Advice please: Fitting Foldable Tyres on my Road Bike( Conti 4 Seasons)

[Ajax Bay]

If they are 25's inflate to around 85 psi ;you may need to experiment with the pressure but shouldn't need to go above 95.

The Continental GP 4 Seasons measure up less than their specification (on a rim with 15mm internal width (look at the rim for its ETRTO size)). On these tyres in 25-622 inflate the rear to the same figure (in psi) as the total weight of rider plus bike (in kg), and have the front at 80% of that.
The attached BQ article offers a graph of pressure v wheel load for a range of tyre widths.

 

[jay clock]

me too, on my Fulcrum wheels, a right bastard. Not helped by razor sharp bladed spokes cutting fingers!

just realised that in fact it is the GP4000 in combo with Fulcrums that are the bar stewards. GP 4 seasons are on Mavics (Aksium?) and not a problem. Apart from the price the 4seasons are my ideal all year tyre

 

[Ajax Bay]

I linked to lists of rims and tyres designed in another thread.
Difficulty in installing tyres? RANKINGS
Continental GP 4 Seasons are listed among the 'smallest' diameter (we don't know what rims the OP is intending to fit these tyres on). And reading the lists together would predict @jay clock 's combo to be 'tight'/bar steward.

 

[Katherine]

I linked to lists of rims and tyres designed in another thread.
Difficulty in installing tyres? RANKINGS
Continental GP 4 Seasons are listed among the 'smallest' diameter (we don't know what rims the OP is intending to fit these tyres on). And reading the lists together would predict @jay clock 's combo to be 'tight'/bar steward.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-...U444n0wynBGAglZ8LfC7hBWs89_oYnMAaAiPBEALw_wcB

 

[gbb]

just realised that in fact it is the GP4000 in combo with Fulcrums that are the bar stewards. GP 4 seasons are on Mavics (Aksium?) and not a problem. Apart from the price the 4seasons are my ideal all year tyre

Same for me...Fulcrums and GP4000s. Where I found it particually difficult was getting the 'bead to sit correctly in the rim, because there' little structure to the tyres they tended to go wherever they wanted...not evenly in the rim. Took me 3 or 4 attempts at least to get them to sit right.

 

[Vantage]

My experience of folded/wire beaded tyres is that it makes no difference how easy or difficult they are to fit. The biggest pigs to fit were vittoria randonneur 32s and the easiest being schwalbe Landcruiser 35s. Both steel beaded.
The vittoria voyager hyper 37 and 40s both need a bit of leveing to remove but will go on using my hands. To seat, I blow them up to around 90psi till i hear them pop in place then drop the pressure to the usual 45psi.They're folding.
The folders when new will snake about and try to coil back up but after a while it gets easier.
For what it's worth, neither steel beaded or Kevlar beaded tyres stretch. The rubber around steel beaded tyres is usually thicker and it's that which compresses slightly against the rim when levered. How a plastic tyre lever 4 inches long can stretch a steel wire of 1-2mm is beyond me.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Thank you for the link, @Katherine . But before saying "we don't know what rims the OP is intending to fit these tyres on" I had checked the spec of a B Twin 520. It is sold with 'own brand' B-Twin wheels/rims so that doesn't get us very far, unless someone here knows what the B-Twin wheels 'really' are "Wheels: B'TWIN Sport wheels, 32 spokes, Aero 32 hubs" (? @Racing roadkill )
The first response from @alicat was spot on. The bottom line is that folding tyres can be easy fits but some are more difficult. Steel beaded tyres similarly can be hard to fit (eg M+). GP4Ss are tighter than most but they go on (I have one on the front at present). Don't be frightened of using (plastic) levers to help getting them on (with care) and carry 3 to help get them off, on the side of the road. On the plus side, their resistance to puncturing is high (ime and as per the scoring on the test site I've linked here). Others' experience will no doubt differ.
Make sure you feign surprise when you unwrap them.

 

[Racing roadkill]

The folding bead is more to do with ‘packability’ and weight, than ease of installation. A main issue with folding bead tyres, is their propensity to ‘tuck under’ which causes issues with instant pinchies, if you don’t make sure the bead is seated properly before you jack the tyre up to full pressure. A bit of fairy liquid, or similar helps with this. It takes an experienced eye to spot it sometimes, but if you work around the circumference of the tyre with your thumbs, you should be able to pop the bead into position if it has tucked under.

 

[Katherine]

Thanks. I'll update when I get them actually given to me!