- Now I'm sure all very familiar with the situation
when a tire simply does not want to play ball.
So today we're gonna look at how to deal
with those stubborn tires.
(rapid electronic sounds)
Now it feels like for my sins, I've been called in
to tell you just how to deal with this situation.
It actually feels like I'm on detention.
And you know what?
That probably is how it feels like
when you've got a tire,
and you've got a cold day,
you've got cold hands,
and you've got a cold environment
and you're trying to get that tire on.
It simply is not happening.
But what are the different scenarios
which we encounter when a tire will not go onto a rim?
Well, it could be that we've got a new rim
or we're fitting an old tire.
You maybe might have a new tire fitting on an old rim.
Or maybe it simply is that you've got a resistant tire rim
and it will not go on.
(swoosh)
Now there are certain tire and rim combinations
that are not happy together.
They won't pair up at all.
But there's also some very simple things
to look at before that.
Maybe, just maybe, you're trying to fit
a 26-inch or a 27-inch sized tire
onto a 29-inch rim.
Obviously, that will not work.
But believe me, I've done that myself several times.
So check out you've got your tire sizes right
first before you start.
(electronic music)
Right, so, how to deal with a particularly difficult tire.
Now before we start, I want to point out that
sometimes you might have new tires
which have been stored with a kink in them.
Now, that might actually affect how the tire is mounted.
You might also be storing your tires
in a really cold environment.
I believe that has an impact on it as well,
as I feel that hotter, you know,
hotter, more pliable tires are far more easier to mount
than those that are cold.
(swoosh)
So today we're gonna focus on downhill tires
because they tend to be heavier casing,
probably from one kilo upwards to 1.5 kilos.
Sometimes they're folding
and sometimes they are wire bead.
This particular one here is a folding one.
It's nice and warm because it's super hot in this studio.
Okay, first of all, what are the tools that you need to use
when mounting that difficult tire,
or should I say attempting to mount that difficult tire?
Well, tire levers.
The only thing you need.
Either got plastic ones or plastic-coated metal ones.
Now, you should not really use these with brute force
and certainly not on carbon rims.
Now, I've got my wheel and I've got my tire.
In this instance, I've got a DT Swiss 35-mill width rim,
as you can see the profile there.
Now it's worth mentioning that you can actually get tires
which are rim width-specific,
particularly when you got 2.5 or 2.8-inch width tires.
Okay, what I've got here today is
a Maxxis 2.4 by 2.75 Minion DHR II.
So the first thing to do is get your tire.
Now, don't forget, the tires are directional.
Also, wheels are directional as well, so make sure...
I always try to get the drive side on the right-hand side
when I'm putting my tire on.
So, there is drive side right-hand side,
tire directional,
which is the knobs in the right way.
So, where are we?
Where's the little arrow?
There's your arrow.
Rotation.
So, rotation going forwards in this instance.
Cassette on my right-hand side,
tire on my right.
So what I'm gonna try first of all is to get,
what I'm trying to do is get the tire
into the central part of this rim here.
So it gives you as much room to maneuver as possible.
So, on she goes.
You can do all this, you should not need
to have any tire levers when you're doing this.
Oh, boy.
Now, this is actually quite physical.
(electronic music)
Right, so I've had a one-minute arm wrestle
to get 90% of the first part of the tire on.
However, as you can see, it's only gone so far.
I've got about, I don't know, what's that?
200 mill? 200 mill there.
At this point, it's time to reach for the levers.
Now, I can actually a metal lever in this situation.
As I said, it's definitely a preference of mine.
And I'll start on the left-hand side.
Be careful not to scratch the rim on your bike.
Lever over, and then bit by bit,
inch at a time, 25 mill at a time...
(lever scraping)
On she goes.
Finish off with your hands.
So...
(tire squeaking)
As you can see, what we're trying to do now
is get that bead.
Now, when I say bead, it means the outside edge of the tire
which has got a wire insert in there.
Get that in all the way.
So now, obviously you're gonna question
am I going tubed or tubeless for today?
We are going tubeless.
As you can see, the valve is already in place there.
And if it is tubeless,
you start at the valved end of the tire.
So, you simply start working round like this.
Look how easy this is.
Absolutely effortless.
All right, and this is gonna be one go.
There you go, mostly around, so you can see.
I reckon around 75%.
As you can see, the valve is the opposite side
to where the last part of the tire
needs to be mounted onto the rim.
Now, this is where things normally get difficult.
Particularly when it's really cold,
your hands are cold,
you might be in the middle of nowhere.
This is where tempers start to fray.
Now, you can actually get really angry with the tire
and try to really manhandle it onto the rim,
(grunts)
but it's not happening.
Okay, so we have got to that critical point
where the tire is 90% on.
It doesn't seem to wanna go on any further.
At this point, you need to make sure that all that tire
is actually in the middle of the rim
so it gives you maximum amount of diameter
of the tire as possible.
So, make sure you put it on like that.
(tire squeaking)
Work your way round.
At this point, it's a case of working
from one side...
(exhales)
to the other.
Now, I've had a great tip
off Pete, my colleague.
And he says you can actually wedge your tire
up against a rock or wall.
And you got that last 10%.
Get your tire lever and then...
I'm out of breath already.
(thud)
Boom, and I think when you get to that part,
(clicking)
it should come on--
Boom!
Look at that. Easy.
(electronic music)
Okay, now it's time to take the tire off.
Now, you might even be in your garage
in the freezing cold northern hemisphere.
Or in fact, you might be sat in the garden in Arizona.
It makes no difference.
The first thing you need to do,
there's a system with this,
is make sure the tire is located
into the center of the rim,
which is quite easy.
Just like this.
Obviously make sure the tire is completely deflated
before you do any of this.
It gives you as much room to maneuver as possible.
Now remember, I've got a 35-mill rim here
and a 2.4-inch tire, a downhill-cased tire.
So they're normally a little bit more difficult
than skinny rims, say 28-mill rims with a 2.25 tire.
Now, when I take a tire off,
I always make sure that the valve end
is the opposite side to where I start taking it off.
So what you're trying to do here
is get as much space between the bead--
as I mentioned, the bead is the wire
outer edge of the tire--
as possible.
So, I'd actually spend a second or two
working some space into that top end...
(tire squeaking)
We're gonna start taking it off.
So, if you can get like five mill there,
it's gonna help you get that lever in there.
So, I've got my lever, plastic lever in this instance.
Get it in there.
See, that's pretty tough.
So, got one over.
There's a lot of tire levers you can have a clip part
which allows you to fix out to your spokes.
So you set the tire lever, that one's in place.
(exhales)
In she goes, and over it goes.
It really is as easy as that.
There you go.
So once you've done that,
little bit of brute force.
And what I tend to do is because it's plastic,
it's not gonna damage the rim,
insert that back in and push it away from you.
(clattering)
Towards you.
And off she comes.
So obviously, there's many reasons why you might
wanna take the tire off the rim.
You might wanna put a new compound tire in.
You might wanna put a new pattern tire on,
but ultimately, it needs to come off,
so there's various methods of taking the tire off
if it's particularly difficult.
Some people do it from the outer side,
but some people do it from the inner side.
So what you're trying to do is get hold of that tire.
There, can you see that?
(electronic music)
And then pull it.
Oof, just over like that.
So you got the tire there,
and then it's just a simple case of pushing that off.
(clattering)
Say you got one difficult tire,
not in this instant,
put on and take it off again.
Remember, tools are a critical part of
any mountain biker's arsenal.
Now, these Park Tools ones,
there are plastic ones and metal ones.
Do not use screwdrivers,
and definitely do not use your family's best silverware,
best spoons to take your tires on and off.
And I love tires, I love them so much.
And I think on an e-mountain bike
they're more important than ever.
They give you that grip for doing climbs
or if you've got a low-profile one,
they enable you to get more range out of your battery.
So, yeah.
If you wanna see more of our tires,
there's a video I've done, just down by here
and it's pretty in-depth, so bear with it.
Let us know your thoughts about this video
about fitting tires.
If you have any comments, leave them down below.
And don't forget, you can like, share and subscribe
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