Austinite

...and I'm STILL not done! WTF? I'm sitting here at home with my rear wheel (Bontrager Select, came with the bike..) and a new foldable Conti Ultra Gatorskin tire in 700x23 size. Same size I always use, but different tire. I can get the tire on until about the last 8 inches or so where the bead goes straight across the spokes. NOTHING I do with either levers (1, 2, or 3 of them) or my hands or my feet or my teeth will get this cotton-picking tire on!! And now I've discovered I've put holes in the tube while trying to mount so I have to take it all apart again. Yes, I know about pushing the tire around to try to create slack. There is no frigging slack in this thing. My thumbs are numb and tingly.

How is it I see folks flatted on the side of the road literally whipping their tire off and back on again?

weavers

i'm in the same boat as you. with my stock rims/tires it wasn't a problem, but when i upgraded the rims and kept the old tires my thumbs were bleeding trying to get them on. and the worst part was when i got them on, the valve broke, not once but twice! i had used that pump before with no problems. /sigh.

i heard that GP 4000s or michelin pro 2/3s are easier to mount any rim. right now i'm not willing to make that investment. we will see the on the next flat. i also heard that tires strech so maybe the next mount will be easier.


7 bucks at rei
https://www.rei.com/product/627610?pr...:referralID=NA

Booger

Do you know how to mount a tire? Serious. Have someone (LBS, friend, whatever) show you how to do it. I get the feeling you're missing something trivial (e.g. are you trying to mount both beads at once?) in the process.

I've been running gatorskins for years on four different wheelsets and admit they can be a tight fit, but you should be able to mount with the help of one lever. I've done it more times than I can count.

Copperhed51

It can definitely be a huge pain in the ass. There's other threads about this issue and in those threads, people mention that sometimes it's difficult enough that they take it into the LBS and the mechanics there enjoy it because they can show off their superhuman thumbs. Other people say to put the tube in the oven or use a heat gun on it to get it to stretch a little bit. Other people will say to just man up and mount the damn thing. I recommend letting it sit overnight and coming back to it with a fresh mind and somewhat fresh thumbs. You'll get it. If not, go to the LBS and let the do it.

kmart

Mount 1 bead at a time. Use steel-core plastic covered levers so they don't break. Two should be enough to do the job. Simple.

GP

Don't use your thumbs. Use your palm. Wrap your fingers over the tire and roll the bead on using the part of your palm where the calluses form. If you are doing this at home, wear a pair of mechanics gloves.

softlysoftly

Check some vids on youtube, see whether you're doing everything in the right sequence.
Gatorskins should be able to go on without a even a tire lever, depends on the amount of adrenaline flowing through ya tho

johnny99

+1. Use your palm. If you need a little extra grip, wear your leather cycling gloves.

I've been using Gatorskin tires for years and never had a problem mounting them. I've never owned a Bontrager wheel, though.

coldass

Talc tube and rim
Put a little air in tube
Start opposite valve
Use your hands and have a rag ready
Seat beat in channel
Work you way around - left/right/left
When you get to the last bit use your palms and then the rag to give you more leverage - HEAVE
Let some of the air out of the tube - use palms and rag and push
Make sure bead is in rim channel as far around as you can (this is the secret - that and the talc as a dry lube)
It will go...

It will be easy next time...

Don't use levers - ever to mount. You'll just flat your tube break them.

stapfam

Some Bontarger rims are large and some tyres are small. Try a different tyre.

Another problem could be the rim liner. I use the Velo rim tapes and they are thick. I really have to push the bead into the rim opposite to the final bit of fitting the tyre to get the tyre fitted and Removing a tyre is difficult.

sunburst

Yeah, that adrenaline's a funny thing. I once read a story about a woman fighting off a shark to protect her baby. But normally, most of us can't muster that much force just to mount a tire (no matter how mad you get!).

The other day I was trying to get a Gatorskin off a rim and swear to god(!), I had to get out a screwdriver. Broke two types of tire irons, even the metal-reinforced one was worthless. Had to get a damned screwdriver. Hope I never need to take it off on the road.

Now about thumbs vs palms and the use of your feet - I learned how to use palms, tire irons, and feet. Takes some dexterity - easier to demonstrate than explain - but basically it helps to be sitting on your butt on the lawn, and use your feet to keep the tire irons from popping off while working the opposite side. I managed it to get a Schwable Marthon on fairly easily, and I had been forewarned about this particular tire. Came in handy when I mounted my Conti Contacts this week also.

Cyclist01012

I am going to have to side with the OP on this one. Gatorskins and bontrager rims can be a very very big pain.

I can whip a speed max or a mud off an on a select in a matter of minutes and be ready to go, But when it comes to mounting a gatorskin on the same wheel its time to go grab a couple of beers cause I am going to be at it for a while.

The Carpenter

Install and remove the tire WITHOUT the tube several times. This will stretch the tire, it should get a little easier each time and you don't have to worry about damage to the tube.

10 Wheels

Don't feel bad.
I spent 3.5 hours and 6 punchers in two tube doings the same thing.

Bolo Grubb

throw the tire in the clothes dryer for 5 or 10 minutes. It will make it easier to stretch over the last few inches.

Wanderer

Lay the tire in the sun, preferrably on blacktop, to get it softened up a little...... about 20 minutes should do it. You will feel how warm it gets.

patentcad

What kmart and Grumpy said. One bead at a time. It can be a huge pain, even for those of us who have been mounting tires for 20 years. I had to mount a brand new Conti 4000 GP on my Zipp 404 clincher last night, and the combination of the new tire and the Zipp clincher rim made it a bit of a chore. A ten minute chore, but for a task that typically takes me 2 minutes. My Mavic rims are easier to mount tires on - also people on the side of the road are dealing with tires that have miles on them, and that stretches them out and makes them easier to mount and dismount.

The hardest tire to mount is a fresh tire, and some rims (like the Zipps) do make it harder for some reason. The key is learning how to get the tire lever just under the bead at the edge on those last 8" and then slide to the center, finding the sweet spot that will allow you to leverage the tire onto your rim. It's not easy, it takes some hand strength, but mostly it just takes practice. I'm sure the next time I mount a tire on that Zipp I'd be faster, but I only have to do it once every year or so. I really have no issues mounting new tires on any of my Ksyrium rims, the Zipps are different for some reason, the clincher rim seems higher/deeper/harder to deal with.

peter_d

I had the same problem mounting Vittoria tires on Fulcrum wheels....tight tire, slightly oversize wheel, broke two tire levers and finally had to use steel ones and just force it. If you do have to use levers be careful not to damage the inside of the rim.

banerjek

In addition to the tricks already mentioned, using a bit of spit as lube can help you push the tire over the rim.

ericm979

If you have to "force it" you run a chance of damaging the tire bead. I did that on a Michelin Pro race 2 I mounted on a Reynolds DV46c. The Reynolds rims have less of a well between the walls making it harder to mount tires.

The damaged tire carcass pulled away from the bead on a descent. Fortunately I heard it going "fwap fwap fwap" and got slowed down before the tube blew.

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nycphotography

Put them on the rims w/o tubes. Let sit in a warm place overnight.

Pull them back off, sprinkle well with baby powder (or you can use dishsoap and water), and put them back on w/ tubes in.

They'll stretch to fit your rims shortly.

Austinite

Well, at least I don't feel like as much of a doofus as I did the other night. I ended up taking the wheel to the LBS and watched them do it. They used talcum powder all the way around, a couple of Pedro's yellow tire levers, and then a small spritz of simple green (or something in a bottle) on that last 8 inches of the rim to help it get over. I can do that - at HOME. On the road I guess I'll need to spit on it as others have suggested.

Anyway, til next time...

scotch

that's interesting. i found that mounting the Conti GPs on my Mavic Open Pros was a chore. on the other rig, mounting a Torelli TDF on the Campy Khamsins is a piece of cake.

johnny99

Folding tires will usually stretch a little after you've used them for a while. They should be much easier to mount without tools the next time, if you ever need to fix a flat.

SSRI

you are not alone.
I manage to get a rip a small amt of thumb nail off the nail bed trying to push the dame thing in.

+1 on a small amont of Lub (talc, baby shampoo, water, alcohol etc)