Tire Levers



Art Harris <[email protected]> wrote:
>Chas wrote:
>> There used to be flat zinc plated steel levers that were strong and
>> resisted bending but I haven't seen them in years.
>
>Sounds like what I use. I must have bought them 30 years ago.

30 years ago, I thought a dull butterknife was the perfect tool.

Now that many tires are so tight a thick plastic lever is
ridiculously hard to get under the bead, I'm starting to
consider modding the tips of a couple of butterknives.
A nice ogee ought to do it.

--Blair
 
"BobT" <[email protected]> wrote in news:1W3Zg.304$uF.59
@dukeread12:

> My friend and I were unmercifully attacked by thousands of goat
> heads while riding Sunday. I fixed two flats on my bike in the
> first ten minutes of riding. My friend had a flat five minutes
> later. While stopped, attempting to fix his flat, my tire went
> flat a third time.
>

I know this will probably start a flame war, but...

I've been using tire savers
(http://sheldonbrown.com/flats.html#tiresavers) for 20 years with both
clinchers and sewups. I can count the number of flats I've had on the
fingers of one hand.

Yes, I know they are very much out of vogue these days (as proven by the
fact that they are almost impossible to find - except someone that was
selling NOS on eBay for about $30 a pair!) Fortunately, I had an old pair
that could be repaired to fit on my new bike.

I can't claim that I have ever actually seen any piece of glass or thorn
brushed off by the tire savers to prove that they work. I only know that
I (and a couple of my friends that also still use them) have fewer flats
then others under the same riding conditions.

The only down side is that they tend to make the brakes dirty quite fast.

Cheers!
David
 
On Tue, 17 Oct 2006 23:55:55 -0500, Solvang Cyclist
<[email protected]> wrote:

>"BobT" <[email protected]> wrote in news:1W3Zg.304$uF.59
>@dukeread12:
>
>> My friend and I were unmercifully attacked by thousands of goat
>> heads while riding Sunday. I fixed two flats on my bike in the
>> first ten minutes of riding. My friend had a flat five minutes
>> later. While stopped, attempting to fix his flat, my tire went
>> flat a third time.
>>
>
>I know this will probably start a flame war, but...
>
>I've been using tire savers
>(http://sheldonbrown.com/flats.html#tiresavers) for 20 years with both
>clinchers and sewups. I can count the number of flats I've had on the
>fingers of one hand.
>
>Yes, I know they are very much out of vogue these days (as proven by the
>fact that they are almost impossible to find - except someone that was
>selling NOS on eBay for about $30 a pair!) Fortunately, I had an old pair
>that could be repaired to fit on my new bike.
>
>I can't claim that I have ever actually seen any piece of glass or thorn
>brushed off by the tire savers to prove that they work. I only know that
>I (and a couple of my friends that also still use them) have fewer flats
>then others under the same riding conditions.
>
>The only down side is that they tend to make the brakes dirty quite fast.
>
>Cheers!
>David

Dear David,

Here's a picture from an old eBay auction for NOS tire savers:

http://i22.ebayimg.com/04/i/06/f3/a9/6c_1.JPG
or http://tinyurl.com/yavwd9

At first, I wondered why the carefully bent spoke wire was covered in
clear plastic tubing.

But the large picture makes the purpose of the plastic clear.

A tire saver is actually two pieces of carefully bent spoke wire, an
upper and a lower section, joined by two pieces of plastic tubing.

Given two pairs of pliers, some tight-fitting tubing, and an old
spoke, you should be able to make replacements just as good (whatever
you think of them) as the originals for less than a dollar.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel
 
"Solvang Cyclist" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "BobT" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:1W3Zg.304$uF.59
> @dukeread12:
>
> > My friend and I were unmercifully attacked by thousands of goat
> > heads while riding Sunday. I fixed two flats on my bike in the
> > first ten minutes of riding. My friend had a flat five minutes
> > later. While stopped, attempting to fix his flat, my tire went
> > flat a third time.
> >
>
> I know this will probably start a flame war, but...
>
> I've been using tire savers
> (http://sheldonbrown.com/flats.html#tiresavers) for 20 years with both
> clinchers and sewups. I can count the number of flats I've had on the
> fingers of one hand.
>
> Yes, I know they are very much out of vogue these days (as proven by
the
> fact that they are almost impossible to find - except someone that was
> selling NOS on eBay for about $30 a pair!) Fortunately, I had an old
pair
> that could be repaired to fit on my new bike.
>
> I can't claim that I have ever actually seen any piece of glass or
thorn
> brushed off by the tire savers to prove that they work. I only know
that
> I (and a couple of my friends that also still use them) have fewer
flats
> then others under the same riding conditions.
>
> The only down side is that they tend to make the brakes dirty quite
fast.
>
> Cheers!
> David

I lived in the Southwest for a long time and managed a bike shop there
for 5 years. We were located in the middle of goathead heaven. We used
to sell "Sticker Flicker" tire savers which we had made for us out of
soft galvanized iron wire and Tygon brand extra flexible clear plastic
tubing. They mounted on the back of the brake caliper mounting bolts.

I still have a number of pairs of these old sticker flickers on my
bikes. I've seen them catch a goathead and flick it out of my tire
before it rotated again and punctured the tire. We rode sewups most of
the time and kept them pumped to 75-85 PSI. The lower tire pressures
helped prevent a lot of flats.

Chas.
 
[email protected] wrote in news:1cdbj25g0804m6numbr24isnpu22b7jjc1@
4ax.com:

> Here's a picture from an old eBay auction for NOS tire savers:

Thanks for the link. I looked for a current eBay listing before I posted,
but didn't find one.

> Given two pairs of pliers, some tight-fitting tubing, and an old
> spoke, you should be able to make replacements just as good (whatever
> you think of them) as the originals for less than a dollar.
>

Well the lower part (the one that rides on the tire) is easy to make from
a spoke (which is what we did.) But the upper one that wraps around the
brake bolt is a bit harder since it's a tight bend, but it can be done if
you have to.

The tubing can be tricky to find. It needs to be quite thick walled (as
can be seen in the photo you provided.) If it's thin walled, it won't
provide enough spring action.

The old ones I had used a flat blade for the upper part that made it take
less space on the brake bolt. I only had to replace the wire that rides
on the tire. The "rebuilt" units should last another 20 years! <grin>

Cheers!
David
 
"Solvang Cyclist" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> [email protected] wrote in
news:1cdbj25g0804m6numbr24isnpu22b7jjc1@
> 4ax.com:
>
> > Here's a picture from an old eBay auction for NOS tire savers:
>
> Thanks for the link. I looked for a current eBay listing before I
posted,
> but didn't find one.
>
> > Given two pairs of pliers, some tight-fitting tubing, and an old
> > spoke, you should be able to make replacements just as good
(whatever
> > you think of them) as the originals for less than a dollar.
> >
>
> Well the lower part (the one that rides on the tire) is easy to make
from
> a spoke (which is what we did.) But the upper one that wraps around
the
> brake bolt is a bit harder since it's a tight bend, but it can be done
if
> you have to.
>
> The tubing can be tricky to find. It needs to be quite thick walled
(as
> can be seen in the photo you provided.) If it's thin walled, it won't
> provide enough spring action.
>
> The old ones I had used a flat blade for the upper part that made it
take
> less space on the brake bolt. I only had to replace the wire that
rides
> on the tire. The "rebuilt" units should last another 20 years! <grin>
>
> Cheers!
> David

We had ours made with soft wire which was easy to bend to match the
radius of the tire and to be able to adjust the height to barely float
over the surface of the tire. The Tygon brand tubing that we used was
extremely soft to easily flex and to remain flexible during cold
weather.

By running our tires at moderate pressure thorns and glass usually
didn't penetrate on the first rotation. The sticker flickers worked much
of the time except for thorns that where picked up near the side wall.

Chas.
 
"Morten Reippuert Knudsen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> BobT <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I am looking for suggestions for tire levers that are very
>> difficult to break but not so big and heavy that they would
>> not be practical to carry with me on the bike.
>
> Michelin, the best, smallest and lightest ever made.

I agree. Never had a problem with them.

>
> --
> Morten Reippuert Knudsen :) <http://blog.reippuert.dk>
>
> Merlin Works CR-3/2.5 & Campagnolo Chorus 2007.

Skippy
E&OE
 
G.T. wrote:
> I specifically avoid rim/tire combos that aren't easy to change so I haven't
> owned tire levers in a decade or two.

How do you know in advance if a rim/tyre combo is difficult? As I read
this newsgroup and other sources, it seems that contradictory
information is the norm. For example, some say Contis are difficult to
mount, others say Contis are no problem.

I like to have tyre levers on the bike, even if my tyres are easy to
handle. I've helped many poor souls fix flats on rides, and I have no
control over their choice of equipment.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu
 
Art Harris wrote:
> Chas wrote:
>> There used to be flat zinc plated steel levers that were strong and
>> resisted bending but I haven't seen them in years.
>
> Sounds like what I use. I must have bought them 30 years ago.
>
> Art Harris
>

Me, too. I've used many plastic levers, but the old steel ones work
the best, especially on very tight tires.
 
On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 08:46:33 -0400, Peter Cole <[email protected]> wrote:

>Art Harris wrote:
>> Chas wrote:
>>> There used to be flat zinc plated steel levers that were strong and
>>> resisted bending but I haven't seen them in years.
>>
>> Sounds like what I use. I must have bought them 30 years ago.
>>
>> Art Harris
>>
>
> Me, too. I've used many plastic levers, but the old steel ones work
>the best, especially on very tight tires.

I've still got a set of the steel Brooks levers that either live in the shop or
actually got carried around when I had the Sun Rhynolite wheels on my mountain
bike. Really nice little gadgets.

Ron
 
Blair P. Houghton wrote:
> LF <[email protected]> wrote:
> >titanium levers from king cage. work great.
> ><http://www.kingcage.com/Home.html#>
>
> How badly do they scrape up rims?
>
> --Blair

I bought the big Park $15 a pair steel tire levers. And was not too
happy with the metal on metal contact. They did not gouge up the rim
but.... I then bought the Nashbar big tire levers. They are plastic
but work OK. For carrying on the road, I use the Park blue plastic
levers. Sold as a set of three I think for about $3 or so.
 
[email protected] wrote:
> Blair P. Houghton wrote:
> > LF <[email protected]> wrote:
> > >titanium levers from king cage. work great.
> > ><http://www.kingcage.com/Home.html#>
> >
> > How badly do they scrape up rims?
> >
> > --Blair
>
They work just fine. I have not noticed any rim scraping. They are
small, light weight, and rugged. Andrew got them just right, so that
they easily fit under the bead, even on a tight tire.

Larry
 
"* * Chas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

>> >
>>
>> Here's the one I use at home, but it's plenty small/light enough to
> carry.
>> It'll remove many tires before it ever bends, and there's lots of
> leverage:
>>
> http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id=208862535519&d=single&c=Tools&s
> c=Tire-and-Tube&tc=Tire-Levers&item_id=AC-QS
>>
>> And to install, this is the best, but it's definitely a shop tool:
>>
> http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id=208862535519&d=single&c=Tools&s
> c=Tire-and-Tube&tc=Tire-Levers&item_id=KS-TJ
>>
>> Lots of steel lever here, if you want to go that route. I'm not the
> biggest
>> fan, as it's easy to dent your rim:
>>
> http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id=208862535519&c=Tools&sc=Tire-an
> d-Tube&tc=Tire-Levers
>>
>> -pete
>>
> Thanks for the links.
>
> How does that Kool Tool keep from pinching a tube?
>
> Chas.
>
>

It grabs the bead on the opposing side, then hooks under the bead on the
side to pull over.
I'm not sure that's a great description, but it really works well with
zero-pinch, and I've put on some *really* tight tires!

-pete
 
I recommend the SOMA levers that are regular size and steel
reinforced. The lever is plastic that covers a metal lever.
<http://store.somafab.com/stcotile.html>

If you make a donation to the Challenged Athlete Foundation
<http://www.challengedathletes.org/>, you get a set of levers FREE!
<http://www.somafab.com/index.html>

I supply the levers at my cost but I donate the full amount that you
contribute, including my cost to CAF. It costs you a little more but
the shipping is free, you are donating to a good cause, you get a tax
deduction, and you get a very warm feeling.

On Tue, 17 Oct 2006 07:22:21 -0500, "BobT"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I am looking for suggestions for tire levers that are very
>difficult to break but not so big and heavy that they would
>not be practical to carry with me on the bike.
 
On 17 Oct 2006 14:41:23 -0700, "JeffWills" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>1. When removing the tire, pinch both beads of the tire towards the
>middle of the rim around it's entire circumference. This will give you
>more slack in the bead, making it easier to pry over the side of the
>rim.
>
>2. If you have cloth rim tape in the rim, try replacing it with plastic
>rim strip or several (3 or 4) layers of fiberglass-reinforced strapping
>tape. This is thinner than the cloth tape, again giving you more slack
>in the bead.
>
>I have Schwalbe Stelvios on my bike. I can remove and install them on
>the rims without using tire levers.

I don't use a tire/wheel combination that I cannot get off with my
hands only. My favorite rim is a Velocity Aerohead and Michelin
tires. The Velocity Aerohead OC is a little trick. It's easier to
remove/replace the tire from the drive side. Using Veloplugs makes
the job even easier.

I get Michelin tires on/off the popular Mavic Rims. Campy rims are
frequently tight and changing out tires is difficult.
 
Blair P. Houghton <[email protected]> wrote:
> Morten Reippuert Knudsen <[email protected]> wrote:
> >BobT <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> I am looking for suggestions for tire levers that are very
> >> difficult to break but not so big and heavy that they would
> >> not be practical to carry with me on the bike.
> >
> >Michelin, the best, smallest and lightest ever made.

> How long are those?

guess arrond 8 cm

> How do you hook them on a spoke?

its not neccesary to do so. two of them will do the job without.

--
Morten Reippuert Knudsen :) <http://blog.reippuert.dk>

Merlin Works CR-3/2.5 & Campagnolo Chorus 2007.
 
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