Wanted: a tyre with a loose bead

[Simonb]

I took delivery of a brand spanking new pir of Protons last night and very
nice they are too. Only thing is I spent about an _hour_ fitting my
Continental GP 3000s on them!! Damn, they are a tight fit! Any suggestions
for tyres with a 'looser' bead than GP 3000s? I'm afraid I won't be able to
get the Contis off now without destroying them -- or myself for that matter.
Also, any recommendations for a hefty pair of tyre levers?

Thanks.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

Simonb wrote:
> I took delivery of a brand spanking new pir of Protons last night and very
> nice they are too. Only thing is I spent about an _hour_ fitting my
> Continental GP 3000s on them!! Damn, they are a tight fit! Any suggestions
> for tyres with a 'looser' bead than GP 3000s? I'm afraid I won't be able to
> get the Contis off now without destroying them -- or myself for that matter.
> Also, any recommendations for a hefty pair of tyre levers?

What you want is one of these, the var tyre lever:

http://blogs.sun.com/roller/page/chrisg/20041004#product_of_the_day

Which is thankfully still available at:

http://www.bikeplus.co.uk/

with whom my only connection is as a happy customer.

Makes fitting tight tyres easy.

--chris

 

[Pete Biggs]

Simonb wrote:
> I took delivery of a brand spanking new pir of Protons last night and
> very nice they are too. Only thing is I spent about an _hour_ fitting
> my Continental GP 3000s on them!! Damn, they are a tight fit! Any
> suggestions for tyres with a 'looser' bead than GP 3000s?

Vittoria Open Corsa 23 (though I've not tried the latest versions), or
Schwalbe Blizzard Kevlar 25 for a tougher winter tyre.

~PB

 

[m-gineering]

Simonb wrote:
>
> I took delivery of a brand spanking new pir of Protons last night and very
> nice they are too. Only thing is I spent about an _hour_ fitting my
> Continental GP 3000s on them!! Damn, they are a tight fit! Any suggestions
> for tyres with a 'looser' bead than GP 3000s? I'm afraid I won't be able to
> get the Contis off now without destroying them -- or myself for that matter.
> Also, any recommendations for a hefty pair of tyre levers?
>
> Thanks.

soapy water?
--
---
Marten

 

[MSeries]

Chris Gerhard wrote:
> Simonb wrote:
>
>> I took delivery of a brand spanking new pir of Protons last night and
>> very
>> nice they are too. Only thing is I spent about an _hour_ fitting my
>> Continental GP 3000s on them!! Damn, they are a tight fit! Any
>> suggestions
>> for tyres with a 'looser' bead than GP 3000s? I'm afraid I won't be
>> able to
>> get the Contis off now without destroying them -- or myself for that
>> matter.
>> Also, any recommendations for a hefty pair of tyre levers?
>
>
> What you want is one of these, the var tyre lever:
>
> http://blogs.sun.com/roller/page/chrisg/20041004#product_of_the_day
>
> Which is thankfully still available at:
>
> http://www.bikeplus.co.uk/
>
> with whom my only connection is as a happy customer.
>
> Makes fitting tight tyres easy.
>
> --chris
I'll second that, I was introduced to the VAR525 by a helpful soul who
stopped to help me a few years ago. He used his tool to help me repair
my puncture. I now have such a tool myself but one of the hooks has
snapped off.

 

[dkahn400]

MSeries wrote:

> I'll second that, I was introduced to the VAR525 by a helpful
> soul who stopped to help me a few years ago. He used his tool
> to help me repair my puncture. I now have such a tool myself but
> one of the hooks has snapped off.

The Crank Brothers tyre lever, which you can buy in Halfords, can be
quite useful with tight tyres. It's a neat gadget but not perfect. You
can skin your knuckles with it if you're not careful as it tends to
move quite suddenly. It also tends to lose a hook when it wears out or
if you're too brutal with it.

--
Dave...

 

[Simonb]

m-gineering wrote:

> soapy water?

It helps, but they are incredibly tight. and soapy water is hard to come by
on the road!

Thanks all for your responses: very helpful as always. I've invested in the
tyre levers recommended by Chris and will go for the Vittorias when the
Contis wear out.

 

[Tony Raven]

Simonb wrote:

>
> I've invested in the
> tyre levers recommended by Chris and will go for the Vittorias when the
> Contis wear out.
>

......or get a puncture ;-)

Tony

 

[Simonb]

Tony Raven wrote:
> Simonb wrote:
>
>>
>> I've invested in the
>> tyre levers recommended by Chris and will go for the Vittorias when
>> the Contis wear out.
>>
>
> .....or get a puncture ;-)

With the VAR levers, I hope the task will not be as demanding even with the
Contis.

 

[Zog The Undeniable]

Simonb wrote:

> I took delivery of a brand spanking new pir of Protons last night and very
> nice they are too. Only thing is I spent about an _hour_ fitting my
> Continental GP 3000s on them!! Damn, they are a tight fit! Any suggestions
> for tyres with a 'looser' bead than GP 3000s? I'm afraid I won't be able to
> get the Contis off now without destroying them -- or myself for that matter.
> Also, any recommendations for a hefty pair of tyre levers?

Panaracer Stradius are a looser fit than most. But first try fitting
them with lots of talc on the inner tube. It does help.

Halfords sell metal tyre levers. They will mark black rims, but that
serves you right for being a fashion victim ;-)

 

[Simonb]

Zog The Undeniable wrote:

> Halfords sell metal tyre levers. They will mark black rims

Ohhh. No! Can't have that!

 

[Patrick Herring]

"Simonb" <[email protected]> wrote:

| I took delivery of a brand spanking new pir of Protons last night and very
| nice they are too. Only thing is I spent about an _hour_ fitting my
| Continental GP 3000s on them!! Damn, they are a tight fit! Any suggestions
| for tyres with a 'looser' bead than GP 3000s? I'm afraid I won't be able to
| get the Contis off now without destroying them -- or myself for that matter.

I know this is a bit of a duh yeah but did you make sure the bead
that's already the right side of the rim wall gets into the well in
the middle, assuming there is a well in the middle? I've wrestled with
kevlar beads before now, spotted the possibility of reducing the
diameter a few mm and it made all the difference. I didn't need any
lever after that, for getting the tyre on anyway.

--
Patrick Herring, http://www.anweald.co.uk/ph.html