So I just put new Vittoria tires on my bike.
Tried not using levers but in the end had to resort to them.
No dyer to heat them up. Just wasn’t sure this is a fail proof message.
No… I don’t have the strongest thumbs and forearms around.
But Good Lord!!! The thought of having to do that during a race (flat) made me laugh to myself!
How in the world do you guys do it!
1 hour later and blisters on my thumbs … I am done two tires.
Any words of wisdom?
-YT
Put it in the dryer… if necessary.
Use a thin strip… I like two layers of Stans.
Make sure the bead is in the center channel, grab the tire on both sides of the wheel and push it down towards the side that hasn’t been installed yet.
Use levers… if necessary. If it’s really tight use a Koolstop Bead Jack.
BTW would be really nice if you told us which tire and rim you were having trouble with.
There are some tricks to getting hard to mount tires on.
Not all vittorias are hard though, the fast ones are usually real easy.
Once the tire has some miles on it, it will be easier.
Try using your palms roll the tire over, its a lot easier then using your thumbs.
The Victorias that came with my bike were nothing to contis 4000s
.
When I installed the Conti 4000s on my FFWD F6R-C wheels, I had to push on the bead so damn hard with my thumbs/palms that I heard the carbon crack on the other side where my fingers were. I’m really hoping they are easier to deal with after getting some miles on them!
I’m also praying that the “crack” sound I heard was just superficial resin on the inside that cracked from the flexing. There’s zero visible cracks after very thoroughly inspecting the wheel.
only on slowtwitch…
Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX 320 TPI Road Tire … which I thought were pretty fast jackmott.
I have always used Vittoria and have never had to use a tire tool to mount, except when I purchased some Williams wheels. There is know way those tires would go on those wheels. So I sent the wheels back.
I have always used Vittoria and have never had to use a tire tool to mount, except when I purchased some Williams wheels. There is know way those tires would go on those wheels. So I sent the wheels back.
THAT … is dedication to a tire my friends!
Yeah that shouldn’t be that hard.
But some wheels are a wee bit bigger, that can make many tires hard to mount.
There is a knack to it though. Thin rim tape, pull the opposite side bead toward the middle of the rim as you try to push the final bit of beat over the edge. gives you more slack.
Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX 320 TPI Road Tire … which I thought were pretty fast jackmott.
As with all products, there’s some variability in the final dimensions, and when you combine products it’s possible to end up with a rare combination that doesn’t work. For a given product line, you’ll generally see a somewhat normal distribution (bell curve) where most of the parts fit true to size, but there are outliers in either direction that are fewer in number.
Because Vittoria tires are handmade whereas Williams wheels are an off-the-shelf Taiwanese design which would presumably have tighter QC, you’d expect a good bit more variability in the tire diameter than the rim diameter, but it’s possible that you got a “worst-case-scenario” combination (small tire, plus large rim). I’m not sure how many other wheels you’ve owned in the past, but it’s entirely possible that you’ve just had “smaller” wheels (not a huge difference, but a few mm can mean the difference between having to manhandle the tire and having it pop on without hassle. I can’t blame you for not wanting to break your thumbs installing your tires, but I’d blame the tires before I blamed the wheels (even given your history of using vittorias).
So I just put new Vittoria tires on my bike.
Tried not using levers but in the end had to resort to them.
No dyer to heat them up. Just wasn’t sure this is a fail proof message.
No… I don’t have the strongest thumbs and forearms around.
But Good Lord!!! The thought of having to do that during a race (flat) made me laugh to myself!
How in the world do you guys do it!
1 hour later and blisters on my thumbs … I am done two tires.
Any words of wisdom?
-YT
Haha, that’s nothing 
Mounted Conti 4000s on my Zipp 60 wheels and tore the skin off of my right thumb in the process. Finally got the tires on using a hair dryer to heat the last bit of the bead and rolled it on with gloves on and using my palms. Insanely tight tire/wheelcombo, hope I never flat in a race cuz I may be screwed unless the tires loosen up from use.
I got a Bead Jack off Amazon for $14. I bought it for Vittoria’s, and over the past couple years it’s more than paid for itself. Makes impossible tires very easy to get on.
Get the Kool Stop bead jack Nick listed above. It takes all the stress out of a tight tire install.