Meanwhile... I just purchased a brand new set of tubulars.... if I flat on these, I'm toast!

This exactly. I use 2 Pedro's Bicycle Tire Lever together to work the last ~4" of tire into the rim. I do not think these levers are special, they are just popular in my area. I find that levers that are not quite as wide as the Pedro's levers work a little easier for me.

Coincidentally, I got a flat this weekend that also tore the sidewall. I had to boot it with a candy wrapper along with doing the tube swap. I looked up my Garmin file, and it only took me 11 minutes total. That was probably my worst-case scenario for amount of time.

8. Some combinations of rims and tires are a P I T A. Other combinations combine effortless.


This.

My regular go-to wheels that I ride the most on are now almost ancient, but with Conti 4000's and now 5000's they go on easy with very little effort - so I'm reluctant to give them up simply for that fact.

Some wheel/tire combos are absolutely brutal. Others require a bit more finesse and knowledge - as an example, the HED, extra wide rim bed on the Ardennes and other HED wheels, if you don't know what you are doing will seem like one of those impossible combos. Here - you need to get the rim beads from both sides of the tire down in that little trough in the middle of the rim on the section. This reduces the circumference of the wheel, by a few mm, and enough to take the putting on of the tire, from impossible, to will go with a bit of effort!

I ride a moderate amount - and typically average 1 - 3 on-the-road punctures and tube changes each year. For me on the side of the road, it's at most if I am really pushing it a 2 - 3 minute process, and I'm on my way.

Familiarity with the CO2 Inflater is key. Some of them are tricky to operate - others more straightforward. As others have mentioned, get a few extra CO2 cartridges and practice at home to become comfortable and confident.

and does the tube installation occur before or after both beads are in the central trough/channel? And if after, how does one get a tube into the tire cavity?

I re-read the advice and still can't visualize it. Are you saying to use both hands to push the last part of the tire onto the rim at the same time, starting at 9:00 and 3:00 and then working up toward 10:00 and 2:00, then 11:00 and 1:00? Because I have tried that with my thumbs and can't do it.

I just asked my friend again and he does that but with two tire levers.

Innner tube is already in.

It's good to have a lighter colored rim tape, so you can see where the inner tube may not be fully in. Where it's not in, I go to the spot(s) on the wheel and see if I can kneed the tube in under the beads and into the actual tire. If this does not work, last resort and being REALLY careful, I take a plastic tire iron and VERY GENTLY see if I can poke it, under and up and into the tire.

Sometimes, if you are at home, and you have a hand pump handy - trying putting a SMALL bit of air in the tube - often this can suck/pull the tube up into the tire. Obviously this is next to impossible on the side of the road with a CO2 unless you are REALLY familer and confident with the regulator on your inflator

Innner tube is already in.

It's good to have a lighter colored rim tape, so you can see where the inner tube may not be fully in. Where it's not in, I go to the spot(s) on the wheel and see if I can kneed the tube in under the beads and into the actual tire. If this does not work, last resort and being REALLY careful, I take a plastic tire iron and VERY GENTLY see if I can poke it, under and up and into the tire.

Sometimes, if you are at home, and you have a hand pump handy - trying putting a SMALL bit of air in the tube - often this can suck/pull the tube up into the tire. Obviously this is next to impossible on the side of the road with a CO2 unless you are REALLY familer and confident with the regulator on your inflator

Please read the above posts, and learn how to installs tires by hand.

Depends on the rim too. I have a pair of campy wheels that are just barely concave. Impossible to get tires on without levers.

If you put the tire beads in the middle of the channel in the rim, the tire should go on fairly easily.

NEVER use tire levers to install a tire, EVER. This can over stress the side wall, and lead to side wall blowouts.

I have seen this method to change the tire by hand, but I can't do it.

I can't do a lot of things that some bike techs can do easily.

START at the OPPOSITE end of the valve stem and END at the VALVE!!

I glanced over most of what was said and saw some things I strongly disagree with so if someone already pointed them out, apologies for the repetition.

Tire levers:
Don't use levers to put tires on, only to take them off. I love the pedro levers as I find they work best being a bulky and stiff lever. One lever is all I need. Slip it in, fold the bead over the rim, grip the rim and tire on one side of the lever, and with the free hand push the lever away from you. You can pull, but that's a great way to punch yourself in the face. Ask DesertDude how he knows. 😁

Tire off:
Once you have the tire off, of course look for shit, as you don't want another flat in like 20 feet. With your spare tube you want to blow some air in the tube with your lungs. Give it some shape and body. You should already have one bead on the rim so place the partially inflated tube into the tire.

Getting the tire back on:
START at the OPPOSITE end of the valve stem and END at the VALVE!! This is key in preventing a tire from pinching a tube and makes mounting the tire infinitely easier as the bead isn't pushed away from the center by the valve. I know 95% of folks out there say to do it the other way, but trust me on this. You'll thank me later. Make sure that bead is in the channel and then work with pressure towards the valve stem (similar on how you would mount a tubular) When you get close to the valve stem and you don't have the strongest of hands then you can let some of the air out of the tube to finish getting that tire seated.

One day I will make a video (I always am saying that), but it really is kind of easy. If with practice and proper technique you still struggle, well, some folks talents lie elsewhere and that's okay. As for taking longer on the road it's because you have to stop and unpack all your shit, do the dead, and then pack your shit back up. The act of changing a tire should take the same amount of time.

my post should have ended this thread.

my job is a bike messenger. if im changing flats, im not getting paid.

This tire got me 10,000 miles (5000 more than the warranty)

I'm in the "don't worry about being one of the cool kids" group. I change one or two flats every year on the side of the road, along with the tubes/tires I change at home. I swallow my pride and always use tire levers. (I'm in awe of the guys who can remove/mount tires without levers, but it's beyond me and I've never had a problem using levers with sidewall failures.) On the side of the road, I use a CO2 inflator. Practice using one if necessary, but I've never had a problem with them. At home, you'll always have your floor pump. As far as using a mini pump on the side of the road, they require a fair amount of effort and upper body strength and even then it will take a few minutes to get a reasonable amount of air into the new tube. A frame pump works better, but I haven't had one of them on my bike in the last 30 years.

Good luck!

While I like your passion for your tires, those probably don't have the low rolling resistance of some of the tires used and liked by riders here, and flats are just an accepted part of the increased speed.

As for the tire levers, peeps saying that they should never be used are being a bit unrealistic. There are only 2 options, either you use them or you don't.

For those against tire levers, you probably have the hand strength of a gorilla or a wheel/tire combo that goes on like butter on pancakes. Congrats! Being strong or smart/lucky with your wheel/tire combo choice is awesome.

For those that use tire levers, there are a few reasons.

(1) They don't have the hand strength of a gorilla.
(2) They have a wheel/tire combo that is a MFer to get on even for those who do have gorilla hands.
Or
(3) Some people who even have gorilla hands but also have experience/common sense/patience would rather take advantage of available tech to make life easier instead of turning a flat into a knuckle busting, cursing display on the side of the road to be laughed at by others.
(4) They don't have access to a bucket of hot soapy water during the ride.

While I appreciate both the mechanical leverage tools provide and the machismo of using high grip strength hands, I have noticed that use of tire levers do create some issues: (1) frequently pinch the inner tube under the tire bead (which is absolutely unacceptable for latex inner tubes) and (2) distract from other solutions like seating the tube properly and adjusting the mounted portions of the tire.