chaadster

For perspective, there have been variations on tire levers, bead jacks, tire pliers and the like ever since I can remember, going back to the ‘80s, which tells us the problem of tight tires is not new at all. Has it gotten worse recently? Perhaps; as noted, there is the need for tight tolerances with tubeless, but also the variety of tires and rim designs is greater than it has ever been before, and there are more people putting them all together than ever before, too.

Bassmanbob

OMG! Want!!! Just take my money! Just take it! go ahead!

kahn

Back ordered. I guess the plastic supply chain needs a new quick link!

N2deep

Wow, I feel your pain. I have the same rims and the 5Ks are tight, especially if you have the trek tubeless tapes installed. I tried multiple designs of the suggested tool and they were not a lot of help. I did learn to work the slack out of the tire during installation. Also I never start or finish close to the stem as it increases the risk of damaging the tube.

There is a tool that I find helpful due to the shape and size, a Wolftooth. The tool is approx. .5" wide and has a nice radiused curve to the end that"s easy to insert and safer for the tube. This tool works like a normal tire tool but it doubles as a chain link tool and holds a couple spare quick links.
Best Regards

tcs

Wishing them all the best with this "better mousetrap", but I'm interested that after 130 years of wire bead tires the inventor thinks at least some part of the Tyre Glider is novel, original and patentable (their website says 'patent pending'.)

fooferdoggie 

they are printed it looks like I don't think you can get the detail otherwise.

fooferdoggie 

here is another source.
https://tyreglider.co.uk/product/pur...he-tyre-lever/

drlogik 

Gadgets like those come along every few years. Many years ago VAR came out with a cool tire tool and it worked well until it didn't. They would break after a year or so. I guess the plastic wasn't very resilient. That Crank Brothers tool is just another re-incarnation of the original VAR tool.

I keep it simple. I find the thinnest, stoutest and smoothest tire iron and use that. Lately I found Pedro's to be pretty good, although I sand down the edge, the corners and buff the end. With the Pedro's and an old toe strap I can mount any tire quickly, even Challenge tires which are notoriously tight and difficult to mount without pre-stretching.

rekmeyata

More and more tires are being made to be tubeless compatible, and like one poster mentioned, they are a pain in the arse to mount because they have to be tight to get the best possible seal. I do not have a tubeless set up and nor will I ever go that route, but I did have to put on a pair of Schwalbe Almotion tires on my touring bike and they were designed for a tubeless set up, I got them on without too much trouble, my hands hurt afterwards but I got them on. I did put the tires in my car with the windows up on a 80 degree day, and about 3 hours later they were quite hot, I then put the tire in both hands on one end, and around my feet on the opposite end and pulled as hard as I could, then put them on.

The other thing I forgot to mention to help put them on is baby powder, put baby powder on the sidewalls and they will allow the tire to slide on like soapy water will do. In fact, if you coat the tube with the baby powder it will also allow the tube to slide into the center rim channel a lot easier which will also help get the tire on.

rekmeyata

The VAR breaks after a year or so? Maybe with improper use they do, but mine are at least 25 years old!

I also use the Soma Steel Core tire lever, they don't break in the cold like plastic ones like the Pedro's can; only issue with the Soma Steel Core levers is the plastic coating will wear off after about 10 years, but they're cheap so who cares? A person could recoat the Soma levers if they really want to be cheap with a product sold at home improvement places called Plasti Dip, but this product won't hold up as well as the original plastic that was on the Soma levers. The Soma levers are only $10 for a pair.

70sSanO

I have a couple of blue VAR levers, but I have a gray one from the late 80’s.

John

rekmeyata

Mine is gray; mine also came with a flat lever that fit inside the VAR opening which I have never used because I just use other tire levers I already have, plus that tire lever is wide and doesn't work good at all for road tires.

chaadster

I came across this site, Rehook.Bike, selling the Tyre Glider as the ReHook Tyre Glider, and they have a video interview with the inventor posted Feb. 2, ‘22. I suppose he licensed rights to ReHook, but I’m not sure what the relationship of the two companies actually is. It also appears there are some construction differences in terms of the molding, with the red Tyre Glider looking much cleaner in the pictures compared to the blue ReHook which has more visible roughness and molding marks, even though it’s about a quid more in price even at their discounted “early bird” pricing, and nearly £3 more at frontline pricing.

I found it mildly troubling that the inventor flubbed his first go with the tool in the video, but then, this is a guy who said a 3 week tire change ordeal spurred him to create Tyre Glider. His logo sweats are kinda nice, though.

chaadster

I guess I was deceived by the pics, because my TyreGlider-direct tools came today, and they’re red, but have the same molding marks as the blue ReHooks above, so they’re probably the same aside from color.



Tyre Glider tire tools

drlogik 

I used them back in the late 70's and early 80's when I worked in a couple of different bike shops. They weren't abused, they were used constantly every day in the shop. We liked them because we could hook them on our pants pocket and have handy. They were the gray model with the lever that fits inside but we didn't use that, just the tag end of the main tool. That is what would snap off after heavy use.

chaadster

Granted I’m a steely vet now— this vid is my third go with the tool!— but TyreGlider works as-described, and is truly efficient to use. It doesn’t save me a meaningful amount of time necessarily— I’m rushing out the door now, so no time to film a comparison vid— but it does make it no-brainer easy to peel a tire and get the new one one, so I don’t have to deal with fumbling two levers, and I can shelve all the little tricks and techniques for working with traditional levers.

I will make a vid tonight using a couple of levers, just for comparison.

fooferdoggie 

exactly. man I have been having such a hard time with flats this makes it not a problem anymore. plus its kinda cool.

chaadster

Okay, well-- haha!-- I just went through a tire changing ordeal, and I'll summarize it to say that Tyre Glider is not a toolbox-killing miracle tool. It works for what it does, but it does not do everything that might need done when mounting and removing tires.

I was sitting on a pair of new American Classic Timekeeper tires which I wanted to put on some on old American Classic Victory30 wheels, and getting the TyreGlider provided the perfect opportunity. The Timekeepers are "tubeless ready" models, but I was planning to put some Aerothan tubes in 'em just because I don't really need another pair of tubeless wheels to look after. I mean, I've run them tubeless in the past, but the bike and this wheelset only get ridden for a couple of months in the spring and few rides in the winter, so it sits a lot, out of sight and out of mind.

Anyhoo, the Timekeepers were crazy tight on the V30s. Like so tight, I couldn't even get the first bead on without a lever. I tried the TG, but the Glider failed as tool for getting the first bead on whereas a regular lever was ace.

In the end, I wound up setting up the TKs tubeless, because the tube didn't seem able to get the beads properly seated. They went up fine tubeless, though, but they're so tight, besides being probably impossible to get a tube in there properly, they may not be worst-case-field-tube-able without a TG. I do have a Stan's Dart plug tool for that bike, so I should be good.

Also, the TG scraped and damaged some of my wheel decals. The lower leading edge and backside edges coud probably use some chamferig.

So yeah, don't throw away your tire levers if you get a Glider, because you might need one sometime!

fooferdoggie 

yes I doubt one tool will do everything. though we always hope for that magical tool.

Calsun

The Crank Brothers tool works very well though I use it only to break the bead at one point of the tire and then work the rest of the way with only my hands. The videos show it being used to go around the entire tire bead but it is not really necessary for any road or mountain bike tire of mine.

zandoval 

OK 3D Printer Folks.... Who's got the .stl

bbbean 

Looks like it would catch and tear a latex tube.

Zylar

I need to order one of this. Looks great.

dieselgoat

I finally gave in and took them to the shop to let them mount 'em. I told them to mount them tubeless if they wanted to, because I didn't think they were gonna get a tube in there. They sent me a video later of one of the tires seeping sealant through the sidewall. They said at least that one tire was defective. I got them off eBay. The seller is offering me a full refund. Probably gonna have to try another brand or just not get a tubeless tire.

This is the pic of it. I've got a video of it.

sean.hwy

I have this and didn't find it all that useful.

This tool has been great thoughkool stop