Technique for mounting a tire with lever

"Arthur Harris" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Here's my question: When using a lever to mount a tire, should the lever
be used in the same orientation as when removing a tire

Depends on the shape of the lever. Choose an orientation that minimizes the
risk of pinching the tube and also lets you slip the lever in and out easily.
If you have trouble with your current levers, try the Crank Brothers tool which
works very well for both on and off.

Arthur Harris said:

Normally, I can mount a tire without using tire levers. But my Torelli
Master rim is a real bear. Tires that would easily flop onto my old rim now
require extreme effort.

I finally reached for my old steel tire levers. I got the tire on, but (you
guessed it) I pinched the tube in the process.

Here's my question: When using a lever to mount a tire, should the lever be
used in the same orientation as when removing a tire (i.e., with the tip of
the lever curled upward to engage the tire bead)? Or should the tip be
curled downward to engage the rim? I had it tipped downward when I pinched
the tube. Today, I tried with the tip curled upward, and was able to get the
last bit on the rim without pinching the tube. But that seems backwards
(maybe I was just lucky).

I think the problem is that when I get to the point where the bead is almost
all on, there's not enough room to fit the lever inside to push the tube up
inside the tire.

Make sure you aren't making it harder by not centering the rest of the
tire's bead in the center of the rim (to give a little more clearance
for the last little bit of bead to go on). Normally any tire WILL go
on without a lever, though it might be a bit hard on the skin of your
palms. ;-)

If I have to resort to using a lever to put on a tire (mainly out of
laziness rather than necessity), I'll normall "work the gap around"
the wheel 1/4 turn. That will ensure that the tube is inside the tire
and not gapped between the rim and bead (since it was already inside
that portion before you worked the gap around to it.

Then I'll insert the tire tool "upside down" (compared to the
alignment when removing a tire), pushing up and inward much further
than the bead to make doubly sure the tube's been pushed out of the
way. Then, align the edge of the tool as close to the rim as possible
(to avoid the tube) and lever it on carefully. Normally it only takes
one "lever's worth" and you'll be able to push the rest on with your
thumb.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

search for prestone silicone lube in woolmort and read in tech archives
DIY Tire Removal 2
DIY tire removal

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mark Hickey said:

If I have to resort to using a lever to put on a tire (mainly out of
laziness rather than necessity), I'll normall "work the gap around"
the wheel 1/4 turn. That will ensure that the tube is inside the tire
and not gapped between the rim and bead (since it was already inside
that portion before you worked the gap around to it.

omg, that's brilliant! i'm sorry if everyone in the world but me
already knew this, but getting that last bit of tube between the
beads of the tire has been the bane of my existence (i don't get
out much) for years!

thanks for making fieldswaps that much less stressful.

hg

On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 13:44:30 -0400, "Arthur Harris" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Normally, I can mount a tire without using tire levers. But my Torelli
Master rim is a real bear. Tires that would easily flop onto my old rim now
require extreme effort.

I finally reached for my old steel tire levers. I got the tire on, but (you
guessed it) I pinched the tube in the process.

Here's my question: When using a lever to mount a tire, should the lever be
used in the same orientation as when removing a tire (i.e., with the tip of
the lever curled upward to engage the tire bead)? Or should the tip be
curled downward to engage the rim? I had it tipped downward when I pinched
the tube. Today, I tried with the tip curled upward, and was able to get the
last bit on the rim without pinching the tube. But that seems backwards
(maybe I was just lucky).

I think the problem is that when I get to the point where the bead is almost
all on, there's not enough room to fit the lever inside to push the tube up
inside the tire.

Art Harris

Hi Art, Kool Stop makes a real nice tool for putting tires on. If the
tire is a 700x23, then take a look at this tool:
http://www.thebiketool.com/en/

The Kool Stop is nice because it will work on all different sized
tires. Although it is a bit large to carry, but not huge.

Life is Good!
Jeff

Mark Hickey said:

Make sure you aren't making it harder by not centering the rest of the
tire's bead in the center of the rim (to give a little more clearance
for the last little bit of bead to go on). Normally any tire WILL go
on without a lever, though it might be a bit hard on the skin of your
palms. ;-)

That helps, but this Torelli rim is just oversize. I've experienced tight
tire/rim combinations in the past, but this is beyond anything I've seen.
And it's not the fault of the tire which goes on my other rims with no
effort at all.

Quoted message said:

If I have to resort to using a lever to put on a tire (mainly out of
laziness rather than necessity), I'll normall "work the gap around"
the wheel 1/4 turn. That will ensure that the tube is inside the tire
and not gapped between the rim and bead (since it was already inside
that portion before you worked the gap around to it.

Very clever! I'll try that.

Quoted message said:

Then I'll insert the tire tool "upside down" (compared to the
alignment when removing a tire), pushing up and inward much further
than the bead to make doubly sure the tube's been pushed out of the
way. Then, align the edge of the tool as close to the rim as possible
(to avoid the tube) and lever it on carefully. Normally it only takes
one "lever's worth" and you'll be able to push the rest on with your
thumb.

Thanks for the hints. I'll have to work on my technique some more. I'd hate
to get stranded for something as trivial as a flat tire! I have the Crank
Brothers tool, which works fine for "normal" tires/rims (where you don't
really need it anyway). But it would never survive the situation I've got
now.

Art Harris

"Arthur Harris" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Normally, I can mount a tire without using tire levers. But my Torelli
Master rim is a real bear. Tires that would easily flop onto my old rim
now require extreme effort.

I finally reached for my old steel tire levers. I got the tire on, but
(you guessed it) I pinched the tube in the process.

OK, sure enough those Torelli rims are WAY too tight and even Sheldon would
have to use a tire lever.

I use the black plastic ones that come in the red cover.

Getting the tire on as well as you can by hand (and I DO mean "as well as
you can"😉 try to make certain the the innertube is completely within the rim
and the tire bead that you already have on.

Then insert the lever in the center of the portion that isn't mounted
(because by this time it's too tight to lift this is something of a learned
skill). Slide the lever as far as you can to the edge of the unmounted
portion. This gets you as close as you can to the portion where the tube is
most assuredly inside the tire bead. Then sort of lever the bean on and roll
the lever so that the bead rolls on and the lever pops out with the tip
facing towards the mounted section. Do this over and over until you only
have an inch or two left and then you can push the rest on by hand.

You have to look very carefully around between the tire and rim before you
inflate the tire to make sure there's no tube under any section of the bead.

It requires a little practice but once learned you can generally mount a
tire on even a Torelli rim without pinching the tube. However, the tires are
often so tight that you will break a lever. That's why there's three and not
two. If you break a lever off and lose the tip inside the tire you have to
dismount it and get that out unless you want a flat in the next mile.

Have fun.

On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 13:44:30 -0400 "Arthur Harris" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Here's my question: When using a lever to mount a tire, should the lever be
used in the same orientation as when removing a tire (i.e., with the tip of
the lever curled upward to engage the tire bead)? Or should the tip be
curled downward to engage the rim?

I understand the question, but the way I was taught was to just use
the irons to remove the tire, and use your hands only, when installing
the tire. Yes, with some tires it can take strong thumbs, but the
chances of a pinch are nil.

-
-----------------------------------------------
Jim Adney [email hidden]
Madison, WI 53711 USA
-----------------------------------------------

"A Muzi" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Monk wrote:
> This was so timely. I got Zipp wheels yesterday (clinchers), mounted
> two new tunes and two Conti Grand Priz with about 200 miles on them.
> Inflated, went to bed, woke up, went out to admire my bike and remove
> the obnoxious Zipp decals, and both tubes had blown and blew out the
> sidewalls of the tires above the steel beads. $100 gone, and all no
> doubt due to "user error". Yes, I put them on with levers, and they
> were tight.

Quoted message said:

A Muzi said:

It's common to catch the edge of the tube under a tight tire bead as
others have noted in this thread. Likely, that's what happened here.
You're only out 2 tubes, not $100.

Peter said:

He says above that the tire sidewalls blew out, so he'd be out the cost
of tires as well. What's puzzling is how the use of the levers would
have damaged the tire sidewalls. Any guesses?
Monk, to what pressure did you inflate the tires?

I'm incredulous, assuming he had just overreacted.
If indeed two casings ripped simultaneously that odd event probably is
unrelated to his technique.

So, Monk, on closer inspection do you actually have two ripped casings?

He said "above the steel beads," which seems to infer that the bead and
sidewall are now separated.

I had a similar experience on an MTB wheel. Went to class, both tire and
tube blew within manuf pressure spec, was out $50. I've not seen this
happen again to myself or anybody else since (about 2 years ago). I never
really knew how common or uncommon this was, or if this was a typical
failure mode of overinflation.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Yes, Two ripped casings, Here is a pic:

http://img109.echo.cx/my.php?image=pics1599gi.jpg

Monk said:

Thanks Andrew--the sidewalls of the tires are blown out--not just the
tubes.

Sorry.
Any pictures?
That's a decidedly unusual failure.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Well, it was some kind of dumbo user error for sure 🙂
So this thread was timely--as someone recommended, I will chase the gap
around the wheel to make sure the tube is inside before I muscle the
tire on--I mean lovingly coax it on.

01 May 2005 21:47:01 -0700 Peter said:

He says above that the tire sidewalls blew out, so he'd be out the cost
of tires as well. What's puzzling is how the use of the levers would
have damaged the tire sidewalls. Any guesses?

I'm guessing that he doesn't really know that the tires themselves are
damaged, but that he just found the bead outside the rim and that's
what he meant by "blew out."

OTOH, it is certainly possible to be "ham-handed" and tear the casing
with a tire iron where it wraps under the bead.

Just another reason not to use irons to mount a tire.

-
-----------------------------------------------
Jim Adney [email hidden]
Madison, WI 53711 USA
-----------------------------------------------

On Mon, 02 May 2005 21:52:11 GMT, Werehatrack <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Someone else will doubtless point out the urgent need to have the
tubes partly inflated to reduce the likelihood of a pinch, so I won't.

I didn't think it'd be necessary to say it, but that works well for me.

Jasper