Doing Mechanical Stuff

[Carrera]

Thought I'd say "HI!" after some years of absence. I'm not racing any more but I have become interested in bike mechanics and bikes more as a career. I tend to just get bikes that need fixing and try and sort them out. So far, I've done chains, bottom brackets, cranks, derailleurs, freewheels and so on. I also do work with boat diesel engines. Just enjoy it.
Maybe I sort of miss getting out there training in the hills and so on but I'm still into sports.
Just thought I'd share that I was recently fixing a puncture on an Apollo TDF and found the tyres awesome to get on or off. I find this happens with certain tyres. I had to use a large screwdriver wrapped in rag to lever the tyre back on, praying it wouldn't damage the tube. Fortunately it didn't.

 

[vspa]

experienced mechanics have extra strong thumbs for those hard to mount tyres !
so how do you like the new design and improvements on the Forum ?
welcome back,

 

[kdelong]

There are certain tire/rim combinations that just seem to be impossible. I still have my old set of steel tire levers from the days when most rims were made of steel. I hesitate to use them now since rims are made of aluminum and other light alloys. But every once in awhile I will still resort to them when a tire is being stubborn, even after the dryer trick.

 

[alienator]

I've always found Michelin tires on Campy rims are a tough fit.....tough even with levers. Vredestein tires seem to vary in how easy they mount. Maxxis and Schwalbe seem to mount and dismount quite easily.

 

[531Aussie]

the toughest combo I've had was Rigida DP18s with 20mm Continental GP3000s.
Ouch!

 

[Carrera]

Seems O.K. I'm planning on working with MTB and roadbikes to do up and sell on ebay and stuff like that. May even ride again. Sort of out of touch but heard Lance is pretty much retired now and Jan Ullrich too.
Have been looking up eighties racers on ebay out of curiosity.
Tyres? Let's just say someone bought a bike off me and I id warn him about the tyres. I was working in light in a kitchen with levers and towels and God knows how I got it on without damaging the tube. I'd hate to have to do that at night on the road somewhere.
In extreme cases I'll use a thick screwdriver wrapped in rag around the end and try and lever the tyre on. Almost got a hernia doing it.

 

[alfeng]

FWIW. I've read people suggest exactly the opposite of my experience ...

That is, I have (generally) found that tyres with wire beads are generally easier (for me) to install-and-remove than tyres with kevlar beads.