Which tyres are the easiest to change on a Road Bike?

[BackOfTheNet]

Hello all, I hope all is well.

I'm a new comer to biking so please be gentle

I have the rims in the attached (these ones - https://www.cyclesuk.com/177985/product ... black.aspx)

I had an awful bother getting the tyre replaced the other day, it took me hours to get it sorted. Is it because these rims are tubeless ready and then more difficult to change than normal clincher rims? I read elsewhere that the schwalbe durano tyres are easy to fit?

If I was to stick with the same rims, can someone please recommend a good tyre that is easy to get off/on? Or should i ditch the tubeless ready and go with a new rim that isn't tubeless ready?

Many thanks

[Brucey]

there are at least four main things that make tyres seem easy to fit/remove or not.

1) the tyre/tube
2) the rim
3) the tyre levers
4) the person changing the tyre

any or all of these things can be the weak link. All can vary more than you might expect them to.

But IME most tubeless ready rims make changing tyres unnecessarily hard work. For example a commonly heard cry is 'the rims are not too bad, I didn't have to use tyre levers to get the tyre on'..... which in my book means the tyres were ridiculously tight.

So if you want to tell if the rims are the main problem or not, take a tyre where you know how it fits on your rims, and try it on some other (non tubeless) rims. If it is a lot easier, you have just found your problem.

FWIW I am pretty good at changing tyres (I quite often succeed where others fail) but a lot of modern tyre/rim combinations are ones which I would really struggle with by the roadside, to the extent that I wouldn't (and indeed don't) willingly use them myself. Some non-tubeless rims are sometimes tight too, but if you don't want to run tubeless and you don't want to struggle with tyres then I would advise you not to use tubeless-ready rims.

cheers

[BackOfTheNet]

Hello, that's great, thanks.

I just don't feel confident that I'll be able to change the current flat in quick time so I need to either change the rim or the tyre.I don't want to go full tubeless, i think, as I have heard of horror stories of trying to fit a tube on a full tubeless when the sealant fails.

So looks like I have two options:

Replace my rims with clincher only tires and (sell my tubeless ready ones)
Or use a new tyre that would be easier to fit.

If option one, which rims would everyone recommend? I have a Trek Emonda ALR by the way.

If two, which tires should I go for?

Thanks again.

[whoof]

You might want to watch this as it gives some tips such as moving the bead off the rim 3.31in video.
https://m.youtube.com/watchv=-xufvrl0ut4

There's also a tool called a tyre bead Jack that might help.

[Brucey]

you are talking about solving a problem the true nature of which hasn't yet been conclusively identified.

I could tell you that on my road bike the Michelin tyres I use on my mavic rims are so easy that I needn't bother with tyre levers at all, but that doesn't mean that you would get the same results even if you could buy the exact same parts now, which you can't.

One of the nicest-riding tyres currently available is the conti GP5000, but I have yet to find a rim that they are a truly easy fit on. I have fitted tubed GP5000s to TLR rims and it almost drew blood from my thumbs.... I have not bought any new Michelins for a while but they were always easier than most other brands.

FWIW there is a whole thread on tyre/rim fits on YACF.

cheers

[iandriver]

How well drilled are you at fitting tyres?

This video is worth a look and applies to pretty much all tyre fitting.

[youtube]-XUFVrl0UT4[/youtube]


Only thing I'd add is only just enough air in the tube for it to just hold some shape.

It's worth seeing if technique can be improved before buying new kit, if you are not pushing the tyre bead into the rim well properly, then you will be back to square 1 with a lot of rims.

[Jdsk]

As a Marathon Plus user can I emphasise the point made above about dropping the bead into the well. It isn't obvious if you don't know.

Jonathan

[sixtoes]

there are at least four main things that make tyres seem easy to fit/remove or not.

1) the tyre/tube
2) the rim
3) the tyre levers
4) the person changing the tyre

any or all of these things can be the weak link. All can vary more than you might expect them to.

Hi OP,

Don't underestimate the relevance of point 4 in Bruceys list!

Practice at home 4 or 5 times and you might be amazed how much quicker you get at this. It made a big difference to me.

I found this video really helpful.
https://youtu.be/ewPeojRSa0k

Cheers,
Ian

[BackOfTheNet]

Hi Brucey,

I don't have another set of non tubeless ready rims to try out this theory, however I'm quite happy to purchase one to see how it goes with changing it. Which clincher rim would you recommend that's similar to the one i have currently?

there are at least four main things that make tyres seem easy to fit/remove or not.

1) the tyre/tube
2) the rim
3) the tyre levers
4) the person changing the tyre

any or all of these things can be the weak link. All can vary more than you might expect them to.

But IME most tubeless ready rims make changing tyres unnecessarily hard work. For example a commonly heard cry is 'the rims are not too bad, I didn't have to use tyre levers to get the tyre on'..... which in my book means the tyres were ridiculously tight.

So if you want to tell if the rims are the main problem or not, take a tyre where you know how it fits on your rims, and try it on some other (non tubeless) rims. If it is a lot easier, you have just found your problem.

FWIW I am pretty good at changing tyres (I quite often succeed where others fail) but a lot of modern tyre/rim combinations are ones which I would really struggle with by the roadside, to the extent that I wouldn't (and indeed don't) willingly use them myself. Some non-tubeless rims are sometimes tight too, but if you don't want to run tubeless and you don't want to struggle with tyres then I would advise you not to use tubeless-ready rims.

cheers

[BackOfTheNet]

Thanks for all the replies by the way, very helpful.

[scottg]

What rim tape ?,

For tubeless ready rims, even when being used with tubed tyres,
use tubeless rim tape.
Even for some tubeless unready rims, tubeless tape can make it easier to mount the tyre.
DT440 with cloth tape, 'orrible, with tubeless tape, tolerable.

[tim-b]

Hi
It's generally accepted that new tyres are tight. The sizing standards for tyres include the need to leave a new tyre fitted for 24 hours so that accurate measurements can be taken to determine its size tolerance
Note if it's different (if you remember) when re-fitting the troublesome tyre onto the same wheel, it should be easier
I wouldn't change the wheels because there isn't a guarantee that new ones will be any better; all that it takes is a rim at the high end of its tolerance, and a tyre at the low end and your own tolerance will surely be tested!
Practice as suggested, buy a set of toe straps and some decent tyre levers and ride on
Regards
tim-b

[andrew_s]

FWIW there is a whole thread on tyre/rim fits on YACF.

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=53372.0

As is pointed out somewhere in the middle of that thread, there's enough variation in both rim and tyre dimensions that the whole concept of the topic is flawed.
When tyre A on rim B* can vary between fit & remove by hand (with no levers) to ludicrously tight (needing levers to get the first bead on the rim), it becomes an exercise in statistics, with far more data points than are likely on a forum topic, if it's to be of any significance.

* Conti GP 4 Seasons 28mm in my case, on the same Open Pro rim.

Personally, I wouldn't ride out on a tyre that had been particularly difficult to fit, on the basis that getting it back on the wheel by the side of the road is going to be even harder than it was at home.
I have had some success in loosening tyres up by leaving them fitted to a spare wheel at high pressure for a few months.

[chris_suffolk]

Whilst rims can vary and the same tyre on different rims can be easy or hard, I generally find that folding tyres are easier than non-folding. Whether it's because they are more supple or what I don't know, just my experience.

My folding Durano + are much easier than the non folding version, on the same rim.