Quote Originally Posted by lph View Post
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!
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?