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Any recommendations for looser fitting tire brands?

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Any recommendations for looser fitting tire brands?

Old 01-28-23, 10:37 AM
  #1  
Telkwa
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Any recommendations for looser fitting tire brands?

I think our Bontrager rims and Conti Protect tires are not a good match. Too darn tight on the rims. Impossible to break down a tire in the field with small tire levers.

Do some tire manufacturers have a reputation for building tires that fit a bit loosely?
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Old 01-28-23, 12:07 PM
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What is this? A 29er tire on a Trek Marlin or something? My son's Trek Marlin hasn't been any issue with any tire I've put on it's Bontrager rims. And I have put Continentals on it.

Believe it or not, it's more likely that you aren't doing it right!

If the first side of the tire went on the rim easy enough, the second side can too. You just have to learn and practice more.

Narrower rims can be more troublesome though. They don't have enough room in the spoke channel or center of the rim where the diameter is the least. That's where you have to get the bead of the side tire you are putting on if you want to have an easy time. However with narrow rims, the tube and other side of the tire you already have on compete for that valuable space. So be sure to push them out of there as you push the unmounted side on the rim.

Since you are un-mounting the tire, then from the get go, be certain to push the entire side you are taking off into that spoke channel and everything else out of the spoke channel. Do that before you ever try to use a lever, then you won't break the lever.

When you get good at it, you can put a tire on without levers. When you are really good, you can remove a tire without levers. I can! <grin>

Do some tire manufacturers have a reputation for building tires that fit a bit loosely?
No, not that I've noticed. However there are some posts that people swear some are worse and others better, but between two people posting about the same issue, what one says is an easy tire, the other will say it's the hard tire to mount or remove.

Last edited by Iride01; 01-28-23 at 12:13 PM.
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Old 01-28-23, 12:48 PM
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Mostly agree with the above. The main issue relates to the depth of the rims center well (spoke channel). That well depth is what allows the smaller diameter tire bead to lift over the side of a rim. So you want to use the thinnest rim tape possible. Personally, I consider well depth a primary factor in rim selection and will not use rims with limited or inadequate well depth.

Before pulling out the tire lever, push the tire to one side of the rim all the way around, then working in both directions, massage the tire around to have the most slack in one place. The goal is to make the round tire take an egg shape so you can work the pointy end over the rim.
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Since you ask about tires --- yes, there is variation. While the bead diameter is standardized, the build up below it isn't. Any material under the bead costs you slack when mounting, so observe and feel this when making your selection. IME tires with a thin visible cloth wrap under the bead seem to easiest to work with. Tires with thick molded sidewalls that wrap under the bead are the worst.
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Old 01-28-23, 01:07 PM
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I see that you just brought back an older thread of yours. Same rim I assume and now know that it's tubeless.

Tubeless you'll have to push harder to break the bead from the rim. A pair of channel locks with some padding added to the jaws might help if you can't get enough force with your hands and fingers to break the bead off the bead seat.

But again, you have to get all the bead of that side off the bead seat of the rim before you do anything else. Except maybe first remove the valve core to ensure there isn't air trapped inside pushing the tire back on the bead seat.

Last edited by Iride01; 01-28-23 at 01:11 PM.
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Old 01-28-23, 02:33 PM
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If this isn't tubeless, like FBinNY says, consider rim tape that is less thick. If you are using that cloth Velox tape or something similar from France it takes up space and makes a difference. I broke a Pedros lever trying that. Switching to a thinner plastic type from China has helped me.
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Old 01-28-23, 04:22 PM
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Thanks, guys
The rims are fairly narrow at 22mm. I wish they were wider!

Although I've been changing bike and motorcycle tires since the '70's, I'll admit that there could be improvements to my technique. This last time I put a couple of vise-grips on the far side to keep the beads in the rim channel, but your suggestion of trying to keep the opposite bead out of the way so the bead I'm working on has a bit more room is something I'll have to try.

I also noticed that there was less prying involved with the OEM rim strip than with the thick Bontrager t/l rim strip, which hogs a lot of space in the channel. With the last attempt a coupla days ago I removed the Bontrager strips and tried some 25mm DT Swiss rim tape. My first time using DT Swiss. The DT tape isn't as stretchy as I woulda like and did not settle down into the channel well. That caused more fighting and levering and swearing because the tire couldn't get to the bottom of the channel.

Last edited by Telkwa; 01-28-23 at 04:26 PM.
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