauge and got an even closer agreement. The 6 bar or 88 psi mark is now my reference for 80. I always use my pump gauge to measure tire pressure, when I top them off, before a ride.

The Winters brand gauges that I have seem to be well made and you can get a 0-100 or 0-160 psi range. I have one of each. Winters claims plus or minus 1.5% accuracy, while some cheaper gages are plus or minus 3%.

https://www.amazon.com/Winters-Stain...1856497&sr=8-3

Psimet2001 

How does one learn to breathe?

Don't know if I can talk you through it but in essence you HAVE to get both beads into the depth of the center channel and you have to use a tubeless tape as a super thin rim strip. You can't use velox or even one of our old style nylon rim strips. Then you work it around like normal. I didn't say I never use a lever. Using a lever is not cheating. I just have a tendancy to be able to put on tires without levers that others have been struggling with even though they are using levers. In most cases a lever used once or twice in the last 6-8 inches of mounting the tire is usually all it takes. Use a good lever you feel comfortable with. I have changed over the years but right now I just use pedros levers. They work. I also have a box full of levers I keep on the work bench as they all have different useful shapes.

hsuBM

that sucks.

Psimet2001 

I used to work in heavy metal fabrication. Extensive machining. I also set up gauge rotation and calibration systems for multiple plants. My experience there showed me that the vast majority of gauges in use every day are wildly out of calibration and weren't even close on day one.

At one point I decided to start getting an idea of how far off all the different pumps and inflators I used in the shop were when compared to a calibrated gauge I had around for specific work. I saw variances of +-20psi.

This is why I always tend to blow up on threads where people sit and try and argue that someone else is using the "wrong" pressure because it is 5 psi or less off of what they believe they should run. Pressure discussions without a basic understanding of our lack of ability to read accurate pressures is kind of pointless.

This is again why I posted way up above how I stopped giving pressure numbers as advice at races. I simply ask what they have been running and offer advice on which direction and how far to move that number...knowing full well they will use the same technique and pump they always use.

I have watched mechanics and riders argue about 2 psi at UCI races when they are using different gauges. Always makes me laugh. Then I have watched Katie Compton run in and tell Mark how to change pressure within 1 psi and known they are actually dialed and correct.

Pressure discussion in here are kinda pointless IMHO

tomato coupe

Or not ...

Eric F

Not at all. I'm plenty happy with 25s. I like the little bit of extra comfort compared with the 23s I was running for the last 20+ years, but a super-cushy ride is not my goal.

noodle soup

+1 to the Pedro's levers. I have a ton of levers, but the Pedro's yellow levers work better than any other lever I've seen.

robbyville

I understand and appreciate the answer. I have no problem when I need to use a lever, I have no pride! But even with the lever I have challenges with the Conti's. I use proper tubeless tape, usually Stan's. Next time I have to mount them I'll see if I can use some of the ideas I've received.

WhyFi

I don't think that it's going to help you with fitting tires, but the next time you re-tape, track down some DT Swiss rim tape - it's a little more expensive and a little harder to get your hands on, but it goes on so much better and is very much worth it.

DaveSSS 

That's why I used three new gauges for comparison. All three read within 2psi, which is relatively good agreement. My initial use of 70-75 psi in my 28mm tubeless tires, before calibrating the pump gauge was actually 62-67, which is what some of the pressure calculators recommend. I certainly won't go any lower.

popeye

I always use the same pump and could care a hoot how accurate it is. I just pump them up until I have ~15% deflection and fine tune from there for conditions. For me that's 55/50 on 25's and never pinch. I note the pressure and use that. Blackburn track pump.

Psimet2001 

Understood. My comment is geared more towards anyone arguing about pressure who hasn't taken the time to check the accuracy of the gauges they are using.