HELP! IMPOSSIBLE to MOUNT? Specialized Turbo Armadillo 700x20 tires

I've got a pair of these tires that are giving me a lot of trouble to mount on some Wolber alpine
rims. I've already puntured 2 tubes trying to get the last 8 inches or so of tire over the edge of
the rim. I have had considerable trouble mounting these on my other bike (though I've eventually
succeeded), and so have life-long professional mechanics. So I know it's possible, but there's got
to be an easier way than my usual bag of tricks. So someone has to know a special trick or technique
to get these on the rim, or specialized wouldn't be selling them! Any help would be appreciated!

thanks, Rich Conroy

I have a pair of 700 x 26 turbo armadillo's that are very difficult to put on and remove. Try
graphite powder on the beads.

"Rich Conroy" <rconroy@postmark.net> wrote in message
news:4662e350.0303311900.3aa78469@posting.google.com...
> I've got a pair of these tires that are giving me a lot of trouble to mount on some Wolber alpine
> rims. I've already puntured 2 tubes trying to get the last 8 inches or so of tire over the edge of
> the rim. I have had considerable trouble mounting these on my other bike (though I've eventually
> succeeded), and so have life-long professional mechanics. So I know it's possible, but there's got
> to be an easier way than my usual bag of tricks. So someone has to know a special trick or
> technique to get these on the rim, or specialized wouldn't be selling them! Any help would be
> appreciated!
>
> thanks, Rich Conroy

Stretch the tires just like a Tubular -- put your foot in one side and grab the other with both
hands and pull up just like an upright row. Rotate the tire and do the same in a couple of spots and
they will go on easily.

Best, Bill Black

rconroy@postmark.net (Rich Conroy) wrote in message
news:<4662e350.0303311900.3aa78469@posting.google.com>...
> I've got a pair of these tires that are giving me a lot of trouble to mount on some Wolber alpine
> rims. I've already puntured 2 tubes trying to get the last 8 inches or so of tire over the edge of
> the rim. I have had considerable trouble mounting these on my other bike (though I've eventually
> succeeded), and so have life-long professional mechanics. So I know it's possible, but there's got
> to be an easier way than my usual bag of tricks. So someone has to know a special trick or
> technique to get these on the rim, or specialized wouldn't be selling them! Any help would be
> appreciated!
>
> thanks, Rich Conroy

Try thinner rim strips. For the worst cases, substitute two or three layers of fiberglass strapping
tape for the rim strips.

The Turbo Armadillos aren't very flexible- and with the smallest size there's very little material
to flex. That's going to be a very harsh-riding set of tires.

Jeff

jwills@pacifier.com (Jeff Wills) wrote:

>rconroy@postmark.net (Rich Conroy) wrote in message
>news:<4662e350.0303311900.3aa78469@posting.google.com>...
>> I've got a pair of these tires that are giving me a lot of trouble to mount on some Wolber alpine
>> rims. I've already puntured 2 tubes trying to get the last 8 inches or so of tire over the edge
>> of the rim. I have had considerable trouble mounting these on my other bike (though I've
>> eventually succeeded), and so have life-long professional mechanics. So I know it's possible, but
>> there's got to be an easier way than my usual bag of tricks. So someone has to know a special
>> trick or technique to get these on the rim, or specialized wouldn't be selling them! Any help
>> would be appreciated!
>>
>> thanks, Rich Conroy
>
>Try thinner rim strips. For the worst cases, substitute two or three layers of fiberglass strapping
>tape for the rim strips.
>
>The Turbo Armadillos aren't very flexible- and with the smallest size there's very little material
>to flex. That's going to be a very harsh-riding set of tires.

I had a problem with them blowing off the rim, too. I suspect it's because of the
non-compliant sidewall.

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame

I replied to a similar question a few weeks ago. Here is my reply:

Here is the trick to get tires on. When you mount the tire, massage the beads into the center of the
rim, which is deeper. Go around the whole tire massaging it in its entirety towards the center. This
should create some slack, even if a tiny amount. This should give you enough play to massage the
last section into the rim even with the most stubborn tires. Using this technique, I can mount
almost any tire into a rim w/o using levers, which can pinch tubes. Somwething else that you can try
is to stand on the tire casing and with your hands, pull as hard as you can. This may stretch the
tire if only a tad.

rconroy@postmark.net (Rich Conroy) wrote in message
news:<4662e350.0303311900.3aa78469@posting.google.com>...
> I've got a pair of these tires that are giving me a lot of trouble to mount on some Wolber alpine
> rims. I've already puntured 2 tubes trying to get the last 8 inches or so of tire over the edge of
> the rim. I have had considerable trouble mounting these on my other bike (though I've eventually
> succeeded), and so have life-long professional mechanics. So I know it's possible, but there's got
> to be an easier way than my usual bag of tricks. So someone has to know a special trick or
> technique to get these on the rim, or specialized wouldn't be selling them! Any help would be
> appreciated!
>
> thanks, Rich Conroy

rconroy@postmark.net (Rich Conroy) wrote in message
news:<4662e350.0303311900.3aa78469@posting.google.com>...
> I've got a pair of these tires that are giving me a lot of trouble to mount on some Wolber alpine
> rims. I've already puntured 2 tubes trying to get the last 8 inches or so of tire over the edge of
> the rim. I have had considerable trouble mounting these on my other bike (though I've eventually
> succeeded), and so have life-long professional mechanics. So I know it's possible, but there's got
> to be an easier way than my usual bag of tricks. So someone has to know a special trick or
> technique to get these on the rim, or specialized wouldn't be selling them! Any help would be
> appreciated!
>
> thanks, Rich Conroy

I love armadillos. I've used them for years. They last forever and (almost) never flat.

These same properties also make them difficult to mount and dismount. I can recommend that when you
get to the last 8 inches that you completely deflate the tube, use tire levers (being careful not to
pinch the tube), and go to the opposite end of the rim and pinch the tire so the beads are together
and push them to the center of the rim. This last is difficult to do by yourself with an Armadillo
because they are so stiff. I usually have my wife do that while I push the tire on.

The good thing is that once you get them on you can go 7000 miles before removing them.

Tom

Mark Hickey <mark@habcycles.com> wrote in message
news:<th1m8vc0cc6rpk86km3ncggbh346be7k7g@4ax.com>...
> jwills@pacifier.com (Jeff Wills) wrote:
>
> >rconroy@postmark.net (Rich Conroy) wrote in message
> >news:<4662e350.0303311900.3aa78469@posting.google.com>...
> >> I've got a pair of these tires that are giving me a lot of trouble to mount on some Wolber
> >> alpine rims. I've already puntured 2 tubes trying to get the last 8 inches or so of tire over
> >> the edge of the rim.
<cut>
> >
> >Try thinner rim strips. For the worst cases, substitute two or three layers of fiberglass
> >strapping tape for the rim strips.

I had similar problems on two new wheels (different makes of rim/tyre recently) - with help from
re.bicycles.tech (thanks again) I tracked down the common factor to thick cloth rim tape. On
replacing this with plastic tape both trye/rim combinations could be mounted by hand with some
effort - before they were impossible to mount without tools resulting in punctures.

I presume that the cloth tape was preventing the tyre sliding round the rim as the last bit was
mounted, while the plastic tape provides less friction.

This is definately a good place to start.

I tried them and started getting a flat every 50 miles. That was in 97 hopefully the're better now

dl

> I love armadillos. I've used them for years. They last forever and (almost) never flat. ... The
> good thing is that once you get them on you can go 7000 miles before removing them.
>
> Tom

Thomas Reynolds wrote:

> I love armadillos. I've used them for years. They last forever and (almost) never flat.
>
> These same properties also make them difficult to mount and dismount. I can recommend that when
> you get to the last 8 inches that you completely deflate the tube, use tire levers (being careful
> not to pinch the tube), and go to the opposite end of the rim and pinch the tire so the beads are
> together and push them to the center of the rim. This last is difficult to do by yourself with an
> Armadillo because they are so stiff. I usually have my wife do that while I push the tire on.
>
> The good thing is that once you get them on you can go 7000 miles before removing them.
>
> Tom

I don't love Armadillos. I tried one pair, and their only good quality seemed to be fairly good flat
resistance. They are very hard to get on or off the rim, even mounting is pretty much impossible
without using levers. If you can mount these without levers, you can probably do the same with your
car tires. Stretching the bead manually isn't really an option with these wire bead tires. They are
heavy. They give a very harsh ride. They probably have high rolling resistance, although I haven't
seen it measured. When they do go flat, it's hard to tell from the difference in ride, the tires are
so stiff. Wires from steel-belted car and truck tires, and shards of glass can and do still
penetrate them. Tread life was OK, but nowhere near 7000 miles for me, and I'm not very heavy. There
are too many other tire options to put up with these things.

Dave Lehnen

dkl@topowest.com (Douglas Landau) wrote in message
news:<beb07017.0304021438.79caebef@posting.google.com>...
> I tried them and started getting a flat every 50 miles. That was in 97 hopefully the're better now

> > > I love armadillos. I've used them for years. They last forever and
> > (almost) never flat. ... The good thing is that once you get them on you can go 7000 miles
> > before removing them.
> >
> > Tom
Specialized tires have always suffered from sizing disparities. There must be a QC problem at their
factory. This goes way back to the 80's when their Turbos first came out. They are either so big
that the sidewalls blow off, or so small that it's impossible to get them on w/o a tire lever,
inevitably resulting in a pinch flat. There are too many great tires out there to bother. Bruce

Dave Lehnen <dclehnen@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message news:<3E8B8EB8.1090804@worldnet.att.net>...
> Thomas Reynolds wrote:
>
> > I love armadillos. I've used them for years. They last forever and (almost) never flat.
> >
> > These same properties also make them difficult to mount and dismount. I can recommend that when
> > you get to the last 8 inches that you completely deflate the tube, use tire levers (being
> > careful not to pinch the tube), and go to the opposite end of the rim and pinch the tire so the
> > beads are together and push them to the center of the rim. This last is difficult to do by
> > yourself with an Armadillo because they are so stiff. I usually have my wife do that while I
> > push the tire on.
> >
> > The good thing is that once you get them on you can go 7000 miles before removing them.
> >
> > Tom
>
> I don't love Armadillos. I tried one pair, and their only good quality seemed to be fairly good
> flat resistance. They are very hard to get on or off the rim, even mounting is pretty much
> impossible without using levers. If you can mount these without levers, you can probably do the
> same with your car tires. Stretching the bead manually isn't really an option with these wire bead
> tires. They are heavy. They give a very harsh ride. They probably have high rolling resistance,
> although I haven't seen it measured. When they do go flat, it's hard to tell from the difference
> in ride, the tires are so stiff. Wires from steel-belted car and truck tires, and shards of glass
> can and do still penetrate them. Tread life was OK, but nowhere near 7000 miles for me, and I'm
> not very heavy. There are too many other tire options to put up with these things.
>
> Dave Lehnen

I can only speak from my own experience.

They came out with the red sidewall Armadillos in 99 (I think). Since then I have used five sets,
three of which are still on the bikes (two commuters and a tandem). I ride between 7K-10K miles per
year. I have had exactly one puncture flat during that entire time.

I do ultra-marathon events. My best bike still has Michelin tires because I have a stash of them.
When they are used up I will put Armadillos on that one also.

The only problem I had was the sidewall ripping out on one of the earlier ones.

I have heard about the ride being so harsh. Frankly I don't feel it myself. And that is with me
commuting on Armadillos and doing long Saturday rides on Michelins. Again, only speaking from my own
experience.

Tom

search for "DIY" in bike.tech and check out the tire mount procedure and the "chainguard 2$. there
are several tricks!