38+. slicks that are easier to mount

[Brian Herrick]

Hey gang--

I have some 40mm gravel king slicks that i run with tubes on my Sam. I love them, but they are so difficult to get on and off the rims. Does anyone have recommendations for similar tires that aren't so hard to mount? Are the Renee Herse equivalents in this range less difficult?

Thanks--

Brian

[Nick A.]

Hi Brian, what rims are you running? I received a Tire Glider from a good friend and it kind of eliminated the issue of mounting tubed tires.

Nick in Falls Church VA

[michael stallman]

I have found replacing the thick cloth/velox rim tape with tubeless tape makes it much easier to mount a tight bead. 

michael

[Brian Herrick]

They're velocity Atlas rims. Maybe a thinner tape is the solution.

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[Bernard Duhon]

Anyone else has used the tire glider

It is worth the try. 

I am about ready to give away a set of wheels for mounting difficulty!!!

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

---

From: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com <rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Brian Herrick <bherr...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, November 6, 2026 6:49 AM
To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com <rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [RBW] Re: 38+. slicks that are easier to mount

 

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[Kesler Roberts]

I have the tire glider and it works well once you figure it out.  Operator error let me to slash a tube in the process once.  I also have the Kool Stop tire jack and have been happy with it too, though it has some tire width limitations.

[Will Boericke]

Thinner tape is absolutely a must.  People are still using Velox?  You do get used to mounting new tires on new rims with practice; it's definitely different from the old days and requires more thought.  I don't think you'll find tires with a looser bead, as they would be bad for tubeless.  

[Garth]

Schwalbe Marathon Racers are very easily mounted by hand, off with just a nudge by a single tire lever.  Officially 622-40, marketed as 38's I think, 39mm actual on 19-21mm inner width rims. One rim has velox, the other a Scwhalbe rim strip, and it make no difference on a non-tubeless rims, a Mavic A719 and a Rhyno Lite.  The Racers weigh about 490 grams, wire bead. If you're wondering about "supple", I have no idea what anyone means by that as I've switched from the Racer to 50mm Big Bens, then to  a supposedly "supple" Vittoria Terreno XC Race(very thin 120tpi casing) 52mm tire at a low 23 psi, and while they were a little smoother over incredibly rough roads that had the top layer removed and left miles of irregular rumble-strip-like mania over the entire road, the difference was not enough to "wow" me on that surface. or on regular gravel. On smooth pavement I wish I had the 39mm Racers as I don't care what anyone says about "wider tire=less rolling resistance", the 52mm Terreno XC Race tires isn't as fast rolling over smooth pavement as the Racer. The Vittoria tan sidewall and big bold lettering are awesome looking though. Conversely, a 39mm tire just isn't going to smooth out really chattery surfaces no matter how it's made. There's no replacement for displacment in that regard. So the Marathon Racer is good enough for me knowing what conditions I'm riding for the day, and it lasts a long time and is very puncture resistant from the Raceguard fabric strip. 

That said, I think I'm quite partial to European brands of tires ! 

[Laing Conley]

I use Velo Plugs instead of tape, they help. Grant mentioned them in the September Blahg. The Velo Plugs are also reusable - a consideration for me as I swap and re-lace rims all the time. I haven't used tape in years. Note that I have never viewed tubeless as a valid alternative - too many bikes. Of course, I have no idea what a goathead nor a pinch flat is, so those are not a consideration for me. Plus tubeless sealant seems to be an environmental issue - off gassing, etc. 

Laing Conley 

Delray Beach FL

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[Peter Adler]

I will note that the mounting/removal instructions on the website for Tyre Glider (a British company) are primarily in videos. Those videos cannot be viewed unless you approve all cookies, including the ones that allow Tyre Glider to sell your contact information to whomever will pay them for it. That's a really customer-hostile position as far as I'm concerned.

I suppose I should be grateful that they say "PLEASE let us sell your info to people we aren't going to disclose to you, for purposes unknown". They are British, after all.

I saw the "install" video on an eBay listing, but I haven't seen the "remove" video. There's a text description, but it's all in British talk - there are unexplained gaps that would be more meaningful in video. But it's a hard pass on giving some foreign company I only found out about in this thread mandatory access to my info, in violation of California state privacy regulations. I haven't decided yet whether I'm mad enough to email them and read them the riot act about it.

Can anyone tell us how this device works?

Peter Adler

always in search of ways to overcome the limits of fingers that don't work as well as they once did, in

Berkeley, California

On Thursday, November 5, 2026 at 8:24:28 PM UTC-8 Nick A. wrote:

[Steve]

They this for a 'how to use' Tire Glider video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68BJoa4Tn1A

Steve in AVL

[Brian Herrick]

I ended up removing the rim tape to discover that my velocity wheels already had veloplugs! I installed the tires that previously gave me fits in about 30 seconds. What a huge difference! Lesson learned!

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