I bought two vittoria rubino pro intrepid clinchers off a NZ auction site - they were super cheap.
They arrived today and they are…folded! They have the kevlar beading rather than the standard wire beading I have on my wheels at the moment. When I bought them I didn’t realise this. Ooops.
My wheels are Ritchey DS pro and currently they have rubinos on but these ones have the wire beading. Soooo…will I be able to mount the foldable tyres with no problem, or have I screwed up?
I know this is potentially a doofus move, so keep the flaming to a minimum!
As mentioned, nothing to worry about. In fact, kevlar (folding) beads are just so much better than wire beads in every way you can possibly imagine. In my experience, they are: much lighter (no duh), much easier to mount and change a flat, and also even seem to roll faster and smoother vs. comparable wire bead tires. Worth every extra penny, and then some.
You will never run wire beads again from this day forward.
Wow. I haven’t ridden on the suckers yet, but I mounted them last night and it was just so much easier to get them on than the wire ones! And they certainly look faster…
Yup. I’ll also bet that your fingers weren’t all cut-up and bleeding afterwards too. I learned the hard way last winter that wire-beaded tires and nice rims don’t like each other very much. My co-workers were a little surprised to see me come in with my hands covered in band-aids.
