How the ******* hell do I get this tyre off?

[Tynan]

I had a testing time replacing a fence panel this weekend, something between the newly built rear wall and that fence panel was well out of true, ended up sawing as much as a I dared from one corner of the panel, even then some robust squeezing into place needed

Nice diy day today though, tricky fence panel fixed, phone line rereouted under the floor instead of across the room, drainpipe extended to the garden instead of flooding the patio and a radiator that stopped working six months ago doing a plausible impersionation of a blash furnace, the girls of the house are almost impressed

 

[Globalti]

FFS sake has nobody ever heard of using talc to remove a tight tyre? It's the best dry lubricant for rubber.

 

[andrew_s]

I know what you mean about the difficulty of getting two levers in at once - you need to put them both in at the same time. If you put one in and lever the bead out, you will really struggle with the second one.

+1

I've found that with tight tyres, you have to get both levers under the bead about 2 spokes apart (5", ish), and lever them both together. Take care not to hook up the far side bead too.
I use steel levers, which are thinner than non-bendy plastic levers. I've never had any problem with rim damage - don't know what all the fuss is about.

 

[SimonC]

Well, my wife and children have gone out and left me to it. Not sure the language was suitable for a little ones. As for recounting it to my grandchildren, I'm afraid it was all too traumatic and I'll now have to blank it from my memory.

S*dding Campag wheels!!!!!!

Thanks Ian H but I already tried all those things. I couldn't get two levers in next to one another let alone 4-5" apart. The metal lever I used in the end just about managed to lever the tyre up enough to get a 2nd lever in but didn't actually manage to lever it over the rim.

Anyway, it's done.

I'm bl**dy knackered now!

The problem seems to be the quality and strength of the obscenities being used - just not strong enough I'm afraid.

On a more serious note, warming tyres up does help. I put my Michelin Pro 3's on the kitchen radiator after they had been through the washing machine (see different thread!) and they went onto me Campag Zondas without a problem, just with thumbs - and that rim/tyre combo is a notorious b**tard. (Theres an obscenity you can store away and use at a later date jpembroke)

 

[jpembroke]

The problem seems to be the quality and strength of the obscenities being used - just not strong enough I'm afraid.

On a more serious note, warming tyres up does help. I put my Michelin Pro 3's on the kitchen radiator after they had been through the washing machine (see different thread!) and they went onto me Campag Zondas without a problem, just with thumbs - and that rim/tyre combo is a notorious b**tard. (Theres an obscenity you can store away and use at a later date jpembroke)

I can get them on without levers by rolling them on with my fingers. It's getting them off that's the problem and unfortunately warming them on the radiator didn't seem to help.

f****** b********g t***s

 

[TheCyclingRooster]

Hi,the obvious advice can often be the least welcome,the funniest and the most affective.Metal Levers on Aluminium Rims!!!!???.If you can't get them off how the hell did you get them on in the first place???.From where I am sitting the advise to warm the tyre/wheel would be a fat lot of good in the freezing cold on the side of the road with a flat tyre.Instead of fancy priced wheels and impossible tyres why don't you flog them on E'bay and invest in some run of the mill rollers.Ragida Flyers or some other regular rim with Vittoria Rubino semi slicks,that way you could spend time (if you got a flat that was quickly dealt with)spinning the pedals.Leg pulls aside,I will never buy Vittoria Zaffiro again,only did so because they were there!!.They are an absolute bastard to get on,even in a warm enviroment(the kitchen,next to the cooker).I had to resort to three PLASTIC LEVERS,two to trap end to end and one to ease it on from between them over the last 5/6 inches.Safe & Happy Riding on your new investments and to you all out there.

 

[jpembroke]

As I said previously, I'e had these tyres off before it's a mystery why they were such a b*gger to get off this time (I did manage in the end btw). As for getting them on, believe it or not I nearly always manage to roll them on using thumbs and fingers only.