Even with several hundred miles on them, my GP4000 700x25s are still way too tight a fit on my Pacenti wheels. I can eventually gorilla them on in the garage, but have always been leery of getting a flat. Well, tonight it finally happened, and I had to call for a ride. Eventually got the tire back on, using 3 levers, a fair amount of sweat, and some cursing, only to find that I had pinched the tube in the process. Oh, and broken a Pedros Milk Lever.
I’m using Stan’s yellow rim tape, and I know the trick about making sure the bead is in the middle of the rim bed.
I’ve been riding for several years and while I’m not a pro level mechanic, I’m much closer to that than say, the Chrissie Wellington school of tire changing. I’m sure some of you are going to tell me I’m doing it wrong, but if we could skip past that and onto some actually helpful suggestions, that would be great.
Are the 5000s better? I have those on my Zipp and they seemed to go on easier than I remember the 4000s being. These are training wheels, looking for good durability and a little speed, but not going to be running Corsa Speeds. Have been super happy with the 4000s in 25c on these wheels, but it’s just literally not a good fit.
I know this is no help but I run exactly the same rims and tyres on my road bike and don’t have any issues. I stayed well clear of Vittorias for the reason you are saying but never an issue with Continentals… I don’t want to tell you how to suck eggs but the key is to pull the tyre gradually around the rim from the valve stem downwards with the rim on the ground so you have as much of the tyre at the other side of the rim where you push the bead over.
I’ve got a GP5000 I can test fit. Might go with a 25 in the front and 28 in the back since apparently the new version runs much truer to size. Will give 'er a go and report back.
I rode the Gen 1 SL23 (the really tight one, the later ones were easier to fit) for ~15k miles. I used all sorts of tires.
Yes it’s a tight fit, but if you get the beads down in the channel it isn’t horrible. Get a Beadjack to make the install easier at home and take good levers with you on rides.
I’ve been riding for several years and while I’m not a pro level mechanic, I’m much closer to that than say, the Chrissie Wellington school of tire changing. I’m sure some of you are going to tell me I’m doing it wrong, but if we could skip past that and onto some actually helpful suggestions, that would be great.
You know…I see this all the time. And unfortunately I’m likely at least 3000 miles away from you, so there really isn’t anything I can do to help you.
But you know what would be fun…take this challenge to facebook to your local community. Offer a bet of a 6 pack of beer to mount your current tires to your current rims without the use of a lever and without pinching the tire. If someone takes the bet an you’re right…you get a 6 pack of beer. Heck…maybe many 6 packs of beer if you really are right. If you’re wrong, it’s a small cost to prove that there really isn’t anything wrong with your tires or rims…and you’ll probably learn the proper technique going forward and have someone right there to teach you.
this probably isn’t what you are looking for - but I got rid of my SL23 wheels for this very reason. There are so many wide rim offerings it just wasn’t worth it to me to wonder if I would be able to get a tire changed out on a ride. I’ve riding for 30 years or so, and have never ran into a rim like the SL23. There may be a better fit than the conti’s I tried, but this is a regular complaint about SL23s, primarily 1st gen I think.