A whole guide on tyre levers? We actually joked about making this article for a few years before actually committing, but due to popular demand - and the fact there is actually plenty to talk about when it comes to the humble tyre lever - this is indeed an in-depth guide to tyre levers, with pretty much everything you could want to know about them plus our top tyre lever picks!
Best tyre levers overall: Schwalbe Tyre Levers
Best long tyre levers: Lezyne Power Lever XL
Best money-no-object tyre levers: Silca Tyre Lever Premio Set
Best heavy duty tyre levers: Park Tool TL-5 Heavy-Duty Steel Tyre Levers
Best budget tyre levers: Birzman Wedge Tyre Levers
Tyre levers aren't a big investment, but it's worth making sure you choose a set you get on with, so when your ride is interrupted by a puncture you can get back underway quickly and easily. Most tyre levers nowadays are plastic, and you might never need anything tougher; but steel or alloy options do still exist for really stubborn tyre/rim combinations.
Starting from around two quid, there's no excuse not to have some tyre levers stashed on your bike or person whenever you head out of the door. Forget them and the rest of your puncture repair kit, and unless you have fingers of steel you could find yourself walking home if you get a flat.
Tyre and rim combination
Tyres are of course designed to fit tightly with the rims they're meant to work with... the trouble is that the bike industry has so far been unable to definitively make tyres or rims to a dimensional standard and tolerance so that every 25mm, 700c tyre will fit a 19mm wide, 700c rim in a uniform way, to give one example.
Every now and then it's possible to find a tyre/rim combo where the fit is either so sloppy that the tyre simply falls into place, or one that is so tight that it takes an army of burly tool-wielding mechanics to get the last few inches of bead over the rim edge.
If you're really bending and forcing your levers to do the job, it's probably time to look again at the tyres you're running. Your tyre-mounting technique could also be a root cause of the problem, so it's worth going over your technique to make sure you're doing it right.
Choosing the right tyre lever material
Assuming you're happy with your tyre/rim combo, the next thing to consider is the material of your rims. Carbon rims need to be treated with a bit of extra care compared to alloy wheels, so it's definitely not a good idea to scratch or gouge them. To avoid this, we'd recommend steering clear of metal tyre levers if you can, on carbon rims especially.
Metal tyre levers are largely a thing of the past, although thermonuclear like the Park Tool TL-5s are still sometimes the only way to remove really, really tight tyres. Nowadays, there are lots of tough plastic options that should remove all but the most stubborn tyres.
Of your plastic options, some are harder and less flexible and occasionally brittle. It is possible to snap them, but you have to try pretty hard to do that.
On the other end of the spectrum are bendy and flexible levers. Some are made flexible by the poor plastic production, others start out stiff but soften after repeated use.
So, the styles to choose from are pretty limited; sort of like pencils, the design is tried and tested and hasn't really changed much over the years. Because they're cheap and won't break the bank, most seasoned cyclists tend to build up a solid collection of levers to cover all bases and any tyre/rim combination.
As we've already reiterated, it's worth doing some trial and error to find your ideal tyre/rim combo that's neither too tight nor too slippy - and tyre levers themselves are usually cheap, so take a look at our recommendations and find the perfect set for you.
You can also check out our page on how we review products, where we explain the selection process for items featured in this most prestigious of guides to the best tyre levers...
