Putting a Coker tire on the Airfoil rim

I had the great pleasure of trying to put a new Coker tire on an Airfoil
rim today. It was *extremely* difficult. In fact, I couldn't do it. I
managed to get the Coker tire on without the tube just to see if the
tire did indeed fit on the rim (it did), but I was unable to get the
tire on with the tube inside. All I managed to do was invent quite a
few new combinations swear words. It was clear it was going to be an
impossible job by myself. I gave up and took the wheel and tire to my
local bike shop to get their help. It was a two person job and required
metal tire levers. They actually broke a plastic tire lever. Getting
the bike shop folks to do my dirty work was the best $5 that I ever
spent.

Is it normal for it to be so difficult to get a new Coker tire on the
Airfoil rim?

Once the tire has been ridden I expect that it will be easier to get the
tire on the next time. But getting that damn tire on the first time is
more than I can handle without an extra pair of hands.


--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

john_childs (at) hotmail (dot) com
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You might want to look at purchasing some Intense tire levers. You
don't want to go to the LBS everytime you get a flat. Mine was harder
to mount then the original rim but with these (or equivalent) levers, it
wasn't impossible. Make sure the bead of the tire is sitting properly,
you may have to over inflate the tire to get it on.


--
Dirtsurfer - Singlewheel/Singletrack

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
Gandalf the gray
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I didn't have to install the tire on my Airfoil rim but I did have to go
through the process of getting the bead properly aligned. That takes a
bit of work as well. I was very glad I didn't have to start from
scratch.
The tips on this forum about the high pressure seating procedure were
a great help.
- Frank


--
Frank A. - off-road

"Man's maturity: to have regained the seriousness that he had as a child
at play." - FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, Beyond Good and Evil


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john_childs wrote:
*Is it normal for it to be so difficult to get a new Coker tire on the
Airfoil rim?
*
It's normal but not necessary. I do it solo with two plastic levers and
a rubber band. I've been meaning to put a FAQ together but have been
too busy. Basically you have to keep the bead in the center channel
which has a much smaller diameter. At the end hold one lever on with
the rubber band, and use your hands and the other lever to leverage on
the rest of the tire. I'll get the pics and text up as soon as I can.

It took me about half an hour to completely change tire, tube, and rim
strip from 50 psi to 50 psi the only time I timed it. Personally I
think that was very slow and expect to get that way down as time goes
on.


--
U-Turn - Small fish, big pond

Weep in the dojo... laugh in the battlefield.

'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albup39)

-- Dave Stockton
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I've done it solo with two of these:
http://tinyurl.com/qge2

They also make the Monty tire come off an Alex rim a lot easier.


--
gbarnes - www.gb4mfg.com

George C. Barnes IV
GB4 Manufacturing, L.L.C.
http://www.gb4mfg.com/
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Hi John - I haven't had the pleasure of this tire/rim combination, but I
have changed my fair share of motorcycle tires.

One thing that helps a lot is to warm up the new tire. This can be done
by placing it in direct sunlight, or near (but not too near!) some other
heat source.

If you go the route of using steel tire irons, buy good quality ones
with a thin-section tip. The cheap steel ones are thicker at their
tips which makes them harder to use and also places more stress on the
rim. Motion Pro makes a nice tire iron, but it's not cheap. Thin
plastic rim protectors are also available to keep from marring your
aluminum rims.

Professional tire shops use a liquid rubber lubricant which helps slide
the tire over the rim, and also makes seating the bead much easier. Do
NOT use dishwashing soap - it is slippery, but it will promote corrosion
of your aluminum rim. The professional stuff (there are various brand
names, "Tire Slip", etc) comes by the gallon, is cheap, and should
available at any automotive supply shop.

And as U-Turn points out, make sure that the diametrically opposite end
of the bead you are working on is ALWAYS in the center section of the
rim where the effective rim diameter is the smallest!

Good luck! Tire changing can be fun!


--
KnowFear

Chris... who DOES have a WMD (Wheel of Mass Dismounts).
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Ah, KnowFear reminded me... I always use silicone spray on tough tires.
It comes in aerosol cans and can be found just about anywhere.

If necessary I wipe the rim down with some laquer thinner (or other
solvent) after the tire is mounted to remove any silicone spray from the
braking surface.


--
gbarnes - www.gb4mfg.com

George C. Barnes IV
GB4 Manufacturing, L.L.C.
http://www.gb4mfg.com/
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do you guys carry metal tire irons on rides incase of flats?

-eric


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onefiftyfour - Eric
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onefiftyfour wrote:
*do you guys carry metal tire irons on rides incase of flats?

-eric *

I do for muni rides since my muni has a Gazz. I'm going to make sure I
have the me on Coker rides now too.


--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

john_childs (at) hotmail (dot) com
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U-Turn wrote:
*It's normal but not necessary. I do it solo with two plastic levers
and a rubber band. I've been meaning to put a FAQ together but have
been too busy. Basically you have to keep the bead in the center
channel which has a much smaller diameter. At the end hold one lever
on with the rubber band, and use your hands and the other lever to
leverage on the rest of the tire. I'll get the pics and text up as
soon as I can.

It took me about half an hour to completely change tire, tube, and rim
strip from 50 psi to 50 psi the only time I timed it. Personally I
think that was very slow and expect to get that way down as time goes
on. *

I'm aware of the trick of forcing the bead in the center channel of the
rim where the diameter of the rim is smaller. That gives you more room
to get the last bit of the bead over the rim. I was trying to keep the
Coker tire in the center of the Airfoil rim.

My problem was the last bit of the tire over the rim. I'd get to the
point where there was 1 to 1.5 feet of bead left to fit over the rim.
I'd try to get the last bit of tire over the rim and the bead at the
other end would slip out and I'd end up making negative progress. I
needed another pair of hands to keep the bead from slipping out as the
last bit of tire is forced over the rim. I couldn't figure out how to
do that by myself. I just needed another pair of hands.

I was using two plastic Quik-Stik levers and two metal levers that I use
for my Gazz. I did dust the inside of the tire with talc, but I didn't
think of trying silicone spray. But I don't think silicone spray would
have helped. What I needed was an extra pair of hands.

Seating the bead was just a matter of inflating to about 80 psi,
dropping the pressure, working the tire by hand, and inflating to about
80 psi again. It took a couple minutes but the bead popped into place.
The shop had an air compressor so the inflating part was quick and
easy.

I'm hopeful that the next time I have to put that tire on the rim will
be easier now that the tire has been stretched and inflated. I know
that my Gazz tires get easier to put on the second time around. But
next time I try to put a new Coker tire on the Airfoil rim I'm going to
make sure I have and extra person with me willing to help out.


--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

john_childs (at) hotmail (dot) com
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