mounting tires: difficulties and solutions

Tyler S

2005-07-03



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<P>I've had a lot of difficulties mounting certain tires on my Campy rims - especially Michelins.  The solution for me was switching tire levers.  Obviously, steel ones are a bad plan; but after being totally unsuccessful with the 'standard' flat plastic ones, I switched to using a sturdy, 'S' shaped lever set - much better leverage and less flexy.  Worked great.  Also now a few companies make steel-cored composite levers that I hear work very well.<BR><BR>And I still use velox rim tape; that thick plastic michelin crap that came with my Campy wheels was garbage.  </P>

<P>FWIW, some tires are reputedly a little easier to mount -- I hear Contis -- but I've only used Michelins and Vittorias.</P>

<P>--T</P><BR><BR><BR>>From: jwi-@pacifier.com<BR>>Reply-To: jwi-@pacifier.com<BR>>To: ob-@topica.com<BR>>Subject: RE: [OBRA Chat] tire recommendation for Ambrosio 19 Extra Elite (1980s) rim?<BR>>Date: Mon,  4 Jul 2005 04:01:42 +0000<BR>><BR>>I'll ditto Dan's remark. If it's tough to get a tire on a rim (any tire,<BR>>any rim), try a thinner rim strip. In extreme cases, a couple layers of<BR>>fiberglass-reinforced packing tape will work, but it tends to split over<BR>>the spoke holes.<BR>><BR>>Flat resistant tires are often tougher to install since their sidewalls<BR>>are stiffer, making it harder to flex the tire over the bead of the rim.<BR>><BR>>Newer rims usually have a deeper "well" in the middle. This makes it<BR>>easier to mount a tire, since you can push the bead to the<BR>>smaller-diameter center and create more

"slack" in the bead.<BR>><BR>>Other Jeff<BR>><BR>><BR>>Dan Houghton wrote:<BR>> > MessageTry replacing the thick Velox rim liners with thinner nylon<BR>> > webbing like Ritchey and others make.<BR>> >   ----- Original Message -----<BR>> >   From: Jeff Norville<BR>> >   To: ob-@topica.com<BR>> >   Sent: Friday, July 01, 2005 4:07 PM<BR>> >   Subject: [OBRA Chat] tire recommendation for Ambrosio 19 Extra Elite<BR>> >   (1980s) rim?<BR>> ><BR>> ><BR>> >   A friend is getting back on his Rossin after ... a couple of decades.<BR>> ><BR>> >   We tried replacing his ancient, crunchy wire-bead Michelins (700 x 23)<BR>> >   with Vittorias (700 x 23, Kevlar bead) today and no dice - they are<BR>>

    TIGHT.  Rims are Ambrosio 19 Extra Elite, fit my bike so must be 700s,<BR>> >   with Campy hubs.  I probably could force them on with enough steel<BR>> >   levers, but I'd ruin at least one tube in the process - and flatting in<BR>> >   the rain would be fatal...<BR>> ><BR>> >   If anybody has a suggestion for a better rim/tire match than<BR>> >   Ambrosio/Vittoria I'd appreciate it.  I'm definitely going to recommend<BR>> >   a flat-resistant tire if we don't find a better match.<BR>> ><BR>> >   Thanks in advance,<BR>> >   Jeff<BR>> ><BR>> >   --<BR>> >   Jeff Norville<BR>> >   503.704.1993<BR>> >   je-@jnorville.com<BR>>