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Last two evenings I have sweated blood and tears attempting to fit a Geax Barro Race on a ZTR Olympic, its impossible! Sore thumbs fingers and hands today, very sore!! Snapped pedro tyre levers
I'm not too bothered as it was a cheap tyre from OO, purchased 3 of them a while ago, fitted two (with a bit of grunt!), this last one will definitely not go on. Tried all the techniques on youtube, no joy.
So my question is has anyone else come across a tyre that will not fit on the correct rim? Anyone got any ground breaking techniques to fit a tyre? Maybe this is why the tyres were £4each??!
Some can be very tight from new. Try fitting to another rim and leave at high pressure for a few days, should stretch the bead a little. Pedros levers are good but a little thick. I tend to use them in combo with TACX levers, these have a thinner lever section and a hook to hold onto the rim, just need to use them to inch the tyre on as small an amount a time as possible. A brush around the bead and rim with soapy water using an old paint brush helps a lot too.
Posted a link on here to a video showing how a while back. I'll see if I can find it.
edit: here you go
I don't bother with the toe clips
Old Bontrager Earls on old model Flow rims.
Not a hope in hell. Many broken tyre levers!
Really tight tyres are a worry because you know you'll get a flat when it's raining...
Purgatory on an Arch.
Succeeded eventually
Then took them off as getting a puncture that needed a tube whilst riding would have meant a walk home.
^^this andSome can be very tight from new. Try fitting to another rim and leave at high pressure for a few days
^^ thisA brush around the bead and rim with soapy water using an old paint brush helps a lot too.
Have got a Magic Mary Supergravityvertstarfoldingsnakeskintubelesseasy on a WTB Frequency it was insanely difficult to get the last bit in
Left it there and went for a cup of tea, came back and had another go and a few more mm went in. And so on and so forth
Dreaded getting a puncture and fixing it on the trail but when the day came it came off without levers and went back on just as easily. They do indeed stretch just gotta be patient
It always makes sense to start opposite the valve and work towards it. That way you get the most benefit of the bead being in the well of the rim.
Never used toe-straps either.
I like that video, makes it look so easy!
I have an unused set of Nobby Nics that I just couldn't get to fit on a rim. Ended up buying some Contis that just squeezed on with a bit of huffing and puffing, effing and jeffing
I had one of those defective schwalbes of a couple of years ago, I got it on the rim OK but it was impossible to get it to bead up. And a bike I bought had a Factory XC on it that nobody could get off- bike shop ended up cutting the bead. No idea how they got it on- put the wheel in the fridge, or assembled it with teh tyre on then welded the rim together or something 😆
Exactly what scotroutes said above on the one that I've had a real struggle with....left valve end until last and it popped on with annoying ease!
I've always done valve first, to make sure it's in right. Maybe I need to change my ways.
That video is pretty good though. You can force a tyre all you want, but you're going to be fighting an uphill battle if you're trying to stretch the wire bead! It's all about making the best use of available space. Valve side of the tube included, apparently. Marginal gains and that.
Another suggestion is to lay the wheel flat on a table/worktop when fitting the last bit. Leave the hub hanging off the edge so that when you push the wheel forward with your stomach you're pushing the (non-valve side) of the tyre right into the bead. It also means that your arm/thumb pressure is away from you and the wheel can't move. I've done this on a wall and/or fence-post when needed.
I and the chaps at 18bikes had a hell of a time trying to get some Bontrager Jones ACXs Tubeless Ready tyres onto Shimano wheels. In the end the rubber around the bead tore. £50 down the drain.
I worked in a Bontrager dealership for a few years and their tyres were so hateful to get on, far worse than a Marathon Plus, that I ended up writing an angry letter to Keith himself.
I think they've got better now...
I had a similar problem with Geax TNTs on Stan's rims. Two broken plastic tyre levers later I went and bought some metal ones. The tyres went on after a struggle but I'm buggered if I get a puncture. Unless they have slackened after fitting.
Watched the toe strap video last night - seems like a nice guy but his tip did not work!
Tried soapy water, well, neat fairy liquid actually...no joy
Tried fitting valve area last....no joy
Will try fitting on another rim, thanks Stato.
MoreCashThanDash......Had NNs on the rims awhile ago, wanna swap for some tight fighting Geax??! OK, fancy selling them if you've still got them?
Going to try boiling water on it to see if it will stretch a few mm's then standing it near open fire for a while.
Halfway round the Dyfi Enduro this year my Tubeless rear failed. Specialized S-Works Ground Control on Stans Crest (29er), only had 26" inner tubes (should pay attention), the bugger would not go back on. Took three people to get it on, two damaged tubes and two broken tyre levers, not happy. I now carry 29" tubes, though still doesn't go on easily with these rims.
A long...long time ago. I had some 24inch Farmer John's. that just would not go on my 26inch wheels! Was about an hour until I saw they were 24's.
Took them back to the bike shop with the amber walls covered in muck and blood stains. To their credit they swapped for some 26's. Eeeeeee bye eck.
Must have affected me though as i wont use a tyre that is really tight on correct rim. I remember even swapping rims just so i could get tyres on and off easy out on cold wet trails. All my tyres have to go on with out levers now I am properly nerdy about it. So there.
cracked a carbon rim last month with a lever whilst trying to fit a tyre. Some tyre/rims combos appear to just not work...lesson learned my end
Check the Geax tyres aren't UST, it was almost impossible to get a pair of Geax Gato UST tyres onto Stans rims, the TNT (and non tubeless) versions fit fine onto Stans rims.
If it's that tight do you actually want it to fit? What happens if you get a puncture on the trail?
SiB - think they are 26x 2.2 UST. Fancy folding ones. One is still in the box. The other will not go either on an XT rim or back in the original sodding box. 👿
Email in profile if you are interested.
Paah
Try doing a moto-x tyre...
Anyway, I find its best to start with valve side. Push the valve up into the tyre to allow as much sidewall space as possible. Then work round so last bit to fit is 90deg from valve. Once all popped on, pull valve pack down and make sure its perpendicula
The other way round, I've had tyres that refused to stay on. Pretty unpleasant and dangerous to have blowouts at full speed on the road until I worked out what was going on - obviously I knew the tyres were quite a loose fit but didn't think they would actually pop off once seated properly.
Only happened with one set of cheap no-name rims on an old MTB I no longer have.
I had a stubborn one once .. The video helped but was still a two man job to get the last bit on, straps, fairy liquid.. me yanking the tyre from behind, my friend working it with a lever from the front. Ooh err.
Not sure whether it was persistence or if the tyre stretched slightly from the 2 failed attempts over the previous two days.. I almost gave up.
Only the plus side they do stretch a bit.. When refitting the same rim/tyre some weeks later I was able tt do it on my own without swearing. That said I'd managed to over inflate the tube to the point it it blew, blowing part of the bead off the lip of the rim! So that probably stretched it a bit too.