Trying to mount a couple new tires…dear God this is an impossible task. I know I am supposed to do this without a tire lever but I couldn’t get it…wrecked 2 tubes trying to get the 2nd bead on the rim.
I’ve tried stretching the tires out…me vs. kevlar beads…ha!
Professional wrenches any tips?
so you are trying to do it without a lever?
that won’t work with certain tire and wheel combos.
also, the 2nd time won’t be as bad.
use 2 levers
slowly work it on
Trying to mount a couple new tires…dear God this is an impossible task. I know I am supposed to do this without a tire lever but I couldn’t get it…wrecked 2 tubes trying to get the 2nd bead on the rim.
I’ve tried stretching the tires out…me vs. kevlar beads…ha!
Professional wrenches any tips?
Get a tire bead jack. Fits in your jersey pocket. I carry one on all my rides. It pulls a tight tire bead over the rim. I no longer use tire levers to put the tire back on, and no longer pinch the tube on install.
2 pairs of hands got er done where I couldn’t do it myself…got it done without the tire levers…holding air and on the bike now. Thanks for the support jackmott.
Tip: use talc/powder on the tube and throw your tires in your drier for about 5 mins. Much easier
i just got done gluing a tubbie, and i have to say, WAY more fun than getting the pro races on wheels;-)
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Tip: use talc/powder on the tube and **throw your tires in your drier for about 5 mins. Much easier **
I have never heard of this, is it really adviseable?
Yup - works great! I keep a drier sheet in their to cut down on the lovely rubber smell that lingers after that my wife so loves … 
You can just leave out in the sun for a lot longer if you so desire, but a patient man I am not.
you need to have your boy radford to come help he knows alot about flats
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one tip is that when it gets tough, don’t try to pull it over the edge with your finger tips, flip the wheel around so it is resting on your midsection with the part you are working on away from your body and roll it over the rim pushing out with your thumbs, much easier than using your fingertips…
Windex helps with this too.
Make sure you’re following the correct procedure (per Michelin’s rec). Put the area of the tire opposite the valve on first. (when removing, do just the opposite and remove the area nearest the valve first). Should help a little.
Veloplugs (instead of rim tape) help a little also.
-Scott
That’s funny…I learned to do it exactly opposite this, i.e., put the tire on at the stem first, and remove it at the stem last. It would seem more likely to damage the tire around the stem by doing it this way.
In any case…putting new tires on many rims is combined to result in a tight f***er, and it takes some pain to get it done. The 4 hands method worked well, and it was going on my girlfriend’s bike anyway, so its fitting she helped me.
Buy a Kool Stop bead jack.
Not really going to fit in a wedge bag for a race, but it’s great for new tires.
I use Conti’s with Kevlar bead, and it doesn’t matter how hard I try to stretch them, they are just unreal to get on.
The jack makes quick work of it & saves your hands. $10 very well spent.
And I’d recommend maybe not using those tires for races<
Tip: throw your tires in your drier for about 5 mins. Much easier
In our case, buying more than is required and storing the extra’s in a rubbermade container on shelf in an uninsulated garage for 2-3 months during Texas summers works about the same.
Steven, was this done without levers to simulate fixing a flat in a race? Otherwise I just can’t imagine trying it without a lever!
And with a lever it can be a bitch too…the trick I found out recently is some vaseline on the lever so it can slide along the tire bead as you jack it on and off.
Get a tire bead jack. Fits in your jersey pocket. I carry one on all my rides. It pulls a tight tire bead over the rim. I no longer use tire levers to put the tire back on, and no longer pinch the tube on install.
I just looked up the tire bead jack…didn’t even know they existed.
does that help with removing a bead for flat repair or only for installation?
This isn’t like a left-handed spoke shifter, is it?
with intense kevlar beads i have really only experienced trouble upon installation.
I have never met a tire i couldn’t pry off with a simple lever or two.
but thinking about it, i suppose the nature of the jack would help you get one off too.
if you look at the design, it has one hook that goes on the rim edge, and one hook that goes on the bead.
it’s like having a hand made of plastic. it’s awesome.
and b/c you really just need it to get in the painful pinch points your hand can’t do (you don’t really need it’s length for leverage), i suppose you could hack it in half for better sizing in a jersey or saddle bag for race purposes.