Originally Posted by
FredFaroggio
I do not know how to make sure that the tire is sitting correctly in the rim... It's complicated to know when you've never done it! Anyway, I don't think that I'll be able to do it myself with my floor pump. I tried a couple of times (without the sealant to get trained) and there's no way I will pump faster than the leakage.
I guess I'll go to the bike shop and ask them to do it for me. I will learn how to do it myself once I have a air compressor.
it's actually very simple. when the tire seats onto the rim fully, you'll hear it pop a few times as the tire snaps into place. I pump my tires to no more than 40 psi to get them to seat. if it takes more pressure than that, most rims risk the tire blowing right off the rim (BOOM! SPLATTER! TIRE DAMAGE!). after you hear a few pops, visually inspect the tire/rim interface. by that, I mean take 10 seconds to look at it to make sure the tire is exposed evenly all the way around the wheel on both sides. this is identical to the procedure you would do with a tubed tire, so this should be nothing new. if the tire is evenly seated on the rim, you're ready to squirt some sealant in.
a few things that will help:
- are the rim and tire designed to be tubeless? what rim and tire are you using? (some rims can be converted but it's a crapshoot sometimes. not all tires will work well, or sometimes not at all)
- does the rim have TUBELESS specific tape wrapped around it, sealing all the holes? (seems obvious but it's a common mistake)
- don't use a tire lever to install a tire, EVER. i've fitted some of the tightest combinations you can imagine and I always get it to work without a tire lever. it's 95% technique, 4% persistence, and 1% brute force to do this.
- "lube" the tire/rim interface with soapy water. if the interface is too dry, it can become too sticky to let the tire slip into place. there are several videos that show this technique online.
- have you fit the tire such that the bead is over the valve? (I did this wrong the other day and the air just blew directly out into my face)
- one last trick: install the tire with a tube. when the bead is seated and pops onto the rim, deflate and remove the tube from one side of the tire. leave the other side seated on the rim. (it should stay put or else you have a big problem with a tire that's never going to hold air.) no re-inflate the tire and it should be easier because you only have to get half of the tire to seal as the other half is already seated and sealed.
this is really not much different from seating a tubed tire. there's 1.5 extra step that will become second nature after you have done it twice.
don't waste time or money on making a shop do this. you need to learn to do it yourself because you can't always go running to a shop. arm yourself with experience and knowledge so you're not a helpless noob! you've go this.
you don't need an air compressor either. I've never owned one and never needed it after a decade of tubeless tires.