Are tires getting tighter?
 

I bought a new set of training tires yesterday, Maxxis Detonators, a tire I've heard good things about. I've been mounting clinchers for decades but getting these damned things on my rims was unbelievably difficult. Even getting the first bead on the rim was a challenge, that's something I've never seen before on the wheels in question. I'm not a fan of levering a tire on and ripped up my hands getting them on. I think I need to buy a bead jack and call it a day.

In general, I've noticed that current Kevlar-beaded tires seem to have become outrageously tight over the past few years. Lighter racing tires are generally a bit easier to mount, but the current crop of durable, high pressure belted training tires are unforgivingly difficult to mount. Armadillos (ugg), Gatorskins and Rubinos are all really tough to get on a rim when new. Perhaps modern carcasses have become so reinforced that they simply don't flex anymore. Perhaps tire manufacturers are terrified of lawsuits from beads blowing off and cut the bead diameter a mm or two. Regardless, it has reached a point where I dread having to mount new tires.

Has anyone else experienced this? Maybe it's just my weak, middle aged noodle arms.

Sidenote: I ended up getting them mounted with a little soapy water and grippy gardening gloves. Much sweating and cursing was involved in this process, which was conducted in private in the basement. A bead jack is in order here.

I have the same tires (love them btw) and I don't recall them being terribly difficult to get on.

This was more than a year ago though.

It's a matter of tolerances. Some tires are hard to mount on some rims.

There's an accepted tlerance range for sizing rims, and also for sizing tires. Take a tire that's on the small side of the accepted tolerance, and a rim that's on the big side of the accepted tolerance, and it's going to be a PITA to mount.

Add in the fact that rim manufacturers want to err on the side of too big, to avoid problems with tires that are on the big side of the tolerance, and tire manufactures want to err on the side of too small, and you get a fiar number of tire rim combos that fit very tightly.

I use gatorskins on open pros and have stopped carrying levers. They go right on. Same with my trainer tire. Likely the rim is on the smaller size.

Yes, most recently I bought a set of Vittoria Rando Pros and the rear is so tight I don't think I will be able to get it off without intentionally cutting the bead. It bent a metal iron going on. Not the rim, I've had a variety of different tires on that wheel without any issues. I think it's a manufacturing defect, it seems to just happen from time to time. However, check your rim tape, if you are using a thick rim tape that can contribute to the problem because the bead can't get the slack from sitting in the middle channel - some rims really need to have very thin rims tape to allow easy tire changes.

Yes the manufacturers are scared of liability in case of a blow off. Kevlar beads stretch over the life of the tire. It is called creep and happens much more for Kevlar than for steel wire. So folding tires have to be made extra tight when new so they will still be safe when old. Different rims, production runs of tires, etc. can accentuate this effect. Despite many folks' misconceptions, wire bead tires are looser new than folding tires. They don't have to start out as tight. Nothing was tighter than the old Specialized tires ofthe early '80s. Now that was something.

Just get a (hard to find) VAR tire tool. It works like magic. Check for it on Amazon and ebay. They used to be common, but are very rare in the USA now.

I get em on no problem. They are a pretty decent tire for how cheap they are.

That makes sense as to why tires may be getting tougher to mount. I've dealt with some really tough tire/rim combos recently and the right tool makes a difference.

I've seen these in my local REI - http://www.amazon.com/Kool-Stop-Tire.../dp/B001AYML7K

I don't know how effective they are but I've considered getting one, $10 for a hassle free installation is a minimal expense. Plus another 'bike service' gadget won't kill me. :)

I really struggled with the Bontrager Hard Case (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/903542) and thankfully as they've aged (now over 600 miles) I've noticed they're much easier to reinstall. I "practice" every weekend once or twice on each wheel now that I started commuting on them. The last thing I want to be doing is cursing at my bike on the side of the road when I have to be at the office.

Yeah, after a couple of months, the tightest tire is generally loose enough to peel off a rim without levers.

I should say that I agree wire beaded tires are generally easier to mount when new.

The toughest tire I've ever mounted was a Hutchinson road tubeless. Never again.

It works pretty well.

That is the best one out there. Wee bit long to carry on the bike. Have mine in a trunk bag.

GP4000s's on reynolds wheels can sometimes be a nightmare, but those same tires on Zipps go on by hand. Personally I'd prefer them to be hard to get in, in hopes of giving me a few extra seconds of controllability upon a quick flat. Wish it was more standardized.

Good to know, looks like I'll add to cart next time I do some 'on bike meal' shopping.

There are VERY specific standards for rims set down in ETRTO. The problem is many manufacturers have chosen to play fast and loose with the tolerances for a variety of reasons.

There are no set standards for tires. Tires are usually designed to the expected rim dimensions in ETRTO but since several rim makers are outside of ETRTO you start to see the differences. An interesting exception is Michelin/Mavic who have worked together to slightly tweak their standards so that the combination of their products works very well together.

Beauty of the VAR tool is it is pocket size. Easily fits in small under-saddle bag. Works great.

Thanks Bob. Excellent and really informative information as usual!

This is great info and backs up what I've seen: certain tire/rim combos require a jackhammer to mount, others can be mounted by blowing lightly on the bead. The unpredictability is kind of irritating.

I'm seriously considering one of those tools after last weekend. Putting Vittoria Zaffario's on my old bike was a long and painful exercise that I know I am destined to repeat.

Tubeless tire mfgrs recommend lubing the beads with soap/water to help installation. I use talc to lube the beads and tubes of my tubed tires to ease installation and removal.

This does indeed help but I can assure you even with a soapy rim getting a tubeless tire on a Shimano rim without a bead jack was an exercise in frustration.

Brand-new Gatorskins are tough; I just put 2 on. Without levers, and I have arthritis in both thumb joints. :( Luckily they rarely flat (for me at least) so don't need to go through this often.

Rims are a big part of it. It's the depth of the well inside the rim that makes it hard or easy. It's well-known that Open Pros are an easy rim. Most Velocity rims are easy. I've never seen a tire that I couldn't mount fairly easily by hand on a Velocity or Open Pro rim. The old MA2 rims were difficult. I don't think tires are getting any harder to mount on the same rims.

I don't know why people are so against using levers to mount tires. When done right, by first partially preinflating the tube, getting it inserted fully into the bed of the rim, seating 90% of the tire and checking for any tube exposed, then just running the lever along the inside edge of the rim until the tire seat has worked for me with zero failures in thousands of miles.

Getting GP4KS on Hed Belgiums is tough. On November Rail, not nearly as bad.