[Joejoey]

Hi,
I’ve just bought some new Bontrager AW3 hard shell tyres but am having real trouble getting them on, they’re really tight. Ruined to tubes so far levering them in. Anyone got any tips on how I could make it easier or where I’m going wrong.
Cheers.

Topic

[pcaley]

I always open new folding
I always open new folding tyres out and warm them up a bit before fitting them.

[Joejoey]

Thanks chaps, very helpful.
Thanks chaps, very helpful. starting from opposite the valve really helped. You’d think i might have known this already in my 9 years of riding, but I guess fortunately, have never had this problem before.

[OnTheRopes]

I couldnt get my new Conti GP
I couldnt get my new Conti GP 4 seasons on my Mavic rims recently, I mean even with tyre levers it was a real struggle just to get the first side on and then after I trapped the tube I gave up.

The solution was to put the tyre fully on an old wheel but without the tube.
Leave it 24 – 48 hours then fit it to your desired rim with tube as normal. I then got it on without levers at all.

[DavidC]

In addition to the above
In addition to the above mentioned, with new tyres I will attempt to stretch them by standing with the tyre looped under my feet and pulling up on the beads with both hands.

I can’t definitively say how effective this is, but my new-tyre cursing was reduced at least a bit after I started this stretching practice.

For those who don’t already know, kevlar beads do stretch over time when installed on a wheel, which is why they’re made to be so tight when new.

[Accessibility for all]

As said above – when you get
As said above – when you get to the point where the bead won’t go over the rim, with your spare hand go around the rest of the tyre (that’s on the wheel) squeezing the sides together. That’ll push the bead down onto the spokes and give you enough slack to finish the job. You may have to do it 3-4 times.

[mike the bike]

First Joe, you have to accept
First Joe, you have to accept that some tyre/wheel combinations are always going to be difficult. For example, my Mavic wheels (admittedly very old) are a bugger to fit with any Conti tyre I’ve ever tried. But, with a little luck we can steer you towards success.

I’m assuming you can get one side of the tyre over the rim, using levers if necessary. And that you can squeeze the tube under the other side of the tyre and into place. Putting a few psi into the tube first often keeps it out of the way of the tyre.

Now for the second, difficult side of the tyre. The main trick here is to start opposite the valve and thumb the tyre over the rim. Then squeeze both sides of the tyre together and shove them deep into the well of the wheel. This gives you that important few millimetres of slack that will allow you to thumb more tyre over the rim as you work with both hands, creeping closer to the valve.

Eventually you may have to resort to levers but, once again, having the tube partly inflated will tend to protect it from becoming pinched.

There are some brilliant videos of this process on YouTube, and some crap ones. You should have no trouble sorting out the wheat from the chaff.

Best of luck.

[Author]

Replies