Originally Posted by
jesnow
I have some new rims that are super tight with my preferred tires.
Swap your rim tape for two wraps of 1 mil Kapton tape (5/8" or 16mm for traditional rims, 3/4" or 19mm wide), totaling just 0.005" thick versus .020" for Velox and .010" "thin" rim strips/two wraps of stans/two wraps of packing tape/etc.
Finish your installation at the valve stem, pulling the bead towards the center, keeping tension on it, and milking the slack around until you can flip the tire over with your thumbs.
Those two things make the difference between cussing at tools and comfortably hand mounting tires.