I bought Sarah some new tires for her Hurricane during the fall. The Marathon Slicks on her bent were pretty worn out and I was able to get some new Marathon Slicks from BROL at a great price. I figured replacing the tires would be a good lesson for her so it would be easier to deal with a flat if she was on her own this summer.Taking the old tires off was no trouble as they fit quite loosely on her 406 rims. Putting the new tires on was a whole other ball game. They are very tight on her rims. So tight I had to get a metal tire lever out and managed to gouge her rear rim a bit with it. I managed to repair the damage with some sand paper, but needless to say the process wasn't fun. What was worse we managed to put a hole in the tube several times as we fought to get it on. I'm loosing count, but I think she has patched those tubes at least 3 times so far and the front is flat at the moment.
I even went to the trouble of buying a tire bead jack to help mount the tires so we didn't have to use a metal tire lever again. It worked somewhat, but I still had to grab a metal lever to get the last bit of bead to pop on. It has been a week or more since I attacked this project last. I suppose it is about time I take off the front tire, fix the tube and remount it - carefully!
Hopefully these tires stretch in use like the old ones did. Otherwise I hope she doesn't get a flat any time soon!
5 comments:
Some of the little tires can be a real bear. I use a Simson pry-over lever sometimes:
http://www.koolstop.com/Accessories/index.php
The rest of the time I use Park TL-1 tire levers. Sometimes I'll use all three at once and I carry a fourth in case I break one (or in case it flies off the Alex Fraser bridge into the water far, far below, while I am fixing a flat).
http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=17&item=TL-1
If all else fails I use a Quik Stik.
Well I'm using the Park TL-1 levers and I bought a Quick Stik just for these tires. The Quick Stik still won't get me all the way on - I have to use a metal lever carefully right at the end to get the last bit on the bead onto the rim.
Perhaps I need to get a bead jack???
Although I should point out that these are the only tires that give me any problems at all.
Thanks for the ideas. Hopefully I won't have to deal with anything this tough in the future!
Perhaps I need to get a bead jack???
Certain tire and rim combinations seem to require one but then you have to carry it on the road with you. I would change tires or make sure I am cycling with the Incredible Hulk himself at all times.
I am a he-man and I've had trouble with a couple of tire-rim combinations, especially in cold weather where my fingers were par-frozen.
Well I finally got it done. I pumped up the tire as hard as I dared a couple times and that seemed to loosen things up.
The old tires came on and off with no difficulty and they are the same brand/model so I am assuming they'll get even easier with some use.
I'm no He-Man so I require lots of tools and mechanical assistance!
I had the same issues recently with some 27" cross tires I put on an old Schwinn recently. Had the same issues with the tire levers snake biting the tubes. It took a lot of work this weekend, but I managed to get them on with my hands. A lot of pulling the tire to the middle of the rim and pushing/stretching the bead. A lot of work, but it did feel good to get it on :)
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