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#1
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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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ john_childs's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/449 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/28189 |
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#2
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Putting a Coker tire on the Airfoil rim
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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dirtsurfer's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/2352 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/28189 |
#3
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Putting a Coker tire on the Airfoil rim
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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Frank A.'s Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1710 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/28189 |
#4
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Putting a Coker tire on the Airfoil rim
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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ U-Turn's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/691 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/28189 |
#5
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Putting a Coker tire on the Airfoil rim
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/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ gbarnes's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/174 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/28189 |
#6
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Putting a Coker tire on the Airfoil rim
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). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ KnowFear's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4483 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/28189 |
#7
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Putting a Coker tire on the Airfoil rim
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/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ gbarnes's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/174 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/28189 |
#8
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Putting a Coker tire on the Airfoil rim
do you guys carry metal tire irons on rides incase of flats? -eric -- onefiftyfour - Eric ------------------------------------------------------------------------ onefiftyfour's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/3495 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/28189 |
#9
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Putting a Coker tire on the Airfoil rim
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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ john_childs's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/449 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/28189 |
#10
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Putting a Coker tire on the Airfoil rim
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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ john_childs's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/449 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/28189 |
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