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By slack i mean easier to get on and off by hand than gp4000s or folding gatorskins. Assuming such a thing exists!
Mrs Wilson is in possession of some new wheels for her road bike, which feature a remarkably shallow centre 'valley' when it comes to fitting new tyres. They are kinlin/superstar 30mm rims fwiw and a quick google reveals that i am not the first person to find them rather hard to fit some tyres to. Its the first time i haven't been able to fit a road tyre with just my thumbs, I am well familiar with the ways of the squeeze/pinch/shuffle, and no stranger to washing up liquid or talc but blimey, these rims and the tyres we have available to try out are tough! She/the wheels and tyres also nearly defeated the local bike project mechanics at a 'learn to fix your bike' drop in evening last night.
So whilst i can get them on and off in the comfort of the house with much sweating and swearing, mrs is not at all confident she will be able to do so by the side of the road and is considering different rims, tbh i don't blame her! . I gather continental are considered tighter than some, so your recommendations for a slacker fitting 700x23c tyre please. She likes gatorskins so i guess puncture resistance over weight (or grip, if mine are anything to go by).
Kevlar beaded Schwalbe Durano. Never needed tyre levers to mount Schwalbe road tyres - including their tubeless - to multiple rims.
She has to confident that the tyre can come off by the roadside. I find Schwalbe Durano may be initially a little tight, but can be removed without levers too.
If you get really stuck for tyres a VAR tyre jack can be had from SJS cycles for a few quid. Feels like cheating.
you can get some v long tyre levers for tight tyres.
Maybe worth considering if the rims are that horrible for tyre fitting
Thanks for the advice.
Yes indeed, mrs needs to know she could fix a flat even if they seem mercifully few and far between in the wilds of devon. Long levers not really the issue here, the fit of the bead in the too-shallow centre of this rim is so tight thatto remove it you need a really fine tip to get under the bead at all, park and pedros (my favourites) are just too blunt to get under and lever it up, succeded when i dug out a tacx one which has a much more pronounced hook at the business end (as well as the usual hook for spokes at the other).
Will try some duranos and a mounting tool. iirc there is a workshop size one also a saddlebag size one with a little tyre lever in it.
Another vote for schwalbes here
Yup happy to agree them Contis can be tight. They are on my rims.
I can lever them off with the Park levers. There's a bit of a knack but it's not too hard once youve sussed it. Get one lever under and hooked onto the spoke - the next one has to be closer to the first than you think then pop - it's off.
They do stretch over time and it does get easier.
Otherwise have a look at Michelin Pro 4. Endurance winter or Service Course in summer.