Cycling UK Forum

I've just ordered one of these so will see how it goes when it arrives and report back.
I have spare wheels and tyres including some 406 M+ which can be buggers

There's a new video today on the "Ride with Roy" Youtube channel with a demo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7hxbstDAFg
The person trying out the Tyre Glider is a lady who says she has weak wrists due to having broken them both in the last 5 years. She seems to cope very easily after some instruction.

Hi,
That's funny I thought you were meant to finish at the Valve?
The valve prevents the bead from sitting right in the well of the rim.
if you don't finish at Valve it makes it more difficult.
You don't want the tire bead pushing on the valve until the tire is completely on, that way it's never pushing on the valve anyway.

I suppose they are fortunate that its not a motorcycle tire.

That looks like a relatively easy tire to me especially the way it came off and the amount of slack between the bead and the rim well to start with.

Various tools for doing this are available. I'm not sure that the benefit of a new design could be enough to make it worth trying.

The one that I tend to have with me on the road is a VAR, which I've probably had for four decades (mine's the original grey - I hadn't seen those blue ones before). I use Marathon tyres on various bikes and rims. I don't find them nearly as bad to fit as many people describe, but I do often need the VAR tool to get the very last bit on.

Somewhere along the way I picked up a couple similar to the BBB one as well. I think they were offers or even freebies or something. Bit bulkier for carrying though.

As I said, something along these lines is handy to have available but, once you've got one, I'm not sure it's worth the effort to work out whether an alternative is better.

Park Tool made something similar which was designed to hook under the lip of the tyre then pushed around the rim to remove it. And then used the other way up to push the tyre back on. They couldn't have been that effective as they were given away with a bike mag. Bike Radar if I recall. Here's mine, I leave it clipped to my seat tube for when I get a visit, haven't used it for yonks. It works but I carry a pair of steel removers which are attached to my spare inner tube so these get preferential use. It also has a pair of chain hooks on it which hold the chain when using a chain pin tool, so pre quick links.

If peeps post their tools on here we could expand the discussion.
Last year it was the tyre key, what will we see next year.

I've come across it a couple of times, whatever the merits of the product, they're certainly good at the marketing. Not sure what's going on with the Rehook branding, it seemed to launch as a stand alone product, then as Rehook, only the colour has changed, Red > Blue. I saw an interview with the designer, who said he was getting a lot of feedback, so improvements and an MTB version were possible developments. I quite like the idea of getting one but as all my current rim/tyre combinations are relatively easy ones I'm in no hurry.

rjb wrote: ↑5 Feb 2022, 3:18pmIt works but I carry a pair of steel removers...

Yes, for removing tyres I've found nothing to beat my classic, forty-five-year-old tyre levers.

fausto99 wrote: ↑4 Feb 2022, 9:55am There's a new video today on the "Ride with Roy" Youtube channel with a demo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7hxbstDAFg
The person trying out the Tyre Glider is a lady who says she has weak wrists due to having broken them both in the last 5 years. She seems to cope very easily after some instruction.

That video makes it look exactly like pushing a standard tyre lever around.
You get a bit stuck with 3" to go - then squeeze the opposiste in/down a bit - then go back to the last bit.
Same old same old.

Of course, it MIGHT be a reeeeeeally hard tyre/rim combo, and thus next-to-impossible with just a tyre-lever; but it's impossible to tell from the video.

drossall wrote: ↑4 Feb 2022, 11:11pm The one that I tend to have with me on the road is a VAR, which I've probably had for four decades (mine's the original grey - I hadn't seen those blue ones before). I use Marathon tyres on various bikes and rims. I don't find them nearly as bad to fit as many people describe, but I do often need the VAR tool to get the very last bit on.

4 decades?!? Reeee-spect, brother!
(I've had one for close to 20 years, I had no idea they were such an old design.)

The fact they are so durable - and that I've never been stranded using mine in the field - makes me happy to still recommend the trusty VAR. Pretty compact too. And can be used like a normal lever if you're feeling retro.

Could be dodgy memory. I'd have thought more than two decades, but maybe less than I claimed. They were, I think, given a review in the CTC magazine. I'm still using the original one that I bought.

I have had mine for about a month now and removing and refitting a tyre is a breeze and a lot easier than doing it with levers. The other big plus is that it is only 3 inch in length so it's ideal for putting it in a pocket whilst out riding. The best invention since the wheel

Cyclo2022 wrote: ↑7 Feb 2022, 3:16pm I have had mine for about a month now and removing and refitting a tyre is a breeze and a lot easier than doing it with levers. The other big plus is that it is only 3 inch in length so it's ideal for putting it in a pocket whilst out riding. The best invention since the wheel

Gets my vote too for exactly the same reasons

The action on the Tyre Glider looks similar to the telescopic plastic device I've had for well over 2 decades ("Speed Lever" sold under various brands at various times). That old device was a little fragile if pushed in the wrong place, but used correctly worked very well. I was unable to find anyone selling them when I needed another about five years ago.

I know the action works (from the old Speed Lever), and this isn't being priced at £-carbon-titanium-silly, so I'll get one to try.

Nigel wrote: ↑7 Feb 2022, 9:40pm The action on the Tyre Glider looks similar to the telescopic plastic device I've had for well over 2 decades ("Speed Lever" sold under various brands at various times). That old device was a little fragile if pushed in the wrong place, but used correctly worked very well. I was unable to find anyone selling them when I needed another about five years ago.

I know the action works (from the old Speed Lever), and this isn't being priced at £-carbon-titanium-silly, so I'll get one to try.

I had the 'tab' (the bit that goes under the tyre bead to get the tyre off) break, so decided it
wasn't worth pursuing with the spare one that I had. I gave it away to someone on this forum.

I have one of the Tyre Gliders that I'll be using later on today. It will be interesting to see if it is any quicker than the (blue) plastic Park levers that I use.


[Edit: I have just use the Tyre Glider and think it's ok. Not "night and day" better than my Schwalbe tyre levers, but nevertheless, pretty quick and easy.