Tire change hint

[billyj7175]

I am proudly announcing that I did my first tire change today, in about 10 years or so...haha. Copius amounts of baby powder on the tube, and soapy water on the beads, and everything went entirely so smooth, that I even went back a couple of hours later, just to check to make sure it was still holding air.

In an effort to get creative, and not to have to call my wife out to help hold tire irons, I spied my craftsman, "speed clamps" hanging on the wall. I must say that they came in VERY handy to hold the tire beads together while I broke the beads, then to hold the tire irons while I started the bead back on the rim. Anyway, I thought that I'd pass that along because they were of great help. Now I need to figure out how to find room for them in my fanny pack...haha

[FooBarr]

I'm a big fan of the 15-inch tire iron 'spoons'. I use three when I change a tire; two to stand on, and the third to pry with. I always used soapy water until my last tire change a few weeks ago. I installed a crescent-shaped mousse on my rear wheel and got some professional mounting lube with graphite. It looks a lot like axel grease and was pretty slick. I put a light coat on the rim and tire beads and the tire slipped on easier than using plain dish soap.

I also recently discovered an easier way to install my two rimlocks. Previously I used to mount one bead and then would try to install the rim lock through the inside of the tire prior to installing the tube. That doesn't work too well when running two rim locks so I came up with an alternative. I stood the tire up and used a 15" spoon to pull a small portion of partially-mounted tire completely away from the rim and simply dropped the rim lock in from the outside. I then took the tire-spoon and work the tire back over the rimlock. Worked slick for both locks.

At that moment there was a loud thunder, the clouds parted, and as I looked up into the sky I could see the golden Excel Rim shining in the heavens, AHHAAAAHHHH!!!!!

“Curse you father, for not showing me that trick 30 years ago! All those bleeding knuckles over the years. Dooohhhh!”

[EZGZ]

Thanks! Good tips. I have decided that I will not attempt a repair on the trail. I carry a bunch of nylon tie rapps to pull the tire close to the rim so it is still riddable back to the truck. I also carry one of those little cheap bicycle pumps in my pack for the sloooooow leak. ?