flat tire repair advice needed.
 

flate tire repair advice needed.

Had a flat. got the new tube in. Couldn't get the tire back on. 32mm Schwalbe marathon tire on a trek 520 bicycle back wheel.
Am I too weak? bad technique? tried with and without tire irons. Can anyone share a video with the *best* trick to get that last part over the rim? Should I substitute more flexible tire instead of schwalble marathon, e.g. folding bead tire?

it was not an auspicious start to what I had hoped would be a bit of touring this year.

(in the end I flagged down a good samaritan cyclist and with four hands and 3 or four tire irons we got it on, but if this had happend in the middle of nowhere it would have been long walk home)

I really like the Crank Brothers Speedier lever for difficult tires. One side is for removing, like a normal lever, the other you put on the rim and slide it across. For the really hard tires, I sit on a chair, put the wheel between my legs so it is hitting the chair, and pull the lever for the last bit. Also, no hurt knuckles if you slip.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...33a40c0c97.png

Some tire and rim combinations are tougher than others, require better quality tire levers. The most tire levers I have ever needed was three, that is why some tire levers have a hook that can hook onto a spoke to hold the lever in place when you only have two hands.

I do not know if you are new to putting tires on rims or not, but if you are new to it, it can be critical on some tires to get the tire bead in the middle of the rim on the part of the tire that already is on the rim, that way the bead sits in the depression in the middle of the rim.

For example, this is a Dyad cross section. You can see that the tire will be looser on the rim when the bead is in the middle of the rim.

https://www.velocityusa.com/images/m...ad_338_450.png

On those tighter tires, be careful that you do not pinch the tube, you can puncture a tube if you pinch the tube too much with a lever.

If you are new to this, you may find that a dirty tire causes dirty hands, which eventually makes everything else dirty too. Thus, if you have any disposable medical type gloves, it can be convenient to pack a pair with your spare tube.

This seems to be the best one for me.
Kool-Stop KS-TJ Tire Bead Jack - One Size for sale online | eBay

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...eb3a246f54.png

Mr jp,
there is an important trick to know, this British guys video is the best to explain it. Even if you don't have straps , and who does on the road, just consistently pushing the tire into the middle deeper part of the rim by hand will gain the few mm's that helps get last bit over rim. Wetting the last bit of rim can help a bit also.


also , Pedro's tire levers are worth it, very strong.

also, after a flat, always locate the source of the flat, hidden bit of glass, wire, ALWAYS , cuz if not, you can end with another flat soon if debris is still in tire, and you won't be happy.....

And yes, as said, some rim/tire combos are a real pain

I figure this is a combination of the tire being difficult to mount, and technique. It's a bit difficult to describle and a lot easier to do it in practice, but one trick that makes it far easier to mount a difficult tire is to put the opposite bead in the middle of the rim down off of where it usually sits.

With the one flat I had on my LHT running Marathon Plus'es, I don't recall having much trouble. I just acquired a 2018 520, so will find out soon as I will put the Schwalbe's on it next tire change!

EDIT: I just saw the post above by DJB. I am suggesting the same thing.

Pedros levers are strong and effective. Recommended. Way better than the Park Tool levers I tried years ago.
Glass: mount tires with the label at the valve stem. Then when the hole is located on the tube, it's easy to narrow down the search area on the tire. I even use a silver Sharpie to put a direction arrow on new tubes, so I know which direction to go from the tire label, once I've located the hole.

That video method never worked for me. The same with pulling the slack around, etc.

The ease of mounting does depend on the rim profile, and the tire selection.

I posted my tire method 11 years ago! I needed two levers to get the tire off, but only one to mount it. It's quick and needs very little force.
How to: Tight fitting tire

The wheels I have now aren't nearly as difficult as those older rims were. But I still use the same method.

My wife can get her 32 mm marathon tires back on rim with just her hands using the method shown in the video above. It is all about "pinching and pulling". Depending on the rim the straps may not be needed.

Djb, I just watched that video with the straps. I need to add a velcro strap or two to my repair kit on some of my bikes, that worked pretty good. Thanks for posting, even an old mechanic can learn new ideas on occasion.

Decades ago when I had a bike with chromed steel rims, I used my steel motorcycle tire levers. but I do not want to risk using steel tools on my aluminum alloy rims.

no prob T, someone put that video on here a while back, and it helped me realize the trick of accumulating a smidge here, a smidge there, by pushing the tire into the deeper part of the rim, gradually accumulating maybe a mm or two or whatever at the end, just enough to make it doable----but I'm always amazed how varied one rim to another can be and along with one tire vs another......

but seeing that video and understanding the basic concept certainly did help me down the road, sometimes you just need a little little bit more, and this usually helped.

Practice. All you need is to work the tire bead onto the rim. When you get to the last part use the levers on both sides of the tire, and the third lever in the center to work the last bit of the tire on. Don't pinch the tube.
And depending on the age of the rim tape, or rubber you may need to replace that. If it's cloth it should be fine, but thin tape, or what looks like a giant rubber band could be worn, and you could get a flat from the spoke ends in the rim. Not all rims are made this way but many are.

I use schwalbe tyre levers and they work very well. I find it easier to inflate the tube a little bit for the majority of the tyre but deflate before the last bit since it is easier to push the opposite side deep into the rim before getting the last remaining bit of the tyre on.

I have, since the mid-'80s, used this Quik-Stik to remove and replace tight tires; it replaces multiple levers and is faster/better/easier than any other method i have ever tried. When my son became a semi-serious cyclist recently, i went to buy him one. Can't find it for sale anywhere. It is still listed on many sites (this pic is from Amazon), but always as unavailable. The company is still around but now seems to sell only a completely different device. Does anyone know what happened to this supremely useful device and why?


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...41f8e0f76f.jpg
quik-stik tire tool

Interesting about the quik stik. I can't find it either. They are making an elite version now for about the same price but it is a regular looking tire lever. There is an construction tool of the same name and trademarked. It makes me wonder why there is no trademark dispute.

Your image above may have been the original tool with a vinyl handle. That seems changed in later years.

California Bike Gear may have been the manufacturer, and their website, facebook and instagram are gone, but twitter still up with last post in 2017. Their website seemed functional well into 2019 and was still selling the original quik stik.
https://twitter.com/calibikegear

Genius tip - adding it to my knowledge base! Thanks!