Fitting Tyres

[simon.r]

I must have fitted, without exaggeration, hundreds of tyres over the years. Rarely have I ever had to use anything other than my thumbs. Occasionally I've had to resort to the use of one tyre lever.

Until this evening. I have just spent over an hour trying to fit a new Michelin Lithion 2 to an Ultegra 6700 wheel. Thumbs first, then one tyre lever, then two. I've called a halt before I end up throwing something across the garage

Let me have your tips please.

 

[TheDoctor]

Get the tyres warm, get some lube on the rim - like chalk or soapy water. And make sure the rest of the bead is pushed well into the centre of the rim. But some rim/tyre combinations are just complete bastards a bit character-building.

 

[sittingbull]

The 6700s are known for difficulty fitting tyres. No doubt someone will say there's no problem but after reading some reviews such as this I decided to avoid those wheels.

It is possible to fit GP4000s without levers (link) so I would stick to those or another tested combination in case of roadside repairs.

 

[ColinJ]

It must be the rims because I can take off and replace my Lithion 2s without using levers on both my Maxic Aksiums and my Campagnolo Khamsins, and I do not have particularly strong hands.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I once spent most of the evening trying to force a plastic rim tape on to a wheel before it finally snapped and caught me an eye watering wallop across the face. On checking the remains of the tape I happened to notice the legend "650B" printed on it...

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Lithion 2 are horrible to put on!

 

[ayceejay]

I suspect it is the High Protect Rim System that is the problem. A lot of "tubeless ready" clinchers are tight too,
Tip Top make a talcum powder (perhaps what used to known as French chalk) especially for problems like this, there is also that Park tool whatsit, but I don't have much success with that.

 

[simon.r]

@User9609 - the cable ties worked. A re-usable cable tie either side of the last few inches was enough to hold the tyre in place while I levered (still had to use a tyre lever) it on. There was plenty of popping and cracking when I inflated the tube as the tyre bead settled!

A couple of Re-usable cable ties have been added to my saddle bag.

Many thanks.

 

[zacklaws]

I presume as well that you are slightly inflating the innertube when fitting it, which you are supposed to do, but are you also letting the air out as well just to fit the last part of the tyre over the rim. If your not, that can make it very difficult to fit some tyres.

 

[jagman.2003]

Just to agree with OP, I have done many many tyres over the years & always used just hands to replace.
But recent modern tyre/wheel combinations have been a real pig to fit.
Will try the soapy water approach next time.

 

[Fab Foodie]

There's a great method using a length of string around the wheel. The last bit of tyre to be fitted needs to be in the centre if the string length. You then pull the ends if the string together and for the string to come off the wheel it has to pull the tyre bead onto the rim! Hard to explain but there is a video on Yt for putting Marathon Plus onto rims using this method.

Another top tip if you break a tyre lever in the middle of nowhere you can use your QR lever as a substitute.

 

[e-rider]

the problem here is the 'tubeless ready' rim - the Michelin Lithion 2 tyre is the innocent victim here

 

[tony mould]

the problem here is the 'tubeless ready' rim - the Michelin Lithion 2 tyre is the innocent victim here

Just fitted Lithions to my Defy 1 and found them harder to put on than any other tyre i have used, gatorskins,giant, mavic specialized.

 

[potsy]

Had lots of trouble fitting tyres to my Ultegra wheels, at least I now know it isn't just me.

 

[Citius]

Most Michelin tyres are deliberately designed to pi55 the fitter off as much as possible, IME.