Skinny road tyre nightmare

[galaxy1]

A while ago I got some conti gatorskin tyres 700 x 23 and tonight I decided to fit them. I'm used to changing tyres and iner tubes on my dawes galaxy ,its fairly easy and the tyres are wider. This was a complete night mare. It took an hour to take of the old tyres and replace them plus I managed to break 2 plastic tyre levers! Eventually I got them on but when it came to inflate the innertubes the back tube was punctured !£$**!. Theres a fair few road bike riders on here. There must be an easier way. I was in my living room, I'd be completely screwed if it came to changing slkick road tyres by the side of the road.

HELP!

 

[Gerry Attrick]

'Tis all about technique. Have a look at the video here which although is not about yours specifially, covers all tight fitting tyres.

 

[galaxy1]

I'll try that . What about getting the tyre off? Do you use a specific technique or special levers for that?

 

[accountantpete]

Get a pair of Pedro's tyre levers ( they won't break although they are a bit thick and it takes a bit of practice getting them under the tyre to get it off).

You can gently heat the tyre so it expands(on the road it will have expanded due to the heat) and use talc to lubricate the process.

If the tyre is still too tight to put on by hand I poke the tube well into the tyre carcass and then quickly lever the tyre on so as to avoid a pinch flat(which is what you had). Then before inflating check that the tube is safely inside the tyre all the way around.

I know it is frustrating but practice makes perfect.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Removing the tyre is basically the opposite of fitting....(what a crass statement!). Ensure the tyre bead opposite i.e. 180 degrees opposite to the valve is pushed into the well of the rim and use a tyre lever to pull the bead each side of the valve over the rim. just use fingers thereafter.

 

[Crankarm]

A while ago I got some conti gatorskin tyres 700 x 23 and tonight I decided to fit them. I'm used to changing tyres and iner tubes on my dawes galaxy ,its fairly easy and the tyres are wider. This was a complete night mare. It took an hour to take of the old tyres and replace them plus I managed to break 2 plastic tyre levers! Eventually I got them on but when it came to inflate the innertubes the back tube was punctured !£$**!. Theres a fair few road bike riders on here. There must be an easier way. I was in my living room, I'd be completely screwed if it came to changing slkick road tyres by the side of the road.

HELP!

I have to ask as it is not clear in your post, what rim/wheel/bike are you fitting the 23C tyres to? As a Dawes Galaxy is a touring bike, which will certainly be spec'd with tyres 28/32C or above. So the rims will be wider to accommodate the larger tyre width (and height). The 23C tyre you may now be trying to fit might simply be too small for the rim. 23 - 28C tyres generally fit rims of 13 - 15mm width (Mavic Open Pro CDs). 28C and above tyres for touring are fitted on wider rims eg 19mm (Mavic A 719 rim) as these larger tyres have a slightly larger rolling circumference (taller profile) and because they are larger/fatter need a slightly wider rim. Simples.

This might not be why you are having difficulty getting your 23C tyres on rims designed for 28C+ tyres. If not, apologies.

 

[e-rider]

You clearly don't know what you're doing!

A VAR tool might help but I doubt it. Visit LBS.

 

[Crankarm]

You clearly don't know what you're doing!

A VAR tool might help but I doubt it. Visit LBS.

VAR tool ???????

 

[potsy]

A while ago I got some conti gatorskin tyres 700 x 23 and tonight I decided to fit them. I'm used to changing tyres and iner tubes on my dawes galaxy ,its fairly easy and the tyres are wider. This was a complete night mare. It took an hour to take of the old tyres and replace them plus I managed to break 2 plastic tyre levers! Eventually I got them on but when it came to inflate the innertubes the back tube was punctured !£$**!. Theres a fair few road bike riders on here. There must be an easier way. I was in my living room, I'd be completely screwed if it came to changing slkick road tyres by the side of the road.

HELP!

The thinner the tyre the worse they are to fit,as they are new they will be very stiff at 1st,once they've been on a while you should find it much easier to re-fit them.
The back tube was probably 'pinched' whilst refitting the tyre,did you use the levers? Always best to hand fit them if possible to avoid this.
Good luck,just wait until you try to fit some Marathon+

 

[galaxy1]

I wasn't fitting these tyres to the galaxy but to a different road bike with narrower rims so the tyres were definitely the right size and eventually they went on (after much swearing and bruising of hands). I do actually have marathon plus on the galaxy and they're pretty hard work to but these ones are worse. SO much so that I had to resort to tea spoons as tyre levers to put them on.
I may have to look at this var tool thing that tundragumski was on about .. just as soon as I know what I'm doing maybe.

Cheers guys. Just as soon as I have time to visit a bike shop for some more innertubes, I'll have another go.

 

[galaxy1]

Done it! Got some Pedros tyre levers which took the tyre off no problems. Refitting I resorted to the spoons. Only 20 minutes this time

 

[MacB]

The Spa Cycles video is good, I don't find I need all the strapping etc but can get all my tyres on, including M+, without levers. If you follow the same principle in reverse then you don't need much of a lever to get them off. I do rate the VAR lever, I carry that as I won't always have time or straps when on the hoof. For removal I carry a Crank Bros Speed Lever. You will see a lot of reviews saying the speed levers break easily. I've had no porblems and I'm hardly the epitomy of finesse when it comes to manual stuff.

 

[The Eighth Man]

The reason they are so hard to fit is that they are not folding tyres they have a steel band that runs round the outside of each side of the tyre. I had a set of Vittoria tyres like that once they were great tyres but I changed them because I knew that if I got a puncture while out and about I would not be able to get the tyre off.

 

[galaxy1]

So folding tyres may be the way to go next time then,with the added bonus of being able to take a spare tyre with you on rides

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

I have to add that after buying Gator Skins that were not folded, they were infinitely so much easier to get on than folding ones.

The good thing is that once they are on punctures are rare but getting them off I do find not too bad.