digibud

I have a set of Bontrager wheels that I have been using their R3 tubeless tires with and they're OK but not great and have really poor life compared to my old Conti 4000II. My friend recommended some new Schwalbe tubeless tires but OMG they are almost impossible to mount and once mounted they will not setup tubeless in spite of having an air compressor and a reasonable amount of experience. They are so difficult to both mount and remove on that wheel I will not use them. Any recommendations on tubeless tires that are known to be reasonably easy to mount? I understand that many may be a bit tougher due to their need to be tubeless but the wheel is "tubeless ready" for what that's worth (not much) and I'd like to get some recommendations from any folks that have run into similar situations and found this or that tire that was a bit easier. I'll stick with R3 if I have to but would like to try some others.

WhyFi

I've actually had a very easy time with Schwalbes on my Bontrager wheels (way easier than on my Reynolds), but it's certainly possible that some combinations will work better/worse than others, even within the two same brands. Unfortunately, I think that this is just one of those deals where you've gotta try them yourself. Bontrager has a range of tubeless tires, though - have you tried any others?

jimincalif

RiceAWay

I have gotten a set of Continental GP5000TL. They mounted fairly easily on my deep carbon wheels and holy cow do they ever have low rolling resistance. I have a set of Swalbe on my Basso Loto and ride them on paved and gravel roads. they aren't even showing wear which is surprising after I've done perhaps 20 miles on gravel.

To make a point about Tubeless tires - they should mount easier than a clincher would. And you can inflate them using a normal floor pump if they are properly aligned on the rim. This quite surprised me after making the mistake of mounting clincher tires in place of tubeless tires. They were VERY difficult to install. And then later one of them broke the bead and blew off the rim. Luckily in a place where I could "safely" fall. So always be sure that you are using tubeless tires that SAY tubeless on them.

TrojanHorse

I have Schwalbe pro 1 tires (28mm) on reynolds assault wheels and it's a piece of cake to get them on! I needed a compressor to seat them though.

deepakvrao

Schwalbe Pro Ones 25mm on a Kinlin rim, and getting them on is tough [I use a tyre jack], but getting them off drives me to tears. Same tyres on Velocity a23s are much easier.

Planning to get those Silca metal levers with rubber pads and see if those make it any easier.

robbyville

Assuming the new Schwalbe's with the "TL Easy" Moniker... Were incredibly easy to get on both my Easton wheels and my Light Bicycle wheels, but they did require a compressor to seat. When I had my Bontrager TLR wheels I was able to pretty much use any tire with no issues (circa 2014-15 model year) with the exception of some horrible Hutchison's. I really liked the Bontrager R3 tires though along with the Schwalbe's. Right now I'm enjoying the new Continental 5000 TL's, bear to get on and had to use levers but really great feel and grip. These were the first tires I needed levers to get on though and had a bit of worry that I needed to exert the amount of leverage that I did.

NoWhammies

I'm about to take my 25mm Pro 1 tyres off my Boyd rims. Need to do some spring "Stan's booger" clean out.

I'm concerned with putting the tyres back on as I don't have compressor to seal them up. Do you have one at home, or did you ask the LBS to blow them up for you?

Seattle Forrest

Posts in the GP5k thread say those (tubeless version) are easy to put on.

matt92037

RiceAWay

I will say this about the Continentals though - they don't have very good directional stability. Particularly on deep aero rims that may be a little sensitive to gusts. So you have to be aware. This lack of directional stability has the advantage in lots of tight maneuvering that you could run into in a Crit.

NoWhammies

How many Ks were you getting on your Pro Ones? I am approaching 5,000k on my front Pro One tyre and am starting to get worried the tyre is approaching its end of life.

nickc3

schwabe pro one. a breeze with this gadget:

Kool Stop Tire Bead Jack

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AYML7K/

deepakvrao

Yes, works great, and then my only other issue is getting those damn tyres off. On some rims It's damn near impossible.

NoWhammies

I opted for the Crank Brothers Speedier Tyre Lever over the kool stop tire bead jack. So far, so good.

I have a set of Pirelli cinturato velo tubeless tyres on order, so I'll see how the speedier Tyre lever works mounting them.

Roadlizzard

Mavic UST