Mavic D2 s Looser tyres for a nightmare fit?

[Milkman]

Hi I have old Mavic D(2?).
Tyres are an absolute nightmare to fit. Either bead circumferences have got smaller or the rims were built a bit big.
Either way I regularly have to use levers to get the tyre on with a predictable number of torn tubes as a result.
While I'm thinking of just having done with it and getting some new wheels built perhaps someone can recommend a tyre brand that tends to come up loose?
Oh I've already gone down the route of thinner wheel ribbons (or whatever they're called)
Thanks in advance.
Marko

 

[Racing roadkill]

Hi I have old Mavic D(2?).
Tyres are an absolute nightmare to fit. Either bead circumferences have got smaller or the rims were built a bit big.
Either way I regularly have to use levers to get the tyre on with a predictable number of torn tubes as a result.
While I'm thinking of just having done with it and getting some new wheels built perhaps someone can recommend a tyre brand that tends to come up loose?
Oh I've already gone down the route of thinner wheel ribbons (or whatever they're called)
Thanks in advance.
Marko

Try a tyre with a folding bead, and use a bit of something like fairy liquid to help get the tyres on. Using flat headed tyre levers, may help with not tearing the tube.

These are quite good.

 

[Ajax Bay]

I have old Mavic D(2?).
Tyres are an absolute nightmare to fit. Either bead circumferences have got smaller or the rims were built a bit big.
Either way I regularly have to use levers to get the tyre on with a predictable number of torn tubes as a result.
While I'm thinking of just having done with it and getting some new wheels built perhaps someone can recommend a tyre brand that tends to come up loose?
Oh I've already gone down the route of thinner wheel ribbons (or whatever they're called)

So what rim is it, then? And what tyres are you trying to fit?
Another forum has established a thread for rim/tyre combo difficulty / ease of fitting.
Lots of people use a lever, carefully, for the final flip if a tyre is extremely tight on a rim and they can't do it by hand/thumbs. With a plastic lever and care (you know what you're trying to avoid) it will not result in "torn tubes" - my predictable number of torn tubes is: zero. Well maybe when I was 10 with steel levers . .
If by 'ribbons' you mean rim tape, this is unlikely to make any difference, provided the tape is the correct width (too narrow and you risk it being pushed aside and getting tubes punctured from the spoke hole edges; too wide and the tape rides up into the rim hook area and may result in the tyre bead not seating properly).
As far as ways of making fitting tyres easier: washing up liquid (suggested above) just makes things slippery (imo and ime). Talc lubricates the interface between rim and bead and is my preference.

 

[Racing roadkill]

washing up liquid (suggested above) just makes things slippery (imo and ime)
.

Not if you know how to use it properly.

 

[Ian H]

Talc is better.

Some older Mavic rims are known to be difficult because of their relatively shallow wells.
One trick is to fit the tyre once or twice without a tube (using levers). A tyre that has been on and off a rim a few times is often less of a struggle.

 

[ianrauk]

Pre-Talced and Mighty

 

[rrarider]

I really don't know of any particular brand that makes a looser tyre. They are all manufactured to a specification which makes it be a safe fit on a particular size rim. I think that my old steel beaded tyres were easier to put on than my current Kevlar beaded ones. I might be wrong, as opinions seem to vary over which is the easier to fit. I have old Mavic MA40 rims on my bike and they are a horror show when it comes to getting a tyre fitted, owing to the near complete absence of a central well. If I have to change a tube on the roadside, then sometimes I have to use levers if my thumbs' strength gives out. In the luxury of my own garage, I would use talc as an aid, rather than Fairy liquid which just makes everything slippy.

 

[lazybloke]

Hi I have old Mavic D(2?). Tyres are an absolute nightmare to fit.

In addition to the advice above... are you trying to lift too much bead over the rim at a time? As the bead tightens up you have to be less ambitious.

Mind you some rims are just nasty. My MA2s for example, which used to snap plastic tyre levers.
I bought some newer (used ) wheels last year - they turned out to be even WORSE! So bad I can barely get tyres off, let alone back on again.

.....rim tape ... too narrow and you risk it being pushed aside and getting tubes punctured from the spoke hole edges

Yes, my newer wheels had that problem too, which caused two flats during my 2016 London Surrey. Both were a nightmare to fix because of the tight bead problem.

If you're still struggling with tyres, suggest reading this thread , particularly the advice from @Yellow Saddle to carefully tighten the spokes; this has made a huge difference for me - sufficient that I can just about refit tyres without levers now; something that was impossible before.

 

[Milkman]

Wow thanks folks I will catch-up on some of these threads you suggested and get the talc out… and replace my snapped levers…
Tyres: The old ones are Panaracer Paselas, new ones were going to be Gravel Kings, which are folding beads but gave up on those and stuck them on something else. I have some Continentals I've tried but no joy yet. I'm not sure how I eventually got the Paselas on originally but they sure aren’t cooperating now.

Lazybloke, MA2s. Thank you that’s what they are called and yes they are plain nasty. Great advice many thanks
Cheers all!

 

[Ajax Bay]

The list a thread for rim/tyre combo difficulty / ease of fitting.
suggests that Mavic MA2 and Paselas are a (relatively) loose rim and a 'loose' tyre.

 

[rrarider]

Lazybloke, MA2s. Thank you that’s what they are called and yes they are plain nasty. Great advice many thanks
Cheers all!

I understand your problem. My MA40s are made with the same extrusion for a rim but with the surface hard anodised, so I know what monsters they are. They are however, a beautiful wheel and well worth sticking with. All I can say is practise, practise, again and again at home until you are confident that you can get the tyres on and off. If you can manage without levers, all well and good; if you need the levers, get it down to a fine art. Good luck.

 

[Milkman]

Cheers rraider. Not sure how much energy I've got for this. Fitting tyres shouldn’t be an endurance test.
Yes I saw the MAs were supposed to be 'loose' Not convinced from my own experience or others' postings. I wonder if that is just on rim circumference alone rather than the minimum circumference one might find in middle somewhere.