Good tire levers for 700 x 23 tires?



Seething

New Member
Aug 20, 2010
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Hi,
I just got into riding a few months ago and have been hooked ever since. However, lately I have been getting a lot of flats (4 in 7 days). I figure this comes with the territory, as my bike (a Raleigh R500) was given to me and the tires are a bit worn with some pretty noticable dry rot. I just want to get the rest of the season out of them.

Anyway, the Crank Brothers tire lever I was using broke on my third replacement, and required a significant amount of muscle to remove and replace a 700c x 23 tire. Does anyone have a tool they have found to be effective for tires of this size? I've heard they are notoriously annoying.

Thanks
 
Soma steel core plastic lever is nice for getting stubborn tires off. I assume other steel cored levers will be about the same. For getting the tire back on I've become rather fond of the VAR tire jack. It's not quite the cure-all as some reviews might have you believe, but a quite nice tool nevertheless.
 
Thanks!

Thanks for the info on the VAR as well, I just happened to be looking at it earlier.
 
If your tires are dry-rotted, you need to get new tires. Also, when riding, scan the road ahead of you, looking out for road debris. Doing so can make a huge dent in the number of flats you get. Last, what to the punctures in your tubes look like? Are there two holes that look like a snake bite?
 
The plastic levers marketed by Tacx are the best I've ever used of the half dozen different kinds I tried - steel core included (plastic outer covering would end up chipping off).
 
Get some new tyres! Soma make a plastic wrapped steel lever that I defy you to break. But your tyres are patently blxd so bite the bullet get a new pair keep them properly inflated and the puncture fairy will ease off on you. ;)
 
Thanks for all the responses guys, I appreciate it.

As far as new tires, be assured that I will be buying new ones soon. I was really hoping to get through to mid-October or so before I hang my bike up for the winter, but I'll go ahead and change them.

Also, I've just moved to a new area, so I'm not very familiar with the roads yet. I try my best to always avoid debris, but of course you can't miss everything (the roads out here tend to be either rough pavement or narrow state routes where constant traffic has forced a lot of gravel out onto the shoulders).

As far as the punctures go, only one has been a two-hole failure in the tube. The rest seem to be your everyday puncture, usually just past where the tread stops and the wall begins.
 
I like these broad Michelins, and so does this guy, apparently :)

Michelin, the world’s best tyre lever. | Life from an outsider's perspective...

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