Cheap tire tool
carl...@comcast.net
blister my thumbs (and the ears of anyone nearby) because I push on
the sidewall to get the tire bead to come out.
Yes, tricks involving soap, water, varying the tire pressure, and so
forth also pop the tire bead out, but I'm too impatient and always
imagine that my thumbs won't blister. (They do--it just takes about
ten minutes for the blisters to form.)
Anyway,Park Tool makes a tire-bead seater/helper/puller, the PTS-1:
http://stores.channeladvisor.com/ebikestop/items/04-TL8252
But a Park Tire Seater Tool is over $40 with shipping. Besides, I
wanted one right now, before my temper cooled.
Harbor Freight sells a similar tool online. It's for grabbing pipes,
and the store five minutes from my house had it in stock for $6:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94077
I clamped the Harbor Freight pipe pliers in a vise and spent a few
minutes rounding off their edges with a half-round file:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=36990
(Often on sale for much less--rotating in two planes can be very
helpful.)
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=40207
(whatever's cheapest)
Even with blistered thumbs, the lightly modified pipe pliers work
well. They're very sturdy, and their dimensions seem almost designed
for grabbing 700c tires and pulling reluctant beads out of their
burrows.
Cheers,
Carl Fogel
funkbastler
>
>Even with blistered thumbs, the lightly modified pipe pliers work
>well. They're very sturdy, and their dimensions seem almost designed
>for grabbing 700c tires and pulling reluctant beads out of their
>burrows.
>
<jaw dropping>
OK.... I haven't done any bike riding since 27X1-1/8 was the tire size
to have (that's about 30 years ago)... Is this a common problem with
tires now? Now - I just bought a bike (time to get back in shape lest
I die at too early an age) - am I gonna need special tools to go along
with tire levers if I get a flat? Should I even bother with levers and
just go for it with the pliers? Sew-ups used to be a PITA, are clinchers
just as bad now?
<looking for jaw on floor>
--
-fb-
carl...@comcast.net
Dear FB,
No, I change bicycle tires with my hands. Many posters find it quicker
and easier to use small tire levers. Some report even breaking tire
levers on really badly matched small-tire/large-rim combinations.
But I do hate seeing a little section of the tire bead hiding down in
the rim. Many rim and tire combinations seat the bead easily, but I
keep running into this annoyance. Other posters occasionally mention
this problem and offer solutions.
If your tires seat easily, there's no problem.
But I don't want to use soapy water to let the bead slip out more
easily.
And I don't want to fuss with raising and lowering the tire pressure
and squeezing the sidewalls until I blister my thumbs.
I don't even want to hope that fully inflating the tire and riding on
it will pop the bead out.
I just want the stupid bead out where it ought to be, which is why
Park Tool makes a bead seater and why I ran a file over a $6 pair of
pipe pliers.
Cheers,
Carl Fogel
o...@ozarkbicycleservice.com
Pick up your jaw and stop worrying. For 99+% of tire/rim combinations,
that Park Tool or it's generic equivalant are massive overkill and
completely unnecessary.
For most cases, something like a Crank Bros. "Speed Lever" (small and
light enough to take on your bike and less than $10) does the job just
fine. Others will chime in with their favorite tool, too, I'm sure.
Forget the pliers!
Jeff Starr
<funkb...@eudoramail.com> wrote:
Hi, as Ozark said, most tire/wheel combinations are managable by hand
to install and by plastic tire levers to remove. Sometimes that first
install can be a bit of work, to avoid it, get a Kool Stop Tire Bead
Jack. Click on link, scroll to bottom of page:
http://www.koolstop.com/Accessories/index.html
I like the Kool Stop because you can use it with various sized tires.
For 700x23 there is the "Easy Hand":
http://www.thebiketool.com/en/
The Easy Hand is small enough to carry in a underseat bag. The Bead
Jack is a bit larger. Although I don't carry either one. But if I ran
into a difficult tire, I would then take the Easy Hand along.
If misused, the pliers could possibly do some damage.
Life is Good!
Jeff
Smokey
Count me in as another vote for the Crank Bros. Speed Lever. I've got
one and it's one of the handiest tools in my box.
Smokey
landotter
carl...@comcast.net wrote:
> I have no trouble changing my tires with my hands, but now and then I
> blister my thumbs (and the ears of anyone nearby) because I push on
> the sidewall to get the tire bead to come out.
I use the heel of my hand to mount that last bit o' bead. Much better
than getting sore opposables.
o...@ozarkbicycleservice.com
Jeff Starr wrote:
> On Wed, 06 Sep 2006 17:30:40 -0500, funkbastler
> <funkb...@eudoramail.com> wrote:
>
> >On Wed, 06 Sep 2006 16:05:04 -0600, carl...@comcast.net wrote:
> >
> >>
> >>Even with blistered thumbs, the lightly modified pipe pliers work
> >>well. They're very sturdy, and their dimensions seem almost designed
> >>for grabbing 700c tires and pulling reluctant beads out of their
> >>burrows.
> >>
> >
> ><jaw dropping>
> >
> >OK.... I haven't done any bike riding since 27X1-1/8 was the tire size
> >to have (that's about 30 years ago)... Is this a common problem with
> >tires now? Now - I just bought a bike (time to get back in shape lest
> >I die at too early an age) - am I gonna need special tools to go along
> >with tire levers if I get a flat? Should I even bother with levers and
> >just go for it with the pliers? Sew-ups used to be a PITA, are clinchers
> >just as bad now?
> >
> ><looking for jaw on floor>
>
> Hi, as Ozark said, most tire/wheel combinations are managable by hand
> to install and by plastic tire levers to remove.
Actually, the Speed Lever has a nice installation tool, too. Probably
not the best choice for the real toughies, but a great choice for 90+%
of tire/rim combos. It helps prevent pinching the tube between the rim
and the tire bead and it doesn't damage the tube, the two biggest
bugaboos for those who don't change out a lot of tires or fix a lot of
flats.
> Sometimes that first
> install can be a bit of work, to avoid it, get a Kool Stop Tire Bead
> Jack. Click on link, scroll to bottom of page:
> http://www.koolstop.com/Accessories/index.html
>
> I like the Kool Stop because you can use it with various sized tires.
> For 700x23 there is the "Easy Hand":
> http://www.thebiketool.com/en/
>
I've heard lots of good things about the Bead Jack, but never have had
occasion to use one.
> The Easy Hand is small enough to carry in a underseat bag. The Bead
> Jack is a bit larger. Although I don't carry either one. But if I ran
> into a difficult tire, I would then take the Easy Hand along.
>
The Easy Hand looks interesting (I've never seen one). Seems that that
design could be built onto "the other end" of a tire lever.
> If misused, the pliers could possibly do some damage.
>
The pliers are like bringing a heavy cruiser to a fireman's muster.
Overkill and a bit dangerous.
Werehatrack
>I have no trouble changing my tires with my hands, but now and then I
>blister my thumbs (and the ears of anyone nearby) because I push on
>the sidewall to get the tire bead to come out.
Two words: Tire levers.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.
Paul Hobson
Worry not. I can get my 700x25C Continentals on and off of my typical
v-sectioned rims with *one* steel-cored tire lever (and I'm not
particularly good at it).
\\paul
--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
.:change the f to ph to reply:.
Earl Bollinger
news:97guf292anr7ftgs0...@4ax.com...
I never had any problems. But when I am tired, I have some tire irons I use
to make it easier.
I only know of some riders having problems with Continental tires going on
extra hard and coming off even harder, apparently Continental makes some of
their tires a little smaller in diameter.
I really have no idea what the heck I need a tool like that pair of pliers
with tubing bits welded to it.
I have never encountered a tire bead stuck that hard before.
RonSonic
wrote:
Sun Rhinolyte rims (however they spell that) and any kevlar bead tires. I feared
for my steel Brooks levers. The rim is bombproof, but completely lacks a valley
for the tire to drop into on the side away from your removal.
Ron
carl...@comcast.net
Since a few replies seem confused, I'll repeat that the problem is not
getting the tire on or off.
The problem is that once the tire is back on, the bead doesn't pop out
and become visible all the way around both rims--a few stubborn
sections remain stuck a little way down in the rim well.
CF
landotter
carl...@comcast.net wrote:
> Since a few replies seem confused, I'll repeat that the problem is not
> getting the tire on or off.
>
> The problem is that once the tire is back on, the bead doesn't pop out
> and become visible all the way around both rims--a few stubborn
> sections remain stuck a little way down in the rim well.
>
> CF
TBH, I've never ever had that happen on the myriad of high pressure
tires and wheels I've owned. With lower pressure stuff, I bounce the
sucker a bit after inflation. Any naughty places just pop into place.
No thumbs needed, just gravity, or are you some kind of high falutin
interstellar velocipede rider?
carl...@comcast.net
Dear LO,
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.tech/msg/67c20e34a05c16d1?hl=en&
Cheers,
Carl Fogel
landotter
Yup, a little extra psi is the way to go. I wouldn't trust the rims on
my momma's shopping bike to hold 100psi, though.
http://static.flickr.com/23/33474601_bfef7c7a17_o.jpg It gets the
bouncy bounce treatment.
Werehatrack
>The problem is that once the tire is back on, the bead doesn't pop out
>and become visible all the way around both rims--a few stubborn
>sections remain stuck a little way down in the rim well.
Sounds like either the rim or the tire's not quite the right size.
OTOH, I've found that inflating twice usually gets them seated nicely
when this happens to me.
Earl Bollinger
news:r3q0g2tfs12alnm4c...@4ax.com...
I think I see what you are talking about. You are using the tool as a aid in
getting the bead to set evenly all around the rim.
yeah I can see that as being useful.
Would this still be a problem in the field, if you had to fix a flat?
Earl Bollinger
Well I got to thinking (yes that is dangerous), one only needs to take a
pair of channel lock pliers and braze or weld on a couple of pieces of steel
tubing like shown.
Although curved tubing would work best, flat pieces would probably work too.
Heck when I think about it, just use the channel lock pliers, I don't think
one really needs the tubing all that much.
carl...@comcast.net
Dear Earl,
Well, I've averaged twenty flats per year since 1996 and 2006 isn't
over yet. So yes, it's annoying in the field, too.
Sometimes the tire seats happily, sometimes low pressure and pressing
the sidewalls with my thumbs works nicely, sometimes I pump the tire
up and hear a satisfying pop as the bead comes out and seats,
sometimes I say to hell with it and hope that the bead works out as I
ride home.
I can remove and install my tires with my fingers, so they're hardly a
tight fit. If the bead is low enough in one place, high pressure can
cause a stretchy Kevlar-bead tire to come off on the other side of the
rim, followed by a loud bang.
I didn't hear a loud bang Tuesday night after I replaced a slow-leak
tube with three goathead thorn punctures. But I must have carelessly
missed a part of the bead that wasn't in place. Wednesday morning, the
tire was flat, there was a two-inch rip in the burst tube, and I had
to wipe green Slime off things.
I've seen a tire starting to creep off a rim a few times and let the
air out in time to avoid disaster, but this was slower. I may just
have slightly undersize rims or slightly oversize tires, but the
problem happens often enough that the Park Tool company makes a tool
to solve it for about $40. My $6 Harbor Freight pliers work just fine
after a few licks with a half-round file.
Cheers,
Carl Fogel
carl...@comcast.net
Dear Earl,
The trouble with channel-lock (sometimes called water-pump) pliers is
that the jaws are so narrow and ridged that they'd probably damage the
tire.
For $6 and a few swipes with a half-round file, the Harbor Freight
pipe pliers seem simpler. The jaws are much wider, and the
filed-smooth jaw ridges and rounded corners won't hurt the inflated
tire.
Some of the other tools suggested elsewhere in this thread might work,
but they look more like tools for removing or installing deflated
tires, which isn't the problem at all.
Cheers,
Carl Fogel
dvt
> I can remove and install my tires with my fingers, so they're hardly a
> tight fit. If the bead is low enough in one place, high pressure can
> cause a stretchy Kevlar-bead tire to come off on the other side of the
> rim, followed by a loud bang.
> I've seen a tire starting to creep off a rim a few times and let the
> air out in time to avoid disaster, but this was slower. I may just
> have slightly undersize rims or slightly oversize tires, but the
> problem happens often enough that the Park Tool company makes a tool
> to solve it for about $40. My $6 Harbor Freight pliers work just fine
> after a few licks with a half-round file.
Have you given any thought to using different tyres? I don't believe
you've declared your rim and tyre combination in this thread. It seems
that your problems are unusual, and the root cause may be fixed rather
than applying a patch. I don't have the same trouble with any of the
tyre and rim combinations I currently use, but all of my tyres use wire
beads.
--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu
Everyone confesses that exertion which brings out all the powers of body
and mind is the best thing for us; but most people do all they can to
get rid of it, and as a general rule nobody does much more than
circumstances drive them to do. -Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and
novelist (1811-1896)
carl...@comcast.net
>carl...@comcast.net wrote:
>> I can remove and install my tires with my fingers, so they're hardly a
>> tight fit. If the bead is low enough in one place, high pressure can
>> cause a stretchy Kevlar-bead tire to come off on the other side of the
>> rim, followed by a loud bang.
>
>> I've seen a tire starting to creep off a rim a few times and let the
>> air out in time to avoid disaster, but this was slower. I may just
>> have slightly undersize rims or slightly oversize tires, but the
>> problem happens often enough that the Park Tool company makes a tool
>> to solve it for about $40. My $6 Harbor Freight pliers work just fine
>> after a few licks with a half-round file.
>
>Have you given any thought to using different tyres? I don't believe
>you've declared your rim and tyre combination in this thread. It seems
>that your problems are unusual, and the root cause may be fixed rather
>than applying a patch. I don't have the same trouble with any of the
>tyre and rim combinations I currently use, but all of my tyres use wire
>beads.
Dear Dave,
Ancient steel Schwinn LeTour 7-speed 1998, of which I have four copies
from eBay for parts, with 700c no box-section, no eyelet, no socket
rims of some sort.
Tires have been various, including Continental, Panaracer, Forte, and
a few others, but right now I'm working through a stash of folding
kevlar bead 700x26 Forte from Performance--I rather like them, but a
quick glance shows that the model has been discontinued.
The folding bead is useful, since I carry a folded tire in my seat bag
and occasionally use it--every year or two, a Russian olive thorn (or
something equally evil) rips a hole large enough and near enough the
rim that a boot is no good.
In any case, the problem is common enough for Park Tools to make a $40
plus shipping tool much like my $6 pair of smoothed-down pipe pliers.
And Sheldon has seen the problem often enough to recommend soapy water
and 100+ psi:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.tech/msg/67c20e34a05c16d1?hl=en&
Posters who never have a problem naturally are puzzled to hear of it.
I've never had a bicycle tire and rim that needed tire levers, but
I've seen enough comments from experienced posters on RBT about
bending and even breaking tire levers to realize that there are more
bad tire/rim combinations than are dreamt of in my philosophy.
My beads don't fail to pop out every time--my tires usually go on
without any fuss, sometimes need a bit of thumb-pressing to pop the
bead out and into place, and occasionally drive me mad after I've
inflated, deflated, pressed, bounced, and cursed more than seems
reasonable.
Now I can just smile and give them a gentle tug. Having saved $34 on
the tool, my smile is sincere enough to conceals my secret hope that
the gentle tug hurts the recalcitrant tire horribly.
Cheers,
Carl Fogel
dvt
>> Have you given any thought to using different tyres?
> In any case, the problem is common enough for Park Tools to make a $40
> plus shipping tool much like my $6 pair of smoothed-down pipe pliers.
Problem solved, I guess.
> And Sheldon has seen the problem often enough to recommend soapy water
> and 100+ psi:
>
> http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.tech/msg/67c20e34a05c16d1?hl=en&
I think he was referring to a specific tyre in that post when he says
"These can be a bear." That's what prompted me to suggest a different
tyre for you.
> Posters who never have a problem naturally are puzzled to hear of it.
I've had the problem, but certainly not to the degree that required a
special tool.
> Now I can just smile and give them a gentle tug. Having saved $34 on
> the tool, my smile is sincere enough to conceals my secret hope that
> the gentle tug hurts the recalcitrant tire horribly.
Can you make a similar tool that realigns recalcitrant posters to RBT?
Even if it hurts them horribly?
RonSonic
Labor Day has passed and I have marked the changing seasons by removing the
bottle cages, gluing big gnarly tires onto my rims and putting my white shoes
away until next Easter. Well, two out of three, anyway. Yes, cyclocross season
approaches and for me that means mounting tacky, gooey-gluey tubular tires. I'm
thinking to visit Harbor Freight and get sorted with some quality tire grabbers
like that. Can't help but be a bit cleaner.
Thanks for the idea, I'll let you know how this goes. If anything about those
grippers doesn't look practical or like I might not be able to make them gentle
on those tires, I'll pull the plug on the project. Seems like it might help more
than a little.
Ron
carl...@comcast.net
Dear Ron,
If you're just trying to grab a tubular and pull it onto the rim
without getting glue on your hands, I don't think these pliers would
be helpful.
I used them on a well-inflated tire when a section of the bead kept
stubbornly hiding down in the rim well. A light grip with the pliers
is much better than my thumb and fingers and takes some of the
pressure off the sidewall. A gentle pull pops the bead right out.
The best method I've heard of for mounting tubulars resembles the
Catch-22 method of psychiatric evaluation:
"Are you both crazy?" the doctor cried shrilly, backing away in paling
confusion.
"Yes, he really is crazy, Doc," Dunbar assured him. "Every night he
dreams he's holding a live fish in his hands."
The doctor stopped in his tracks with a look of elegant amazement and
distaste, and the ward grew still. "He does what?" he demanded.
"He dreams he's holding a live fish in his hand."
"What kind of fish?" the doctor inquired sternly of Yossarian.
"I don't know," Yossarian answered. "I can't tell one kind of fish
from another."
"In which hand do you hold them?"
"It varies," answered Yossarian.
"It varies with the fish," Dunbar added helpfully.
The colonel turned and stared down at Dunbar suspiciously with a
narrow squint. "Yes? And how come you seem to know so much about it?"
"I'm in the dream," Dunbar answered without cracking a smile.
The colonel's face flushed with embarrassment. He glared at them both
with cold, unforgiving resentment. "Get up off the floor and into your
bed," he directed Dunbar through thin lips. "And I don't want to hear
another word about this dream from either one of you. I've got a man
on my staff to listen to disgusting bilge like this."
***
So consider getting a team mechanic to take care of disgusting bilge
like mounting tubulars. All the pros recommend this method.
Cheers,
Carl Fogel
RonSonic
I ride 'cross. That is presumptive of mental illness. No bike racer of any type
is considered to have sufficient rank or authority to have others perform their
disgusting bilge. The pro teams only provide the service of mounting tubulars
because they recognize a shortage of time in the professional racer's day and
they don't trust them to get it right anyway.
I could take it to a shop, but the owner/lead wrench at my favorite shop tends
to say things like "Oh, HELL no" when presented with my disgusting bilge.
There's another shop that employs Mexicans to whom they might delegate the
aforementioned bilge, but they tend to charge nearly insane amounts of money.
Their only interaction with tubular tires is for the triathlon crowd, no telling
how they'll react to a sewup almost 1.5" wide.
No, I'm stuck with my own tubular bilge. I didn't make too bad a mess of myself
on the last pair so the next might not be so terrible. Still I'll take a look at
that gadget and see if it might be a help.
Ron