Mounting tight tires

October 7, 2005 7:09 PM

Bikefilter: got any tips for rolling on recalcitrant clinchers?

I've got a new set of Continental "sportcontrol" tires (slicks for mountain bikes). Contis are always on the tight side, but these are ridiculous. Can't get them mounted. My hands are in agony. I've already dusted the interior of the tire with baby powder, to no avail. Thanks in advance.

posted by adamrice to sports, hobbies, & recreation (12 comments total)

Heat them up. Lay them in the sun, on a heater. Use a hair dryer.

That should do the trick.
posted by recurve at 7:13 PM on October 7, 2005

I feel your pain, after once trying to fit a very narrow Conti slick to the narrow aero rim on my recumbent -- and still having scars on my thumbs from it.

The tyre-fitting end of my Topeak Master Blaster pump saved the day. It acts like a reverse tyre lever, but with little or no chance of snagging the tube.
posted by scruss at 7:28 PM on October 7, 2005

I have a tire-wheel combo (I think the tire is Conti) that is often impossible. I gave up once and took it to the LBS. The woman doing repairs didn't even try it manually; she just grabbed a little tool made for the purpose and ... pop! the tire was on. I bought one before I left.
posted by Utilitaritron at 8:13 PM on October 7, 2005

You have to be very careful, but you can use some tire levers to help you lever the bead over the rim. Again, make sure that the tube is inside and not caught between the bead of the tire and the rim, but levers can help you provide extra...leverage.
posted by scalespace at 9:41 PM on October 7, 2005

I'm assuming you mean "SportContact". They have Kevlar beads, right? What kind of a rim are you trying to install it on, and what kind of rim tape do you have installed on it?
Wolber double-wall eyeletted rims were famous for being almost impossible to install a tight tire on. The trick was to replace the rubber/plastic rim tape with some thin nylon adhesive rim tape (to give you a little more slack) and to pre-stretch the tires before attempting to install: loop the tire over your dominant shoulder, and lift your dominant leg like a flamingo. Loop the opposite side of the tire over your raised knee, and straighten yourself out - stretching the tire bead. A couple of minutes per tire should loosen them up.
If that doesn't help, inflate your inner tube to round it out (this should always be done regardless) and seat it as far up into the tire and over the rim as possible, then use a low-profile nylon tire lever to pry the last bit of tire bead over the rim wall. Be very careful not to pinch the tube or you'll have to go back and do it all again.
If that fails, take it to a bike shop. They've dealt with more tight-fitting tires than you can imagine, and they won't charge you much to do it. Once the tires are broken-in, they'll be easier to remove and re-install.
posted by Pseudonumb at 3:17 AM on October 8, 2005

I'd agree with scalespace - I've had some pretty tough tires in my time and I've always managed to get them on with simple plastic tire levers.

If I were you though, I'd take back the Contis (which I personally have never liked) and get a pair of these. Inflate them to 100psi and turn your MTB from an old nag into a speeding bullet. And the cornering - oh!!! I've tried a ton of slicks in my time, these are by far and away the best - riotous fun for 40 bucks....
posted by forallmankind at 9:35 AM on October 8, 2005

Some tire/rim combos are just hellacious. So much for 'standards' in the bike industry. You could try a thinner rim strip (though I love Velox dearly, sometimes they are just too much). A plastic strip like Ritchey or something similar is thinner and the tube will settle down in the channel and make more room for the tire to fit.
posted by fixedgear at 12:07 PM on October 8, 2005

Try rubbing a bar of soap on the bead or rim, it may give you the slippage you need to pop it on.
posted by jams at 12:34 PM on October 8, 2005

Checking back in here. Took the wheels back to the bike shop, one with the tire nearly mounted. One of the guys in the shop managed to roll it on himself, with the aid of a tire lever. I decided to get a Kook Stop tire jack (nicer design than the VAR, IMO) and try the other one myself (since I have to be able to do this myself, after all).

Not much worked until I used the tire jack in a manner other than intended by its manufacturer: the jack is basically a stick with a grooved end, and a hinged arm attached in the middle with a hook on the end. I laid the stick on the floor, arm side up, and stood on it. Caught the bead under the hook and pulled up on the whole wheel. That worked.

The rims, fwiw, are Ritcheys, which the guy at the shop said tend to run tight. The rim strip is the original rubber, but I don't think that had anything to do with it.

These tires are replacing a set of Conti Goliaths on my wife's town bike; my own town bike has Conti Avenues, which I love, but are no longer in production. Forallmankind--your link is dead--what model are you talking about?
posted by adamrice at 2:49 PM on October 8, 2005

Specialized Fatboys. Swear by 'em....
posted by forallmankind at 4:01 PM on October 8, 2005

for what it's worth - i've always had luck with this method i picked up from a shop guy in palo alto. tire levers usually work, but when they don't this sometimes does. (this was also mounting contis, btw! on shimano rims though.)

set the tire vertically on a table or bench in front of you, with the side that's off the rim facing away. grab the rim and tire with both hands, like you're grabbing a steering wheel at the 10 and 2 positions, only closer (about 2") together at the tight spot. hold on as tight as you can and twist backwards like hell with your forearms, while at the same time take some weight off your feet so that you're kind of hanging by your hands a little bit. the combination of twisting with your hands and pulling down with your body weight, for some reason, is just the right direction to pull the bead over the rim.

it's hard to explain why this works better than tire levers, but it often does.

cheers!
posted by sergeant sandwich at 8:16 PM on October 8, 2005

adamrice, say it ain't so -- Conti Avenues are no longer made? The fat Avenues were fast and true tyres. They shall be missed.
posted by scruss at 7:42 PM on October 19, 2005