I use a slightly different method than my namesake that I believe gives a little more forgiveness with a very tight tire.
Start with one bead on and enough air in the tube to give it some shape. I (being right handed) start mounting the second bead just to the left of the valve, and go around the wheel to the left. The very *last* section to snap over will be right at the valve. Release a little air from the tube as you go if it gets too hard to push the bead over the rim. It you get stuck at the last few inches, release *all* of the air from the tube. Now, starting opposite the valve, push the second bead of the tire away from the rim flange so it can drop into the middle of the rim where the diameter is the smallest. Work as much slack as possible towards the stem on both sides. Then, as you push the last bit of the bead over the rim and just before it snaps down, push the valve stem up into the tire so that it lifts the tube and the tire can slip down beneath the valve without pinching the tube. That sounds a little complicated, but it gives you the absolute most slack you can get in the tire. This method lets me mount pretty much any tire without using a lever, and without pinch flats. This technique did not originate with me, I got it from a pictogram on the box of a stupidly skinny and tight Michelin tire back in the 80's. Years ago I described it in a letter that was published in a Riv Reader. It still works. Bill On Feb 28, 12:13 pm, William <tapebu...@gmail.com> wrote: > There are some rim/tire combinations that are tighter than others. In > my experience, folding tires have a little more give than metal bead > tires, so even if the tire is a touch undersized and/or the rim is a > touch oversized, you can still make it work. Snakebite in the > situation you describe is absolutely you catching a fold of tube > between the tire lever and the rim. The number 1 best way to avoid > that is to never use a tire lever. Fortunately for me, with my > current set of bikes, I can put on and take off all my various tires > using only my hands. When I worked at the bike shop it was probably > about 2% of tire/rim combos that I needed to use a tire lever. Here's > the way I do tight tires (this warrants a youtube): > > 1. Put one bead of the tire on the rim using only your hands. No > tube. Can you do this? If so, then there's no reason you can't get > the other bead on without a tire lever, but we'll get to that. > 2. Put enough air in the tire that it is tube shaped. Start at the > valve stem and nudge it in over the rim without even starting to get > the second tire bead on. The more air you have in the tube the bigger > diameter the tube will be. If you have too much, you'll end up > scrunching tube inside the tire, and that's really bad. If you have > too little, the tube will be closer to the diameter of the rim and > will be down there in the neighborhood of where it's going to get > nipped by your tire lever, and that's also bad. In other words, put > as much air in the tube as you can without getting it to scrunch on > itself when you are stuffing it inside the tire. > 3. Start at the valve stem and get the bead onto the rim and UNDER > the thicker disk of rubber around the valve stem. Work around the > rim, both ways if you can, one hand in one direction, one hand in the > other. If you can't do that, then go two-handed in one direction. > Make a point of getting that bead into the center of the rim as best > as you can. > 4. When it starts to get tight, and you can go no further with your > hands, DO NOT start with a tire lever yet. Instead, take the bead > back out, about a 12" section. Like when you are facing it, remove a > 12" section of bead on the left. Then, from the RIGHT, you should be > able to push on a similar 12" section before it gets tight. This gets > you an unseated tire section with the tube shoved as far over the rim > as possible. > 5. Now, this last section that you can't do with your hands you have > to do with the lever. As you shove the lever up between the rim and > the tire, make a conscious effort to scrape the lever against the > sidewall of the rim, so the tube cannot possibly get nipped between > lever and rim. Try to walk it over a few mm at a time with a single > lever. Try to hold the other end of the gap in place with your other > hand. Only if you can't hold it in with your other hand should you > use a second tire lever to keep that end of the bead from walking > out. > 6. Eventually you'll feel that you are at the last bit and you should > be able to pop that last section in with your thumbs. You should be > able to peek into the rim and confirm there are no folds of tube under > the tire bead. > > On Feb 28, 11:02 am, Minh <mgiangs...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > I have a really dumb tire question for the collective, i'm asking > > because i'm dumb-founded and need help. > > > I spent my saturday waiting for the plumber swapping tires around on > > my bikes. Schwalbe Marathon + 700x25 went on the go-fast bike. They > > were a bear to get seated, and then on, but i was eventually able to > > get them on and holding air, ride is not too bad for 25s. > > > Put a Schwalbe Marathon + 700x35 on the rear of my Sam H, not as bad > > as the 25's, almost able to do the last bit with my hands only. > > > Now for the problem, i took what was on my Sam H, a Vredstein 700x35 > > touring tire and put it on the front of my cruiser. THe front wheel > > is an araya rim-no-name wheel. I was running a 700x25 which was > > working fine but wanted the bigger tire. Anyway, the mounting is > > really tough for a 700x35--these went on easy on the Sam so maybe it's > > just this rim, but the bigger issue is that i've pinch flat three > > tubes while trying to mount this tire. I don't believe it's an issue > > with the rim or something sharp in the tire as all the flats are the > > snake bite pattern and seem to be in different areas of the wheel. > > And it's not a case of under-inflating and riding them, they're either > > not holding air, or holding it briefly then airing out. > > > I thought i knew how to change tubes/tires (i just did 4 last month, > > when i built these bikes up) Any ideas before i try another tube? I > > can't figure out what i'm missing and it's getting expensive! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. 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