Tight Tires - SO Frustrating!

I just put a new front tire on my bike. Well, I put it most of the way on...I had to take the wheel to my LBS to get the last bit over the rim. So here I was, struggling with the tire for over an hour. I tried everything but that dang tire was SOOOO tight! I get to the LBS, hand the guy my wheel, and he just pushes the tire over the rim with him thumbs. It took him 2 seconds. I hate it when I feel like a weak woman who needs a man to help me. And I don't have a man around the house for these things. I must go find a man immediately.

Anyway, I just needed to vent. I love my LBS and I have a wonderful new Michelin Krylion tire on my front wheel. All is good. I just wish I could've done it all by myself!!!

I don't know what kind of tire that is...but once I switched to foldable tires, it became very easy to get them on the rims.

Oh I hate tires like that! Once in while you just get ones that are a tad too tight. I've had some luck getting the tire almost all the way on so it's really tight, then just leaving it for a while to stretch. A little later it seems easier to get on, at any rate. But an hour spent struggling should have been enough for that to work.

Sara-

Don't feel bad:)

The LBS guys (and gals) do this all day, every day. They have strength in different places, not to mention that they do that motion dozens of times a day.

Some tires are just a b!tch. Sometimes a tire iron can help with the last little bit. Sometimes I need to rest:)

I agree, folding tires are easier. Some rims are also worse than others.

CA

For really stubborn tires, sometimes you can cheat with a tool like this. But avoid using tire levers because they are likely to pinch the tube. Keep practicing, Sara. It's a matter of leverage and body mechanics more than strength, so you CAN do it.

He probably snuck some clever little gadget in while you weren't looking.
My bike shop mechanic has the coolest device, I can't possibly describe it but you get it in there and just push a lever up and presto! (or schrader!) the tire is off. It is pretty big actually. You couldn't take it with you on a ride without big storage device. I mean it wouldn't fit in a seat pack by a long shot.

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Originally Posted by DebW

For really stubborn tires, sometimes you can cheat with a tool like this. But avoid using tire levers because they are likely to pinch the tube.

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Deb, I've seen this a few times now, but truth be told I use tire levers all the time and have yet to pinch a tube. But I'm mostly changing mtb tires, if that makes a difference. I only use plastic levers, and am very careful about where I put them i.e. just using them on the very edge. Some of the tires I've put on I can't imagine how I could ever manage without 3 levers, and preferably 3 hands too! :eek:

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Originally Posted by lph

Deb, I've seen this a few times now, but truth be told I use tire levers all the time and have yet to pinch a tube. But I'm mostly changing mtb tires, if that makes a difference. I only use plastic levers, and am very careful about where I put them i.e. just using them on the very edge. Some of the tires I've put on I can't imagine how I could ever manage without 3 levers, and preferably 3 hands too! :eek:

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If you're very careful, you can usually get away with it. If you can do it, that's great. But most newbies would pinch a few tubes before learning to do it correctly. Or maybe it's just "better", "more elegant", or "more accepted" without tools. Or maybe those of us who can do it without tools are just snobs with sore thumbs? :cool: :p

I love having sore thumbs, makes me feel macho ;)

Another trick, if you haven't already tried this, is to hold the wheel with the section opposite the unseated part pressed into the crease of your hips as you work on that last bit. Doing so flattens that side of the tire and creates just a tiny little bit of space around the rest of the rim. Usually makes it a tad easier to ease that last bit over the edge.

Hard to describe that, I hope it makes sense.

Sara - I have tires with a Kevlar bead that are really hard to get on. I usually put them on as far as I can, let them sit for about 10 minutes, then finish the job. I think the material just needs to think about giving a bit. If you left the tire on and all it needed was for the last bit to get pushed back on, that may have made it easier for the LBS guy.

Yep, non-folding tires take me about 30 minutes to get on. I HATED learning to change a flat on gatorskins. My new tires are folding bead and so much easier. I can actually get them on myself without having sore thumbs for days later.

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Originally Posted by DebW

If you're very careful, you can usually get away with it. If you can do it, that's great. But most newbies would pinch a few tubes before learning to do it correctly. Or maybe it's just "better", "more elegant", or "more accepted" without tools. Or maybe those of us who can do it without tools are just snobs with sore thumbs? :cool: :p

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Actually I'd love to be one of those who effortlessly pop the tires on toolless, but I'm too impatient to practice. :rolleyes: But I should, it would come in handy if I'm stuck w/o a lever, like in winter when tire levers tend to break. This winter I managed to break the single lever that came with my Blackburn Airshot inflator+multitool gadget - but what's the point of a steel core if it doesn't go all the way out??? :mad:

Sara, sometimes certain rims and tires are a bad combination. I had Michelin Carbons which were horrible with Ritchey rims. Turns out once is notoriously small and the latter is notoriously slightly oversize.

And you aren't really pushing with your thumbs, you really roll the pinched tire away from you over the rim until the bead snaps over. Put the wheel in the crease of your hips as Kalidurga suggests and try rolling the tire away and down over the rim on the far side of the wheel.

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Originally Posted by SadieKate

Sara, sometimes certain rims and tires are a bad combination. I had Michelin Carbons which were horrible with Ritchey rims. Turns out once is notoriously small and the latter is notoriously slightly oversize.

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This is going to be my official excuse! ;)

Next time I need to get a tight tire on, I'll try out all your great suggestions. I really think part of the problem is my little hands. My ring finger is a size 4-1/2, which is pretty small. I think my thumbs would be about a size 6. So, small weak hands plus smallish Michelin tires and possibly biggish rims means Sara needs help with her tires!!!

Sara, I hear you! I also have small hands, but it is true that there are just some tire/rim combinations that are much tougher than others. I have struggled with tires at that last 3 inches, given them to my large-pawed, muscular, bike mechanic BF and watched him struggle also! He will, however, eventually get them on!

I sometimes find it easier to turn the wheel so the side I am putting on is away from me and using my whole hand and fingers to roll the tire on. I have a bit of arthritis in the thumbs and they just don't have the strength to do the job sometimes.

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Originally Posted by Melalvai

you get it in there and just push a lever up and presto! (or schrader!) the tire is off.

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Hee hee! I'm feeling silly enough today to giggle at that! :D:o:D

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Originally Posted by sara

This is going to be my official excuse! ;)

Next time I need to get a tight tire on, I'll try out all your great suggestions. I really think part of the problem is my little hands. My ring finger is a size 4-1/2, which is pretty small. I think my thumbs would be about a size 6. So, small weak hands plus smallish Michelin tires and possibly biggish rims means Sara needs help with her tires!!!

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OK, girl. My ring finger is a 5, my middle finger is not quite 3" long (despite all the exercise it gets :rolleyes: :p), and I can barely reach my brakes despite shims. You can change your tires!!! :) (Get the right tire/rim combo, though.)

I have very small hands also and can mount tires as long as the tire/rim combo is right.

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Originally Posted by Starfish

OK, girl. My ring finger is a 5, my middle finger is not quite 3" long (despite all the exercise it gets :rolleyes: :p), and I can barely reach my brakes despite shims. You can change your tires!!! :) (Get the right tire/rim combo, though.)

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This, strangely, inspired me to measure my middle finger and it is about 2 5/8" long. :p

Has anyone tried mounting the Continental Home Trainer Tire? :eek:

I knew I was in trouble when I had a hard time getting one side of the tire onto the rim. The second bad sign was when I had the first half mounted, I wanted to slide the tire around to line up the logo with the hole for the valve stem. The thing wouldn't budge. Getting the whole tire mounted onto the rim was a battle of wills, between the tire and myself. And yes, I used tire levers. Even so, I think I got my heart rate into the Zone 5 range.

The real bummer was that once I had it mounted, I pumped up the tire only to find out that the @#!%&* tube wouldn't hold air. :mad:

The "best" part was trying to get the tire off the rim. Put the tire lever in, tried to pry the bead out of the rim, and no go. This is truly the Tire from He!l. I finally had to resort to using a good old fashioned screwdriver. I swear, at that point, I didn't care if the screwdriver punctured the tube, tire, whatever, as long as it didn't puncture my already aching thumbs.

Needless to say, my old tire and a new tube is now mounted on my trainer bike.

There actually is a great device you can use to get tires on much easier if you don't have the hand strength to generate a lot of leverage--some tires are just really hard to get on certain rims regardless of what technique you use.

It's called the Kool Stop Tire Bead Jack:
http://www.koolstop.com/brakes/tirebeadjack.jpg

The straight end rests on your rim. The swinging arm goes on the edge of the tire. Then you push it forward and the swinging arm pulls the edge of the tire over the rim. It's ideal for getting that really hard to move last few inches of tire over the rim.

I use it for tubeless mountain bike tires which by their nature are extremely difficult to get on a rim. But it also works fine for road bike tires! It's about 10 bucks and you can find it at a lot of retailers. I got mine from jensonUSA.com which you can find it on there for about that price if you search "bead jack."

You should still know how to get a tire on by hand, however, as it is too big to carry on the road. One nice thing to know is that "folding bead" tires get much easier to put on and take off after you mount them a couple of times. So use it to get them on there that first difficult time.