Such frustration! Love my new Tri specific bike, but so upset that I am unable to change a flat. I took the wheel to my LBS and they had great difficulty - broke tools & had me leave it overnight to get it done. Really - if it took the mechanics that long what chance have I got? I have two different wheel brands and both are problematic. I’ve tried a couple brands of tires - getting expensive. I’ve checked other threads along this line and the suggestions just don’t help if you’re racing or riding more than a couple miles from home ( i.e. put tires in dryer?? --carry talcum powder ( that didn’t work for me either)-- put your back into it ( I tried))
I can change road bike tires without difficulty - why all the problems with 650’s ? Seriously - are there any tires or wheel tire sets out there that are known to be more “user friendly” Thanks for your help!
I hear your pain. We have had an especially hard time with 650c Zipp wheels in this regard. Heds seem to be much easier than Zipps. The Bontrager tires have been some of the easiest to change and the Victoria Evos aren’t that bad either. All the Michelin have proven to be tough until will worn in. A tire bead jack will really help tons too. I’ve cut the handle down to about half to make it easier to stow.
If you can afford it buy 4-6 tires, have the LBS install a set, put max pressure in them, ride them a few days, go back to LBS and have them put on another set, etc, etc. That way you will have extra ste already stretched and somewhat broken in. I used to put them in the car (summer days) to heat up and would stretch them 2-3 times aday, man they could be bears to get on a rim, but once broken in they were fine. Good luck!
I have softride that’s 650c. It’s tough, gotta have good strong tire levers and a spray bottle with soapy water can make a big difference. My races tires are tubular but if they were clinchers I’d still probably carry this with me.
I had the same problems with my wife’s 650c Zipp’s and new tires. Once they had a couple hundred miles they were typically easier, but the first time was hard. Old solution was to always break in new tires for quite a few rides before big races, then put them on and off 6-7 times the day or two before races.
Then I bought some Schwalbe tires and they went on with no problem when brand new. Not sure why these seem to be a tiny bit bigger, but no issues putting them on.
Sounds frustrating – guess I should feel lucky that I hardly need a tire lever for my 650s. I’ve used a variety of tubes/tires with the Real Design rims that came stock on my bike, currently on Bontrager R3 tires.
Such frustration! Love my new Tri specific bike, but so upset that I am unable to change a flat. I took the wheel to my LBS and they had great difficulty - broke tools & had me leave it overnight to get it done. Really - if it took the mechanics that long what chance have I got? I have two different wheel brands and both are problematic. I’ve tried a couple brands of tires - getting expensive. I’ve checked other threads along this line and the suggestions just don’t help if you’re racing or riding more than a couple miles from home ( i.e. put tires in dryer?? --carry talcum powder ( that didn’t work for me either)-- put your back into it ( I tried))
I can change road bike tires without difficulty - why all the problems with 650’s ? Seriously - are there any tires or wheel tire sets out there that are known to be more “user friendly” Thanks for your help!
It all depends on the rim you’re using. More specifically, it depends on the actual ETRTO diameter (which - technically - any wheel actually being sold should be within the specification), and also the channel depth (which is how much the “floor” of the clincher rim bows down in the middle). Some folks mentioned the Zipp aluminum/carbon clincher rims - The problem with them is channel depth - essentially, the floor is flat. If you look at most any other aluminum hoop out there, the floor of the rim is crescent-moon shaped. What this does is effectively reduce the diameter of the rim in the middle, so it is easier to get the tire beads over the top of the rim edges, or hooks. Contrary to popular believe, it really isn’t the height of the rim edges/hooks that matters so much - it’s all about channel depth.
The problem exists on the 700c Zipp alloy/carbon hoops as well, but something about the 650’s is worse. Zipp designed that rim about a decade ago, and perhaps there was some “spec creep” over time. If Zipp is on the high end of the acceptable diameter range, and all of the tire manufacturers are on the lower end, you have tight fit. Their new carbon clinchers solve this problem by having a curved channel - but they are certainly more expensive than the aluminum counterparts, and they don’t make a 650c version. In my experience, all of the 650 tires on the market fit tight with that wheel. I’ve tried: Vittoria Open Corsa 650x20, Michelin Pro 2 650x23, Continental GP4000 650x23, and Vittoria Rubino Pro 650x23. I just use the “cheater” tire lever and a lot of elbow grease. Double/triple check the tubes so that you don’t pinch flat. Sometimes you have to install the tire 2 or 3 times to get it perfect and w/o pinches. The only bummer is that the rider of these wheels and bikes tends to be smaller/shorter females - who likely have very little chance of being able to actually change a flat on the road.
Not juch help to you now but if you ever change brands … My wife uses 650 Hed Jet 6 front and Jet 9 rear and although she does not find it super easy she manages quite well. She is pretty tiny and not exactly strong. She uses Continental 4000 tires, not sure if the are 4000s or not. She can change the tire but getting the rear wheel back on is still something that alludes her.
are there any tires or wheel tire sets out there that are known to be more “user friendly”
The wife and I both ride 650s, and you can strike 650 Easton Vista / Velomax Vista with Michelin tires off your list. I literally had to cut the old tire off with a set of wire cutters. Mounting a Vittoria CX to the Easton was nearly impossible, but it worked. I’m putting all my chips on Pitt-Stop if it ever flats on a race.
My front wheel is a 650 Hed Tri spoke, and I have not had any problems with Continental Tire and Vittoria tire on it.
650s in general seem to be harder, but some are really tight, such as the Zipp 650s. It’s absolutely critical with such wheels to use the thinnest rim tape possible. I bought my wife’s Zipps used and had a hell of a time getting the original tires off. It turned out the previous owner had used Velox (which is very thick to start with) and the tape was too wide for the rim. I switched to veloplugs which helped. Roxx is also very thin but I didn’t find it reliable. I do still have to use tools to get the tires off, whereas I never use tools on my 700C wheels to either install or remove a tire. I can get the tires on her Zipps without tools but it takes a bit of elbow grease.
I’m currently experimenting with two layers of 3M strapping tape on my wheels and it seems to be working fine. It’s the thinnest thing I’ve found so far so I am going to give a try at replacing the veloplugs on my wife’s Zipps with it. I plan to change it every winter as I’m not sure of the long term reliability.
The dryer trick helps get the tires on the first time and has nothing to do with changing on the road. After you get the tire out of the dryer stretch it a bit, also use talc on the tire and tube. Once the tires have been inflated and on there a little while it should get easier to remove the tire.
Bottom line, it’s possible to field change tires on 650 Zipps and other tight 650s if you don’t have thick rim tape. You’d be surprised at how much difference it makes.
Such frustration! Love my new Tri specific bike, but so upset that I am unable to change a flat. I took the wheel to my LBS and they had great difficulty - broke tools & had me leave it overnight to get it done. Really - if it took the mechanics that long what chance have I got? I have two different wheel brands and both are problematic. I’ve tried a couple brands of tires - getting expensive. I’ve checked other threads along this line and the suggestions just don’t help if you’re racing or riding more than a couple miles from home ( i.e. put tires in dryer?? --carry talcum powder ( that didn’t work for me either)-- put your back into it ( I tried))
I can change road bike tires without difficulty - why all the problems with 650’s ? Seriously - are there any tires or wheel tire sets out there that are known to be more “user friendly” Thanks for your help!
