Difficulty in tire changing

Ron Ruff wrote:
Paul Cassel wrote:

How do you determine this tire characteristic? Thanks.


Check:
http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/wh...S_2489crx.aspx

If a tire is hard to mount, it will usually get mentioned a few times.

sigh I did check there but the tire wasn't even listed. I really am
much too inexperienced to go roaming off onto the cutting edge of things
bicycle, but I did. Now it looks like I'm going to pay the $100 price
for having gone into new territory.

I guess there is an entry cost to every sport. I'm paying mine. At its
worst, it won't be nearly as close to what I've paid for sailing
experience.

-paul

Arthur Harris wrote:
"Paul Cassel" wrote:


So I bought, based on some ads, a set of Continental 4000 tires at a
brutal $50 apiece. The problem with these otherwise excellent tires is
that I can’t get them on and off in the field.


I’d like to know what tires I can get on and off easily. I have heavily
hooked rims which make the job even tougher, but it was easily doable
using the cheap tires.


Since your previous tires went on and off easily, I suspect the problem has
more to do with the tire than the rim. Kevlar bead tires will get easier to
mount over time. Putting talcum powder on the bead can also help. In
general, wider tires are easier to get on/off. My inexpensive IRC Road
Winners (700 x 25mm actual width) with wire bead and kevlar belt are much
easier to install than the 700 x 23 Michelins (kevlar bead) I used
previously, and very flat resistant.

Thanks Art. These new tires boast having some sort of bead and carcass
material which is even stronger / stiffer than Kevlar. That was what got
me the idea that it's combine the flat resistance of the Armadillo with
decent riding performance. Per my other post, and probably to your
amusement, I'm trapped by my overpriced wheels into using fairly light
tires / tubes.

My optimism was supported for the first few rides, but then I got a flat
and then a second flat on the same ride. The second flat was more than
the sealant could handle necessitating a new tube which I couldn't do in
the field. Thus I walked back again.

I'll check the roadbikereview and look to wire beads next time. I
thought wire beads would be tougher than aramid. I also have a 20 front
23 rear tire which makes things even tougher, it seems. I did that
because the original owner used that so I figured there must be a reason.

Live and learn. I hope this is the last expensive lesson I need to
learn. Previously I learned my chain has a huge owner's manual and I
better learn to maintain it because the cassette costs over $300 to
replace if I don't get it right. sigh

-paul

Roger Moss wrote:
"Paul Cassel" wrote in message
...
. It's not

just my technique causing the difficulty.



This may be stating the obvious, but are you seating the rest of the tyre
bead right down in the well of the wheel when you attempt to lift a section
over the rim to get things started? I try to avoid tyre levers altogether,
as they can all too easily pinch the tube - mostly I can remove/replace a
tyre without resorting to them. Takes a little practice, but eventually the
technique comes.

I doubt one can do this with these tires. I was almost able to do that
with other road tires can can on my wider slicks I put on the mountain
bike. The LBS which mounted the 20 mm tire used some sort of
commerercial device mounted to the floor.

I will check my technique carefully to make sure the opposing bead is
all the way down in the well which may make mounting easier. However, I
can't dismount these tires with the smaller levers appropriate to
carrying with me nor can I do it with the Crank tool. Perhaps moving the
bead down will help here. I can only try later on. Thanks for the tip.
BTW, I'm terrible at tires both here and in motorcycles. There is
something about tires and me which doesn't click.

Watch the guys in the car tyre shops and if they know their craft you'll see
them popping the bead down into the well as far around the wheel as
possible, just leaving the section they'll be lifting over the rim. Since
most car tyres are tubeless. levers generally don't pose too much of a
threat, but if the rest of the bead isn't seated in the well then brute
force on a long lever can wreck the bead...

Good luck, and watch out for your thumbs :-)

All the tire shops I've seen use motorized tools which work like the
Crank tool. They spin around an axis forcing the bead onto the rim. I
can't remember seeing a commercial shop using anything but these tools.
Perhaps your area of the world is different.

I sure like the idea that I can do this w/o tools. I suspect I'd have
fewer pinched tubes if I could.

-paul

Paul Cassel wrote:
Live and learn. I hope this is the last expensive lesson I need to
learn. Previously I learned my chain has a huge owner's manual and I
better learn to maintain it because the cassette costs over $300 to
replace if I don't get it right. sigh

$300 cassette???

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

Peter Cole wrote:
Paul Cassel wrote:


I wore out a set of inexpensive ($10 each) road tires very quickly.
They also punctured often. I decided that it’d be cheaper in the long
run to buy better tires which I hoped, would be less susceptible to
puncturing. I live in an area where flats are a part of bicycle riding
- so I’m told by the experienced riders here.

So I bought, based on some ads, a set of Continental 4000 tires at a
brutal $50 apiece. The problem with these otherwise excellent tires is
that I can’t get them on and off in the field.


Expensive tires offer no additional protection against punctures. I'd
take the $50 tires back, demand a refund, and use it to buy some $10
tires (personally, I'd splurge on some $12-15 tires, but I'm crazy that
way).

They're not "excellent" tires if you can't use them.

These tires boasted a belt stronger than Aramid which is why I thought
they'd be less punctured. Carbons say the same thing, almost.

I'd love to return them, but I can't in good conscious. They have over
100 miles on them, don't look new any more and after all, it's not the
vendor's negligence that I bought tires I can't get on or off. It's my
responsibility. The vendor made no representations whatsoever about that.

I may put a disclosure on them, then try to sell them at the local bike
swap we have each spring. My friend, the ex bike racer, can get these on
and off, I'm sure, but he won't use tires narrower than 28's any more.
His racing days are over & he's into utility and comfort now. He thinks
my light bike a laugh riot.

-paul

Paul Cassel wrote:

I asked here about tires before I bought those & was recommended the
Conti Gatorskins. The LBS which had them said they'd ruin the ride of my
pricey bike with its ultra modern wheels.

The Continental Ultra GatorSkin rolls and feels pretty much like
high-performance clinchers. It may be cheaper and slightly heavier than
the light-weight "racing" tyres, but it doesn't make any real difference
in performance. In the latest issue of the German magazine "Tour" there's
a test of 23-mm clinchers, and reportedly the Ultra GatorSkin had a
reasonably low rolling resistance - Lower than for example Continental
Grand Prix 3000 (!). I haven't read the issue myself yet, but
supposedly the Grand Prix 3000 had pretty high rolling resistance
compared to most other tyres in the test.

The Ultra GatorSkin is an excellent deal for a training tyre.

-as

Gooserider wrote:
I have changed lots of tires, and the only ones that were difficult are
Conti Ultra 3000s. I got one mounted with great difficulty, and the other
just wouldn't go. I had to bring the wheel to the LBS and they broke out
their giant tire lever. I think it's a function of the wire bead more than
anything. I recently mounted a pair of Conti Top Touring 2000s with Kevlar
bead, and they went on in about 5 minutes. No sore fingertips, and not even
a lever to put them on.


Yep. The LBS I went to had some huge machine which it used to get the
front 20 mm tire on after the guy struggled with the normal mounting
technique and also blew a tube or two in the process.

So I guess Conti Ultra 4000's follow in the tradition. Well, per this
thread, I'm eating $100 in tires and ordering some new ones. What a
*#&*#& deal. Owell.

-paul

Antti Salonen wrote:
Paul Cassel wrote:


I asked here about tires before I bought those & was recommended the
Conti Gatorskins. The LBS which had them said they'd ruin the ride of my
pricey bike with its ultra modern wheels.


The Continental Ultra GatorSkin rolls and feels pretty much like
high-performance clinchers. It may be cheaper and slightly heavier than
the light-weight "racing" tyres, but it doesn't make any real difference
in performance. In the latest issue of the German magazine "Tour" there's
a test of 23-mm clinchers, and reportedly the Ultra GatorSkin had a
reasonably low rolling resistance - Lower than for example Continental
Grand Prix 3000 (!). I haven't read the issue myself yet, but
supposedly the Grand Prix 3000 had pretty high rolling resistance
compared to most other tyres in the test.

They did. They excel in puncture resistance and.... ease of mounting.


The Ultra GatorSkin is an excellent deal for a training tyre.


Agree they are excellent (training) tyres, but they are not all that
cheap though (32 euro according to TOUR magazine).

Lou
--
Posted by news://news.nb.nu

dvt wrote:
Paul Cassel wrote:

Live and learn. I hope this is the last expensive lesson I need to
learn. Previously I learned my chain has a huge owner's manual and I
better learn to maintain it because the cassette costs over $300 to
replace if I don't get it right. sigh


$300 cassette???

Yeah. It's Ti.

Antti Salonen wrote:
Paul Cassel wrote:


I asked here about tires before I bought those & was recommended the
Conti Gatorskins. The LBS which had them said they'd ruin the ride of my
pricey bike with its ultra modern wheels.


The Continental Ultra GatorSkin rolls and feels pretty much like
high-performance clinchers. It may be cheaper and slightly heavier than
the light-weight "racing" tyres, but it doesn't make any real difference
in performance. In the latest issue of the German magazine "Tour" there's
a test of 23-mm clinchers, and reportedly the Ultra GatorSkin had a
reasonably low rolling resistance - Lower than for example Continental
Grand Prix 3000 (!). I haven't read the issue myself yet, but
supposedly the Grand Prix 3000 had pretty high rolling resistance
compared to most other tyres in the test.

The Ultra GatorSkin is an excellent deal for a training tyre.

How tough is it to mount / dismount? I sure don't want to repeat my
previous experience and the Conti name has a bit of a stink on it to me.
I'm not willing to bet these tires will never flat.

IMO, any bicycle tire needs to be fairly easy to get on and off or what
the heck good is it? Until these Conti's, I never had an issue with
bicycle tires so I never thought to ask.

-paul