fullergarrett

So I have an odd issue. Recently I purchased a new rim and tire for my bike. Today I had a flat and tried to pry the tire off the rim, but it appears the tire bead is stuck to the rim. In fact, it appeared to be adhered so well to the sidewall of the rim that no amount of prying or pushing on the sidewall of the tire would get it loose enough that I could fit something like a tire lever down in there. I've tried nearly everything I can think of with no luck.

Is there any suggestions for getting the tire off? I've read that other people have had similar problems and had to end up cutting the tire off. The tire is brand new (<10 miles on it) so I'm hoping I can remove it without damaging the tire or the rim.

When I reinstall the tire, is there any way I can make it not stick in the future? I'm mostly worried that I may flat away from home and not be able to pry the tire off, causing me to do the walk of shame back home.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

SalsaShark

I am assuming the tire is tubeless compatible clincher and rim tubeless ready, as this combo seems to really latch the bead together nicely, even when used with a tube. In my experience, all tires will let loose from the rim with a little coaxing. Once the bead is broken in one area, it will continue around the remainder of the rim without further issue. To break the bead, make sure the tube is fully deflated, and with the wheel on the ground (or on your feet/shoes for support) grab the rim with two hands so that your thumbs land with the tips touching on the side of the tire facing you, butted up against the edge of the rim. You want to use your thumbs to push the sidewall of the tire both inward towards the other side of the rim and also down into the rim, not rolling the sidewall, but sort of digging the pads/sides of your thumbs into the crevace between the inner edge of the rim and the tire bead while pressuring the side of the tire inwards, forcing the tire bead away from the edge of the rim. Once it pops, you can easily work your way along the rim, and the other side is usually easy to break the bead off. I usually start away from the valve stem.
Hope this helps.

fullergarrett

The tire is not rated tubeless ready, but I have ran that model of tire tubeless before with no issues. (However, this specific tire has always been setup with a tube. I am, however, thinking about possibly running it tubeless.) The rim, on the other hand, is tubeless ready.

I've tried that, but the tire would not budge. Maybe I should try it again later when my thumb isn't as bruised from trying to push on it so much.

shelbyfv

Stand on it

Crankycrank

Heat the tire with a hair dryer or put it in a tub of hot water. This will help it expand and loosen up any sealant or ?? that is keeping it stuck on the rim.

fullergarrett

Update to this.

The other day I completely deflated the tire... making sure as much air was out of the tube as possible. I then firmly stood on both sides of the tire with my two feet. I'm a Clydesdale rider... ~330-340 pounds. The tire did not budge. The tire is still stuck on the rim as much as it was before.

This tire and rim is brand new and never has been setup tubeless or with sealant. It is a tubeless-ready rim, but I've been on the fence about going back to tubeless. The only thing that I can think of that could be causing an issue is the Gorilla Tape I applied inside the rim as makeshift rim tape.

At this point I'm mostly worried about figuring out a way to get the tire off the rim in case I get a flat and need to make a repair or change the tube. I still have no idea how to get this tire off the rim...

In case anyone is wondering: the tire is a Schwalbe Marathon. Rim is a Quality Wheels Cliffhanger wheel. Both are practically brand new... installed less than a month ago and have less than 20 miles on them.

Phil_gretz

Pinch the tire in a bench vise?

Pinch the tire using a series of C-clamps?

Run isopropyl alcohol into the gap between tire and rim. And then try either of the two approaches above.

Miele Man

Would you post an image of the tire where the label is visible? Then we'll know what it is you're trying to work with.

Cheers

shelbyfv

I don't think there are any more cycling specific tips to help you. Time to take it to shop or a handy friend.

serotta

I would add to this, use two small pieces of a paint stir stick between the bench vise or C-clamps so as not to damage the tire or rim.

alcjphil

Here is a hint: If you are using tubeless compatible wheels, don't compromise on the rim tape you buy, even if you are not going to set the wheels up with tube type tires. Tubeless wheels require very tight tolerances so that the tires can seal properly. use the correct rim tape and you may do better

squirtdad

try metal tire levers the do stil make them. and fwiw I have seen the glue from gorilla tape seeping beyond the tape and making other things sticky

Iride01 

Be sure to let us know what you find out. But don't take too long getting it fixed. Personally I'd just consider the tire and tube toast at this point and try using channel lock pliers, clamps or vice to break the bead. Tire rubber and construction being the strong thing it is, might not get damaged from such abuse any how and you may could reuse tire or tube.

If a carbon rim, I might not be so aggressive though.

But we are curious, or at least I am. Go to a shop and get it over with.

70sSanO

Someone had mentioned a vise, which you probably don't have. But here is a video on how to use one to get off a tough tubeless tire...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLdP...ature=youtu.be

When you, or someone else gets the tire off, talk to a bike shop about what tires would be easier to get off the rim. Lugging a 40lb vise around to change flats is probably not a good option.

John

fullergarrett

Here's a photo of the rim/tire. The tire is just a run of the mill Schwalbe Marathon... 26x2.0, non-tubeless ready. As previously mentioned, the tire currently has a tube in it. Rim is a Velocity CliffHanger wheel.



I don't think I completely understand what you're saying. It appears that this tire has an extremely tight "seal" with the rim... so much so that no amount of prying or standing on it will get the tire off. I'm still on the fence of whether to set this tire up tubeless. It seems to be a good candidate for a (ghetto/Gorilla tape) tubeless setup, but I'm not sure if I want to make a mess of the tire/rim. I had the front set up tubeless until I put a tube in it, and the sealant got all over everything the inside of the tire is still coated with slimy Stan's sealant. On the plus side, I had no problems with the tubeless setup (and that was with the stock rim, which wasn't tubeless ready. I used the split tube method.) I have to specially order tubes for this bike online now, so I may wait and see if I encounter a lot of flats before I return to tubeless.

The tire is brand new... has less than 20 miles on it. I think I'm going to try to pry it off with a vise before I head to the bike shop. Never had to go to the bike shop to remove a tire. The tire isn't flat (made a confusing mistake in my original post) but I'd like to figure out how to get it off in case I need to fix a flat in the future.

fullergarrett

Sorry for the double post - this came in while submitting my previous post.
I have a vise, and I'll try that. When purchasing a new tire for this new rim (old tire had a cut in the sidewall, and old rim had some broken spokes and other issues) I decided to purchase the same tire I had before. On my stock rims, the Schwalbe Marathons didn't have this problem. In fact, after breaking in, the Marathons become so loose that it takes no effort to remove the tire off the wheel. Of course, you have to be careful when reinflating the tire as it likes to bulge off the rim. The Marathons are 26x2.0".

When purchasing this tire, I was contemplating going with my second choice - the Conti Double Fighter III - instead of another Marathon. The Double Fighter III is a 26x1.9" tire, which may be a lot better fit for this rim. If it seems like this tire just isn't going to agree with this rim, I may end up returning it (if possible) an getting the Double Fighter.

However, that would be a last resort. These Marathon tires are pretty decent tires, actually work well tubeless (despite being marked as a "tube-type" tire), and match the bike's color scheme almost perfectly. Plus, I have a Marathon on the front. It'd be a shame to throw away this perfectly good tire... especially because it has less than 20 miles on it.

Edit: As mentioned in last post, I plan to try a vise. If unsuccessful, I'll take it to a local bike shop to see what additional tricks they may have up their sleeves to get it off.

70sSanO

Just be careful of the rim with the vise. The video give a good method, but make sure both sides of the rim are clear of the jaws.

Good luck!

John

Jeff Wills

Schwalbe Marathon tires are known for their stiff "filler" underneath the tread. I'd double down on pinching the beads together with a vise to get the bead broken loose from the rim. If you're ever seen a car tire changed you'll know the machines they use are not gentle.

Before you put the tire back on put some talcum powder in the rim and on the beads to keep them from getting stuck again.

masonv45

WD-40 dissolves most petroleum distillates - including glue. Can't hurt to give it a shot.

Iride01 

Presta valve? I would have thought Schrader on that wide a tire and rim. Oh well, learn something new every day. I've probably seen them before, but just never thought about it.

Any who...... you are checking to make sure the valve hasn't seated itself and is trapping air keeping the bead firmly on the rim. Unscrewing the valve doesn't open the valve.

Pridedog

I have had the same problem on two recent bike purchases. Very frustrating. On one bike I had the valve stem fail while on a ride and could not break the bead. Had to ride 11 miles home on flat tire. Did not harm tire, but tube was toast. Only way I could get tires of rims on either bike was with a bench vise or vice grips. Not practical to carry either on bike in case of a flat. Both bikes had tubeless ready rims with tubeless compatible tire. Even changing tires to non tubeless didn't help. For one bike I bought a new set of wheels from DT Swiss that were not tubeless compatible. The other bike was a rear hub motor ebike and presented another problem. So I bought quality clincher rims from Velocity that were not tubeless compatible and switched out the rims. No problems getting the beads to pop and thus able to get tires off the rims on both bikes.

fullergarrett

The new Velocity CliffHanger wheels were drilled for Presta valves... the stock rims had Schrader valves. Because of that, I decided to just buy a collar for the front wheel and run Prestas in both.

I am able to completely deflate the tube... unscrew the valve and press down on it. I don't think any air should be caught in between the tube and tire, because I've even pushed the valve somewhat back into the tire, which I'd think would give enough of a space to allow any air to escape.

Anyways, I'm going to try to pry it off with a bench vise today. The reason I went for these rims specifically (instead of something else) is they're a lot more robust. I had another thread in which someone recommended these rims after I broke spokes and went through hubs on the previous, stock rim. (Stock rim had a freewheel design, this has a free hub.) I'll report back with my findings.

Should I just go ahead and set this tire up tubeless? I know the tire itself isn't necessarily tubeless-ready (Schwalbe Marathon) but I've ran this same exact type of tire tubeless with the ghetto tubeless (split-tube method) on the front for over 135 miles without any issues whatsoever. When I converted to Presta valves on the front, I decided to switch back to tubes. (Once these Schwalbe tires break in, they really loosen up. The front tire used to be a PITA to get on/off the rim, but now doesn't even require any effort to get off the rim. Maybe the same thing will happen to this rear tire? But it really isn't a tight fit as much as it seems like the tire is somehow adhered to the rim.) I'm indifferent to tubeless setups (has its pros and cons) but if it is going to make my life easier with this tire/rim then it may be worth it - at least until I upgrade tires in the future, then I may go with the Conti.

squirtdad

I would not expect tubeless to make it any easier with the tire/rim, possible worse with sealant.

princo

I would set the tire tubeless and get some tubeless tire plugs to go along ( I have the KOM Cycling Tubeless Tire Repair Kit). That way if you get a puncture that the sealant can't close, the plug will get get you going with little effort. If you get a cut large enough that the plug can't fix, at that point replace the tire.

fullergarrett

I was finally able to get the tire pried off the rim with a bench vise. The tire popped right off at the vise, then I just went around and it came off super easy.

I did a tubeless setup dry test... no sealant. The tire held and everything, but it was loosing air through the valve stem hole. I didn't see, hear or feel any air leaking out anywhere else. This is my first successful Gorilla Tape (truly tubeless) setup.

Even though the tubeless setup works and would probably hold air perfectly with some Stan's added, I decided to keep it as a standard clincher setup with a tube. I swapped out the "old", lower-quality tube with one that is slightly beefier and better made. I bought a patch kit, so I'm ready to patch any punctures.

However, I'm still concerned about the tire getting stuck on the rim. It *may* be the Gorilla Tape, but it seems like there is a ridge that the tire gets caught on. Because the tire had adhered itself to the rim again in just the short amount of time I had it setup tubeless. Since I won't have a vise on the trails and normally, I'd like to be able to know that I can remove the tire on the trail if I get a flat.

I think that may be a good solution to my issue. My only worry is that these tires are not "tubeless-ready", so I'm not sure how they'd react to being patched with a plug. If I can't get the tire off, the sealant will seal any punctures. There's also the solution of adding sealant to the existing tubes, but I've had mixed results with adding Stan's to tubes. (I've used Slime before and will never do that again. Constantly gums the valve.) I've actually had some tubes with Stan's added that sealed punctures really well, and others ended up gumming up the valve. I've heard this is an even bigger problem with Presta valves. The biggest reason I want to keep tubes (and I have to keep tubes in the front tire) is they're so much easier to change and repair, especially on the trails. (But I guess that doesn't matter now if I can't get the tire off the rim.)

On the flip side, for some reason I have never had a problem with Stan's gumming up the valve on tubeless setups. Every tubeless setup I've had has worked surprisingly well, even with the split-tube method on non-tubeless ready rims and tires. In fact, in my experience the tubeless tires held air slightly better (although not by much) than the tubes.

I'm still undecided on whether to run tubes or go back to tubeless. Any additional input or thoughts?