mwrider

I've changed plenty of flats before, like anyone else that rides. However, today's flat was more difficult to fix than I expected. I bought a Domane+ LT a month ago. I've ridden it almost everyday, at least 10 miles per day. I thought the Continental Gatorskins that I rode on with my other bikes were tight, but, the Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite has it beat. That was a royal pain in the arse.

2old

I've had the same experience with some tire/rim combinations, but AIR not Bontrager tires. Usually I'll do something so I'm not caught trying to fix a flat in some forsaken place with a "tight" tire. Encountered an individual with that problem on the trail once and it took him an hour or so to get the tire off the rim, and he tried every trick fathomable.

chas58

Well, often its not the tire, its the rim. Going tubeless can be an extreme nightmare. I find my gatorskins to be pretty easy to mount up, but it rather depends on which rim I'm using. A good rim will not need to be oversized, and will have a good deep center channel in the middle.

Tip for your friend - if you are not getting both beads down in that center channel, some tires are going to be impossible to mount (and I've found some that are impossible even with that).
Tip2: avoid road tubeless at all cost if this worries you. Probably want to avoid hookless rims too...