maartendc

Hello all,

I am trying to seat a WTB Resolute 42x700C gravel tire on to a Bontrager tubeless ready rim (disc wheel).

The tire seems to want to 'dip' in one spot, indicating the tire bead is not seated properly. Usually on my road bike I would solve this by inflating the tire to like 100 psi, and it would pop into place. However., this tire is rated at 50 psi MAX. So I am unsure how high I can pressurize it before I run into any problems? I tried pumping it up to 70 psi already, to no avail.

What is the max pressure I can safely pump it up to (to seat the tire, not to ride it)?
Other things I should try?

Thanks!

WhyFi

Did you try lubing things up a bit? I usually spray a bit of soapy water on the rim bed and beads before seating. With a small problem spot, I'll also pull/twist the bead in to place with my hands on either side of the dip. Hell, sometimes I'll just bang that side of the tire on the ground.

Elvo

Use something with a high volume of air like a compressed air cannister or air compressor

msu2001la

Soapy water will help the bead slip into place. Try spraying down the sidewall in that area.

As for PSI, I don't think I'd push it beyond 70psi, which is quite high for a 42mm tire.

maartendc

Thanks guys, I will try soapy water and see if that helps. I wont go beyond 70 psi then. Thanks!

eduskator

I'd definitively try to put some lube on the bead to help it seat. I've never bothered about exceeding maximum pressure when inflating a tire. I just pump until it pops a few time and then I bounce the wheel on the floor to make sure everything is OK. Did you try to go to 60-70PSI and see if it seats properly? Exceeding the maximum pressure shouldn't damage the tire unless it's extreme...

Iride01 

I wouldn't have an issue going upwards of 150% of the max PSI just to see if it'll seat.

But the closer you get to 150% be careful and fearful. Wear eye protection just in case. Maybe gloves too, but so far I've not had anything but the tires blow off the rim with no damage to the tire. I just remounted them, used more slippery stuff on them, either soapy water or baby powder and was good to go. The tubes didn't survive any attempt and made a really impressively loud noise as it blew.

maartendc

I used some soapy water, gave the whole tire and rim a good soak, and it worked!

I did have to pump it up to about 60-65 PSI before I heard the tire pop into place. I guess with some tire/rim combo's you do have to exceed the max tire pressure to get it to seat properly.

Thanks for the suggestions all!

alexihnen 

^ This worked. Glad I found the thread.

Camilo

Even plain water helps.

bblair

I have tried the soapy water trick and it works. Silca sells a bottle of similar stuff but I have never tried it.

Know what else works? Riding your bike. I had to change a tire one morning while on a multiday tour and the group was leaving. So I just pumped it up and road. Self cure, so don't worry about it.

WhyFi

Newer wheels and newer tires (particularly the higher end ones) have a little tighter specs and will often seat with just a floor pump. Older/mixed combinations? Crapshoot.

MinnMan

Soapy water seems like a good trick.

When I've had this problem in the past (always with wider tires), I've manged to get it right by disinflating and reinflating. Sometimes twice.

eduskator

Old thread revived, but I do sometimes have to go 10-15psi above maximum indicated pressure to seat them. Usually, deflating + reinflating works though.

As long as the soapy water doesn't mix with the sealant and contaminates it, it's a good trick as well.

Psimet2001 

The ;landscape is changing even over the timeframe this thread is from. I am working with a specific tire that I have been told will be formally recalled soon that will simply blow off most hookless rims if even taken to the max pressure listed on the sidewall. They're sitting there saying even 5-10psi over it has a good chance of resulting in a blow-off regardless. They're a major brand.

Some others at least test to 150% of the rated pressure but in these days off hookless the safety factors being used are near criminal if you ask me.

As for the original issue I agree with others that just soaping up the bead would help. otherwise I pull the valve core and inflate rapidly with high pressure from my compressor. If that doesn't work then I lower the pressure and hand-wrestle it into place or use tire pliers. https://www.parktool.com/en-us/produ...e-seater-pts-1

eduskator

Really? Looks to me like the industry may be pushing the limits. Hookless being cheaper to manufacture, I can understand the ''hype'', but safety should always be the priority.

Been a loyal Giant customer for the last 10 years, 4 of these using their hookless rims and I have never had any blowoff or problems on either their Cadex tires or my favorite ones (Schwalbe Pro One). I looked at their testing protocol and they're indeed testing them at 150% for 24h, which is well above the rim and the tire's maximum rated pressure.

Giant Tire Test Protocol | Giant Bicycles Official site (giant-bicycles.com)

Chandne

I always use soapy water right before inflation- on tire and rim bead. Gravel tires seems to set that way at around 35 PSI. Road tires maybe 45.

noimagination

I never, in 50-ish years of riding, experienced this problem until I recently replaced a worn out wheel with a new wheel that was "tubeless-ready". Installing my new tire (new wheels deserve new tires, IMHO) I could see that the bead wasn't even, but I didn't know WTF was going on. I deflated and re-inflated a couple of times, pushing the bead around between deflations and re-inflations and finally, after my last inflation while I was cursing and scratching my head, I heard the bead pop into place. I'm hoping this is a problem with new installs and doesn't happen if I ever have to fix a flat on the road.

Is the problem of the tire bead not seating properly due to:
- the interior shape of tubeless rims, and how that interfaces with the tire bead?
- making rims slightly larger in diameter, because tubeless tires work better if they fit more tightly?
- making tires slightly smaller in diameter than "regular" tires were in the past, and tubeless and "regular" tires are made by the same equipment so "regular" tires are now slightly smaller in diameter too?
- stacking of all of these factors?
- there's no change, I encountered a unicorn?
- aliens?
- other?

Just curious to see if anyone knows.

eduskator

Tubed tires requires higher pressure and have softer sidewalls. Tubeless tires requires lower pressure and have stiffer sidewalls. They are therefore less supple than tubed tires and can be harder to mount on rims for that reason.

From my 5 years of experience using tubeless setups, the initial mounting of a new tire can be tricky. As I said above, I personally don't mind going slightly above the system's maximum pressure (either the tire or the wheel) to properly seat the tire. When that happens, I usually need to pump 5-10PSI over the limit for the tire to properly seat everywhere around the rim. Now, the purists will say ''well, you shouldn't have to go beyond the maximum pressure limit to seat them properly, tubeless is crap!!''. My answer to that is : I do not use soap or lube and this is probably why it's not seating properly at the first place.

Before you all start throwing rocks at me for not respecting the system's maximum pressure limit, keep in mind that tires and rims are tested under high pressure (well over their indicated limits) to make sure they are safe, so going 5-10PSI above limit for a few seconds will not break anything.

bblair

Before you all start throwing rocks at me for not respecting the system's maximum pressure limit, keep in mind that tires and rims are tested under high pressure (well over their indicated limits) to make sure they are safe, so going 5-10PSI above limit for a few seconds will not break anything.[/QUOTE]

Not to mention that I have no idea as to the accuracy of the gauge on my floor pumps. One is a ten year old Joe Blow and the other an original type Silca. Or, whatever a CO2 cartridge inflates to on the road.

rumrunn6

fwiw - my WTB tires can be a bit wobbly so when I mount them I check the line near the bead & instead of going w/ a higher pressure, I massage them into place, so that the line around the bead is even, on both sides

eduskator

Not to mention that I have no idea as to the accuracy of the gauge on my floor pumps. One is a ten year old Joe Blow and the other an original type Silca. Or, whatever a CO2 cartridge inflates to on the road.[/QUOTE]

Can't be that bad, can it?

Read this test protocol and tell me I'm doing something wrong by overinflating my tire 5-10PSI above it's maximum limit for a few seconds

Giant Tire Test Protocol | Giant Bicycles Official site (giant-bicycles.com)

That can also works! Sometimes, all that's needed is some tender loving care.

aliasfox

I would have thought the instantaneous pressure of a rider going over bumps at speed would push the system over the maximum indicated pressure - ie, bump compresses tire, reducing overall volume, internal pressure goes up; tire passes bump, pressure returns to normal.

In which case, I would imagine exceeding the max listed on the sidewall to seat the tire (with no other stresses on the tire) would be fine, provided the overpressure was released before riding. That said, I’m not a mechanical engineer, so maybe someone else should opine…