Tire and Tube Trouble

[KnottedYet]

I'm feeling inept, incompetent, and inordinately p.o.'ed.

Beautiful Flossie has been waiting since Wednesday for me to put her new tires on.

I've heard the warnings that Crank Bro Speedlevers don't work on Campy rims. But that's all I have to work with.

Got the old Continental tire off fine, got the new Vittoria over the rim and the tube into the tire. One side of the bead on just fine, a big struggle but got the other bead on.

But it won't sit right! There's a blob or something at the valve (part of the valve seating?) that sits RIGHT under one of the beads, and pushes the bead up so it isn't held by the rim. That critter is solid and ain't movin'. Tried pumping the tire up to pressure, thinking maybe the valve seating would move out of the way. Nope. Tire just bulged ominously.

So I figured I should change out the tube, maybe something is messed up with the valve seating in the old tube.

Can't get the Vittoria off. No. Nada. Nunca. Non. Speedlever is utterly inadequate.

Can anyone give me a hint on what to do with the valve bit that is under the bead? Or should I just take the wheel to the shop tomorrow and feel utterly pathetic and ask for help? (and a set of Pry Babies)

[DebW]

Let all the air out of the tube. Then push it up into the tire until the tire can seat properly and pull it back down again.

[KnottedYet]

It worked!!!!!

Deb, you are my HERO!!!

Flosshilde has one new tire on, and I've got one more to do. (I think I'll do the back tire tomorrow morning.)

THANK YOU DEB!!

[Mimosa]

What I normally use as lever is something very cheap (no more then a couple of dollars).
http://www.simson.nu/images/500_895.jpg
They normally come in mini tyre-repair kits (about 6 dollars) which you can put in you backpocket.
They never break and allways do the job, regardless of the rim.

[Kalidurga]

Hey Knotted, since Deb answered your question, mind if I hijack this for a similar question?

I just bought a set of folding tires with a slightly knobbier tread (Ritchey SpeedMax Cross). As soon as I got home, I unfolded them and laid them out on the living room floor where they've been ever since, waiting patiently for me to stop being lazy and pull the wheels off of my bike to mount them.

Is there anything I need to know about mounting a folding tire? They definitely don't have the same curve to them (curve from rim to rim, I mean) as the tires originally on the bike, so I'm wondering if it'll be tricky to get the second bead lined up in the rim.

[spokewench]

Na, they aren't hard to install - all the same tricks as any other kind of tire.

If the tire is cold, sometimes, my husband will put it in the oven low temp for a minute to get it to be more pliable. But this is not necessary unless the tire is cold

Same old tricks, put the tire on one side of the rim, stick your tube in, go around the rim starting at the stem side putting the tire into the rim on the other side. If it gets tough towards the end push the tire together all the way around the rim, i.e. pushing the tire towards the inside of the rim on both sides at the same time all the way around. This will make it easier to get that last part on.

[Kalidurga]

Thank you, Spokewench, that's about what I figured. They certainly seem soft enough that I didn't think it'd be any more difficult. Always got to be sure when ya try something new and different, though ;)

[KnottedYet]

I am not experiencing stunning success with Flossie's 2nd tire. So I'll hie me off to the LBS for help (and a set of real tire levers). There is still some wear left in the old tires, so I'll donate 'em to the freebie box at LBS.

I just hate it that I can't do this by myself. Can I blame the Speedlever/Campy rim mismatch?

(BTW the Speedlever is FAB-U-LOUS on the Kona's wheels!)

[KnottedYet]

Love my LBS. Dude put the tire on with his bare hands! As I stood there telling him NOTHING I did would get the tire on.

Got 3 steel core tire levers. (can't quite remember how you use the levers to put the tire ON. gotta research)

Also bought another of those cute little presta-Schrader adapters.

Cleaned and lubed Flossie's chain, now I gotta put on the computer and reset it. (am starting to really like Boeshield)

[Mimosa]

I hate to say this, but you but the tires on preferably by hand without use of the levers. Otherwise you'll risk punturing the innertyre.

That's why I allways hate changing the tyre, I get the job done to put the tyre on by hand but my fingers hurt all over and I even had a couple of times where I had blisters on my fingertips. :mad: :(

[Triskeliongirl]

I hate to say it but you gotta get this down, what are you gonna do when you are out there alone, far from home and out of cell phone range. I use park tool plastic tire levers. Yeh, I try to put the tire back on without a lever, but sometimes I use a lever to help get it closed (you just kind of reverse the movement you made to get it off with). I am careful though that I have already checked the seating of the tube to know its not gonna get cauught in any way when I do that. You would have been better off if the fella at the LBS showed you what you could do, rather than doing it for you!

[Kalidurga]

I had the impression that Knotted has already "got this down" and that it was just a new tire combined with levers that weren't suitable for her particular rims that created the difficulty.

[KnottedYet]

Yup, I know how to change a tire. Much as I love my Speedlever, even the LBS dude said they really aren't that hot with rims like Flossie's. (I did manage to get one of my new tires on, but darn near broke the Speedlever on wheel #2)

So I now have my trio of steel-core Soma levers, and a burning desire to have strong enough hands to put tires on barehanded!

(and would that make me more popular with the gorgeous hotties?):cool:

[Triskeliongirl]

I had the impression that Knotted has already "got this down" and that it was just a new tire combined with levers that weren't suitable for her particular rims that created the difficulty.

Ooops, sorry, I missed that part! :) I am glad she solved the problem. As women I think we are often discoureaged from doing mechanical things, and I don't think anyone should leave home without being able to change a flat and make at least minor emergency repairs.

[CyclChyk]

I just hate it that I can't do this by myself. Can I blame the Speedlever/Campy rim mismatch?

Sounds good to me!!!

[DebW]

I'll pass on a few tricks to bare-handed tire installation. Mind you, it can still be painful. Follow Spokewench's advise about letting out any air in the tube and squeezing towards the middle. For that last bit, body position and proper leverage are important. What I do is squat and lay the wheel flat on my legs with the recalcitrant tire bit up and away from me. Then work the tire on with the middle of your thumbs, using both thumbs close together (thumb tips 1 inch apart) to work over a piece of tire and moving around the rim until the last bit is on.

This technique has never failed me except in the early 80s when narrow high pressure 700c clinchers first came out and were an extremely tight fit to the rim. Then I occasionally resorted to the VAR tire lever/installer (see http://www.sheldonbrown.com/var/pages/var0051.html item 425). This little gadget lifts rather than pries the tire on. Too bad it's no longer available (but I have 2 of them). You
can buy this:
http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id=197979325424&d=single&c=Tools&sc=Tire-and-Tube&tc=Tire-Levers&item_id=KS-TJ
but it's 9 inches long and you wouldn't want to carry it on the bike. But really, bare hands are always best and with good technique most any tire can be installed without tools.

[Kalidurga]

One of my (many) LBS's had a tire-changing demo earlier this summer. Like Deb, the tech recommended letting out most of the air so that the tube and tire are more pliable. Then, he put the side of the tire already mounted either on the ground or against his stomach right at the bend of the hips and pushed that side flat. Doing so created some slack around the tire. It wasn't much, but it was apparently enough to make it easier to work the unmounted side into place with his thumbs.


As women I think we are often discoureaged from doing mechanical things, and I don't think anyone should leave home without being able to change a flat and make at least minor emergency repairs.

I agree fully with that. I haven't tried the bare-handed tire changing trick yet, but now I'm gonna have to when I put my new tires on.

[Dogmama]

Another thought -

Tires that have a few miles on them are MUCH easier to mount than brand new tires. So, if you're out in the middle of nowhere & you need to replace a tube, you'll probably be OK. In the meantime, I really recommend that anybody who has tire-mount-phobia practice in their living room. With the back tire. You need to know how to move the gearing out of the way to get the tire off. You KNOW that when you need to change out a tire, it will be the back tire and it will be pouring rain...