glenncz

Biking many years and never had trouble with tires like I have for the past yr on my Cannondale 650B gravel bike. It's been a learning curve since the first flat, getting tires on and off etc. I think I got the learning that to take off tire you have to pinch it all to the middle and same goes for putting on. But saying all that, today after fixing flat in garage I had a huge explosion! I didn't heard the click/cracking to tell me it was seated on the rim, so i inflated it to 80+lbs and bang, a terrorist bomb just exploded. Wife comes running out!! Luckily I had back turned (even though i only vaguely remember last time this happened) but my ears are ringing and hopefully not damaged.

So I'm at it again, and I inflate to 60lbs and I deflate and I see tire still did not snap to rims. I'm scared to go any further and I don't know what to do except take it all off and lubricate it like dish soap mix. A few weeks ago bike shop had same problem getting it seated and he put degreaser all over rim and that seemed to work. Any other suggestions on this ugly process of getting tire to snap to rims. (and w/o physical damage to my senses).

onsay99

Once the tire bead has been installed, and before it is pressurized,
squeeze the tire all the way around the circumference to make sure
the inner tube is completely under the tire bead. If there is a section
of inner tube that is trapped between the tire bead and the rim. you
can have a delayed blowout at that point.

rhm

I apply some dish soap to the bead of the tire, both sides, massage it around with enough water to get it really slippery, and then inflate. I'm told the dish soap can be pretty dilute, but I go full strength and wash it off when the tire is seated. don't think I ever get up to 80 psi.

mack_turtle

which model bike do you have? what specific rims to you have? are you setting it up tubeless?

first, 60 psi is a LOT for a tubeless tire unless it's road-tubeless specific. I don't have much experience with road tubeless, but on my mountain bike and CX bike, I pump up the tires to about 40 psi. if the tire didn't snap onto the rim at that point, I deflate the tire, push the bead completely back off the rim into the center channel, and spray some dish soap and water mix onto the rim/tire gap. 99% of the time, the tire snaps right on after that.

the snap can be LOUD so I usually wear hearing protection. wear glasses just in case the tire blows anyways and sealant spews out. most tubeless rims have a pressure limit and it's well below 80 psi.

for example, there's the maximum pressure for various tires on a Grail rim:

I had a Panaracer Gravelking SK 32mm tire blow off a rim one time. I reseated it and the tire blew off over and over again at 20 psi. the bead was deformed. I sent Panaracer a photo of it and they mailed me a new tire a few days later.

Moe Zhoost

Happened to me as well. Some tires are difficult to seat properly. My recommendation would be to inflate gradually, say 10 psi in increments, checking each time to ensure that the tire is seating properly around the rim. Tires usually have a molded in witness line close to the rim that can be used to gauge whether it's seating correctly. If you notice bulging or that the witness line is buried below the rim, you should massage the tire to move it into the right position. At that point you can inflate a bit more. After you get close to 40 psi with no issues, you should be good.

Good luck.

glenncz

Thanks for all the good advice. Yes there a lot of little things to learn about biking, even though I've been at this 35 yrs there are new challenges/equip/tech to figure out. All in good fun and fitness! To add to my misery this am 28mi into 35mi ride I had a rear derailleur total failure and had to call rescue squad(wife) to haul me home. But I don't need to get into that problem, (needs expert attention now) except thinking had something to do with recent upside down bike fall over in garage while fooling with those tires. (injecting tire sealant). This was for my Spec Roubaix road bike.

I have a Cannondale Slate gravel bike with mavic 419 disc 650b wheels, pannaracer tire and 42mm TUBES. The rim is set up for tubeless option i'm pretty sure. I'm converting to sealant in the tubes is why i'm taking tire off. Note: even my bike shop had a hard time getting bead to seat last week until he used degreaser for lub.

But answer me this. I pump up tire to about 40-50. listening for snap. so it snaps. then deflate tire and make sure bead is seat properly right again rim. that's been my problem, i deflate, even w/ some snap, and see some of the bead is in center.

I don't think I'm the only one who has gotten a new bike and then realized what a PITA this can be, when for years it was tire on, tire off!!! I guess because they are set up for tubeless is what make the tighter and tougher to seat. I'll get to tubeless eventually.

mack_turtle

tubeless requires a tight fit, or the tire/rim would leak air too easily.

what kind of tape is on the rim? if it's cloth tape or it's too thick, that would create excessive friction.

try spraying some dish soap and water on the rim before you start pumping. there's a lot of friction between the rim tape and the tire bead on any tubeless setup. the soap will make that slippery so it will slip into place more easily.

I have two bikes, both tubeless. I've used gravel Schwalbe G-One and Panaracer Gravelkings on the Stan's Arch EX rims on my gravel bike, and WTB, Bontrager, and Industry Nine rims on my mountain bike with Bontrager, Specialized, and Maxxis tubeless tires. on all of them, the seat, seal, and hold air with a floor pump at less than 40 psi. I'd rather drink a liter of Stan's goo than put tubes in my bike at this point, but I carry a tube for emergencies. In my decade or riding tubeless tires, I've used a tube on my bike twice. the other times I've lost tubes to fellow riders who were riding with tubes and had a flat.

jadocs

I'm not sure what you are trying to accomplish by pumping it up, seating the bead, then deflating again? or are you saying that when you let some air out, the bead breaks?

gsa103

Go tubeless now. Sealant in tubes doesn't work. The minor slippage between the tire and tube causes the sealant plug to get disturbed. You slowly lose air as long as you ride. It seals when you stop, then starts leaking slowly when you ride again. Maybe for a race or something where you can't afford a flat, but it's not consistent.

And yes, a liberal application of dish soap around the rims is very helpful. As is an air tank or similar to provide a sudden burst of air rather than a standard floor pump.

glenncz

I think you are right about going tubeless Now on my 42mm gravel bike. How do I know if my rim tape is already tubeless ready? All I need is some kind of valve core right and sealant?

Also, is tubeless mostly for gravel/mtn bikes because they run at low pressure? Does tubeless work in a road bike with 110lbs? i'm not sold on the lower pressure in road bike tires works better.

mack_turtle

tire pressure is very personal, but I am 160 pounds and run no more than 45psi in 35mm tires on pavement. there's no reason to pump up a tire that fat to 80 psi.

sorry, can't comment on true road tubeless. as I understand it, the industry has had a hard time making skinny tires used with high pressure safe and reliable without tubes, but it seems like they've gotten better recently.

glenncz

oh no, i run my 42mm gravel bike at 40lb, i only pumped it to 60lbs (this time) to get it to snap and seat. I think one of my problems is how i put it on. so after getting it on, i have been pinching tire near rim together, to make sure i don't get pinched tube.
OR am i supposed to get the 1st bead all in To The RIM, and when putting 2nd side on, also try to get most of bead to "rim" seated, until i get to the end, that way when i inflate only a small portion of tire has to snap to rim.

glenncz

Still having problems. I assume I shouldn't go over 60lbs with my floor pump. I inflate the tube to 60lbs. Tire looks good. Then I deflate it and I see tire is not seated against the rim. I ordered Airshot Tubeless Tire Inflator, but cancelled it when I see it does not give that controlled burst that I think I need. What I don't understand is that I've had this bike for a year and had three or so flats, which I changed. It was only the last flat(tube changed on ride) which my buddies noticed wheel wobbling. At car I pumped it and it snapped into place. But since then I just can't get it to seat. I'm wondering if CO2 cartridges (don't have right now) or Joe Blow Booster floor pump is the answer? I think next year I'm going tubeless, but it's a little late in the year and I don't want the slime to sit in tire all winter.