How to seat a tubeless tyre?

[Crimsonhobbit]

When I picked up my new road bike it came tubeless ready with 30mm Schwalbe tyres. The mechanic said could convert them to tubeless so I agreed and watched. He inflated them with a compressor.
Six months on (and no punctures) I decided to replace the tubeless sealant as recommended. Just as well I did because there wasn't much sealant left, I presume it had dried out.
However, no matter how hard I tried, I could not get the tyre to 'pop' onto the rim using either a track pump or blast of CO2. I tried using sealant and water as a lubricant to help but it still wouldn't work.
It seems the only way to get the tyre to seal onto the rim is to inflate the tyre with a huge burst of air like the mechanic did with a compressor. I don't have an industrial compressor and am not going to buy one just to inflate my tubeless tyres every 6 months! Has anyone got any suggestions? Would a 12V car tyre inflator provide a big enough surge of air?
Thanks

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Piece of string and a Twig.

[softlips]

I suck the old sealant out with a syringe and tube then replace the same way.

For the first inflation I always use my Joe Blow pump with tank - infact it’s my default pump these days. You pump,the tank up and connect to the valve, turn the wheel and the air all goes in very very quickly.

https://www.topeak.com/global/de/produc ... w--booster

[Brucey]

...Would a 12V car tyre inflator provide a big enough surge of air?...

no I don't think so. You need a tank of some kind.

cheers

[Crimsonhobbit]

I suck the old sealant out with a syringe and tube then replace the same way.

For the first inflation I always use my Joe Blow pump with tank - infact it’s my default pump these days. You pump,the tank up and connect to the valve, turn the wheel and the air all goes in very very quickly.

https://www.topeak.com/global/de/produc ... w--booster

Thanks for this, Ive never seen one before. Looks like the solution. I didn't think a 12V car tyre inflator would cut it.

Cheers

[tim_f]

Remove the valve core.

Have to be quick to get it back in after blasting on to the rim and remove the inflation from the valve stem. Putting finger over valve hole for a moment works, then quickly get valve in.

Also slightly compress tube above valve to make tyre beeds move close to rim edge and stop air being wasted.

Tim

[Brucey]

BTW I m told that those who wish to be able to reseat a tubeless tyre at the roadside can carry a special water bottle with them, which (once emptied) doubles as an air tank.

cheers

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Piece of string and a Twig.

You make a tourniquet To squish the tire on to the rim, Then you can use the track pump.

[softlips]

BTW I m told that those who wish to be able to reseat a tubeless tyre at the roadside can carry a special water bottle with them, which (once emptied) doubles as an air tank.

cheers

Or just fix any large holes with rubber worms and inflate.

[MikeF]

Hi,
Piece of string and a Twig.

You make a tourniquet To squish the tire on to the rim, Then you can use the track pump.

I used to do that with tubeless car tyres in the 60s, but I've no experience of cycle tyres, but obviously you find it works.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Having fit tubed and tubeless even as a job (motorcycles) also on most vehicles even split rims excluding bicycle tubeless! All with hand levers no machine.
It works sometimes, easier if you can use an airline and the wheel is mounted flat so you can use both hands to manipulate the tyre.
Worth a try I would of thought.
The difficulty comes on wider rims like motor vehicles when tyre is used, new is easy as tyre beads are rigidly held apart.
Dunno a bicycle tyre with narrow rim might well be the easiest of the bunch?

[MikeDee]

Soapy water on the tire beads makes it easier to seat the tire. You could take the wheel down to the LBS and they'll do it for you. Small compressors are relatively cheap.

[hemo]

I use Airshot cannister primed to 140psi. I use Caffelatex and prime rim and bead with it afore inflating on to rim with a pop to confirm. All my sealant then goes in via the presta (core removed) all subsequent tops ups all via the valve and track pup to pressurise.

[CyclingGuy]

+1 from me on the Airshot - I struggled for a long time with the same problem and a chance conversation with a cycling colleague he recommended one. Now that I've used mine a few times I wouldn't be without it.

You can get it from Amazon for about £48 (https://amzn.to/2S6F22q) which is a bit pricey but now that I have one I have no fears about taking the tyres off whenever I want for maintenance.

Neil

[Brucey]

car tyres that are too narrow for the rim are often seated by using one of these



works a bit like an airshot but holds five gallons of air at >100psi and is applied between the rim and the tyre bead.

One of the craziest schemes I have seen for bicycle tyres is to hook up a CO2 fire extinguisher directly (i.e. without any regulator) to a bicycle tyre using a track pump hose. This will definitely push a tyre onto its seat..... but the contents of the fire extinguisher are likely to be between about 10 and 60 bar (depending on fill and temperature) so if the valve is opened for a fraction of a second too long something may get blown to bits. A pressure relief valve would seem like a good idea. Obviously an empty fire extinguisher may well make a good bottle for a DIY workshop airshot.

You can also make a DIY 'airshot' using a 2 litre coke bottle.

cheers