Changing tyres, recommend me some gear?
Discussion
So,
Many years ago, I used to change my own tyres, and I want to do that again.
I don’t want to spend a lot on equipment, or it to take up much room.
I need to change both tubed and tubeless tyres.
I think I need
2x tyre levers
2x rim protectors
1 wheel balancing stand
Some wheel weights both stick on and ones for spiked wheels. Are those brass ones with grub screws any good?
Some kind of tyre lube.
I figure I can break the bead with a g clamp.
And I’m hoping, on the tubeless tyres, to seat them with a ratchet strap and a foot pump. Failing that I’ll take them to the local service station and use their airline.
Anything I’m missing?
Any recommendations for tyre levers etc?
Many years ago, I used to change my own tyres, and I want to do that again.
I don’t want to spend a lot on equipment, or it to take up much room.
I need to change both tubed and tubeless tyres.
I think I need
2x tyre levers
2x rim protectors
1 wheel balancing stand
Some wheel weights both stick on and ones for spiked wheels. Are those brass ones with grub screws any good?
Some kind of tyre lube.
I figure I can break the bead with a g clamp.
And I’m hoping, on the tubeless tyres, to seat them with a ratchet strap and a foot pump. Failing that I’ll take them to the local service station and use their airline.
Anything I’m missing?
Any recommendations for tyre levers etc?
I don't bother with a wheel balancing stand. I just use a length of tube balanced on some axle stands
I use a £50 warrior "tyre machine" because it makes it a lot easier with a breaker
If you're fitting mousses it would be worthwhile spending £80 on the machine with the foot breaker as it gives you a spare hand
I buy most stuff off eBay, tyre soap, weights, valves etc
If you're doing off-road tyres, the Michelin style, bent levers make it a lot easier. I haven't noticed that they make much difference on road tires
But the £20 a pair ones are much nicer to use and don't scratch rims as much as the £5 a pair ones
I use a £50 warrior "tyre machine" because it makes it a lot easier with a breaker
If you're fitting mousses it would be worthwhile spending £80 on the machine with the foot breaker as it gives you a spare hand
I buy most stuff off eBay, tyre soap, weights, valves etc
If you're doing off-road tyres, the Michelin style, bent levers make it a lot easier. I haven't noticed that they make much difference on road tires
But the £20 a pair ones are much nicer to use and don't scratch rims as much as the £5 a pair ones
Edited by KTMsm on Sunday 3rd November 20:03
With planning to get back into trackdays I’m quite keen to start changing tyres myself…. That and the last time I got tyres changed they come back with half the paint chipped off.
Been looking at a few such as https://www.xlmoto.co.uk/product/proworks-road-tyr...
Has anyone had success with these “cheaper” tyre changers? By success I mean not wrestling with the tyres for hours on end and also not damaging the rims.
Was hoping to spend less than £200 all in for the machine and all the tools, mounting paste, tyre weights etc
Been looking at a few such as https://www.xlmoto.co.uk/product/proworks-road-tyr...
Has anyone had success with these “cheaper” tyre changers? By success I mean not wrestling with the tyres for hours on end and also not damaging the rims.
Was hoping to spend less than £200 all in for the machine and all the tools, mounting paste, tyre weights etc
All I've ever used is a couple of half decent tyre levers, and I break the bead in the bench vice... I did find, after many years of not using the right stuff, that a branded tyre soap is so much better than washing up liquid or similar and made fitting even reinforced sidecar type tyres a doddle.
Not that I change tyres very often, but..
For spoked wheels, the Motion Pro Bead Buddy (Chinese clones are available, but I've not tried them) helps with keeping the bead in the drop centre of the rim.
I found that Motion Pro Rim Shield rim protectors (Chinese clones etc...) are easier to use than the usual type.
Planning to try aerosol tyre fitting lubricant next time.
For spoked wheels, the Motion Pro Bead Buddy (Chinese clones are available, but I've not tried them) helps with keeping the bead in the drop centre of the rim.
I found that Motion Pro Rim Shield rim protectors (Chinese clones etc...) are easier to use than the usual type.
Planning to try aerosol tyre fitting lubricant next time.
Edited by gareth_r on Monday 4th November 13:55
sean18751 said:
Been looking at a few such as https://www.xlmoto.co.uk/product/proworks-road-tyr...
Has anyone had success with these “cheaper” tyre changers? By success I mean not wrestling with the tyres for hours on end and also not damaging the rims.
That looks exactly the same as the warrior on eBay for half the price Has anyone had success with these “cheaper” tyre changers? By success I mean not wrestling with the tyres for hours on end and also not damaging the rims.
It's what I use, it works well enough. I would use a foot operated breaker next time, but that's mostly for fighting with mousses
Ive got 3 levers with rubber handles, eBay kit, work fine. Also a couple of the rim protectors that have hand holes in them, you can't have enough rim protectors. And I got some drop centre tools that make fitting easy, plastic clip on type, look a bit like knuckle dusters. A balance stand was cheap enough, although I need to find some cone adapters that will work with single sided swingarm wheels. Finally knock off motion pro bead breaker levers make that easy.
Good lube a must, I found a recent road 5 really stiff and I had to wrap the tyre in parcel tape (to reduce friction) and whack a ratchet strap round it to squash the bead out enough to seat it.
Good lube a must, I found a recent road 5 really stiff and I had to wrap the tyre in parcel tape (to reduce friction) and whack a ratchet strap round it to squash the bead out enough to seat it.
camb10 said:
Ive got 3 levers with rubber handles, eBay kit, work fine. Also a couple of the rim protectors that have hand holes in them, you can't have enough rim protectors. And I got some drop centre tools that make fitting easy, plastic clip on type, look a bit like knuckle dusters. A balance stand was cheap enough, although I need to find some cone adapters that will work with single sided swingarm wheels. Finally knock off motion pro bead breaker levers make that easy.
Good lube a must, I found a recent road 5 really stiff and I had to wrap the tyre in parcel tape (to reduce friction) and whack a ratchet strap round it to squash the bead out enough to seat it.
For stiff tyres stick them in front of a heater for a while. Gets the rubber softer so it will slip on easier. I also put an inner tube in them blown up way past usual pressure to spread the tyre apart as some of the ones I fit have been stacked on top of each other and compressed down.Good lube a must, I found a recent road 5 really stiff and I had to wrap the tyre in parcel tape (to reduce friction) and whack a ratchet strap round it to squash the bead out enough to seat it.
Following with interest having recently discovered how expensive bike tyre changes are and how difficult it is actually finding anywhere to do them. My bike needs new tyres and it looks like I can pay off the cost of tools in a couple of changes so I can feel an investment coming on.
I'm interested in a solution that also works for car tyres so I can start doing my own car tyre changes too.
I'm interested in a solution that also works for car tyres so I can start doing my own car tyre changes too.
DIY tyre changes do rather depend on the tyre. I can (and do) change my tyres on all my 'older' stuff. But the back tyre on the '14 Chief (180/65x16 - same as some Harleys I believe) simply cannot be done with tyre levers. My mate has a motorcycle shop and we had the rim bolter down to the tyre change table thingy and it still took 2 of us hanging off a 6 foot pole to break the bead. And then it needed the levers against the rim thingy on the tyre changer to actually get it off. I think I've had to change it 4 or 5 times now and every time I've tried and failed as a DIY job...but it's the only tyre that's beaten me. But I assume it's not a unique tyre and presumable other heavy load tourer and possibly sportsbike tyres might be the same.
Depending on the type of tyres you want to change, whilst levers, rim guards and drop centre tools are OK, they are no comparison to a proper tyre changing system.
For many years I used levers, rim guards and lube however I recently bought a Rabaconda tyre changer and it's a revelation.
Not cheap but it's so easy to demount and mount the new tyre it's longer to assemble the tool than it takes to change the tyre.
There's a few tools available like the Rabaconda (look for the "duck head" ) that are cheaper so it's not the only one available.
If you're only looking at changing one or two tyres then it's not cost effective but if you're looking for a long term solution five it serious consideration
For many years I used levers, rim guards and lube however I recently bought a Rabaconda tyre changer and it's a revelation.
Not cheap but it's so easy to demount and mount the new tyre it's longer to assemble the tool than it takes to change the tyre.
There's a few tools available like the Rabaconda (look for the "duck head" ) that are cheaper so it's not the only one available.
If you're only looking at changing one or two tyres then it's not cost effective but if you're looking for a long term solution five it serious consideration
Steve Bass said:
Depending on the type of tyres you want to change, whilst levers, rim guards and drop centre tools are OK, they are no comparison to a proper tyre changing system.
For many years I used levers, rim guards and lube however I recently bought a Rabaconda tyre changer and it's a revelation.
Not cheap but it's so easy to demount and mount the new tyre it's longer to assemble the tool than it takes to change the tyre.
There's a few tools available like the Rabaconda (look for the "duck head" ) that are cheaper so it's not the only one available.
If you're only looking at changing one or two tyres then it's not cost effective but if you're looking for a long term solution five it serious consideration
Can it do car tyres? I've been looking at these but can't find an answer to this.For many years I used levers, rim guards and lube however I recently bought a Rabaconda tyre changer and it's a revelation.
Not cheap but it's so easy to demount and mount the new tyre it's longer to assemble the tool than it takes to change the tyre.
There's a few tools available like the Rabaconda (look for the "duck head" ) that are cheaper so it's not the only one available.
If you're only looking at changing one or two tyres then it's not cost effective but if you're looking for a long term solution five it serious consideration
TurboHatchback said:
Can it do car tyres? I've been looking at these but can't find an answer to this.
No, car tyres need a much bigger bead breaker offset as well as the centre cap hole being much bigger than an mc axle shaft. Bike and car commercial machines are completely different so I don't think you'll find a single solution to both types. However, car tyres are actually easier to manually change due to the size of the drop centre and the relative size of the sidewall. A decent set of longer levers and a good tyre lube should get the job done. Regards balancing though, not sure how you're going to get that done as an mc setup won't work at all for a car rim.
Edited by Steve Bass on Tuesday 5th November 17:33
tvrolet said:
DIY tyre changes do rather depend on the tyre. I can (and do) change my tyres on all my 'older' stuff. But the back tyre on the '14 Chief (180/65x16 - same as some Harleys I believe) simply cannot be done with tyre levers. My mate has a motorcycle shop and we had the rim bolter down to the tyre change table thingy and it still took 2 of us hanging off a 6 foot pole to break the bead. And then it needed the levers against the rim thingy on the tyre changer to actually get it off. I think I've had to change it 4 or 5 times now and every time I've tried and failed as a DIY job...but it's the only tyre that's beaten me. But I assume it's not a unique tyre and presumable other heavy load tourer and possibly sportsbike tyres might be the same.
For me it’ll be sporty / road legal track orientated tyres. I wouldn’t know if they’d be any more challenging than a normal tyre? I bought a used, professional, pneumatic car tyre machine and an electronic balancer for less than the price of a rabaconda 
I know they're good but I just couldn't pay anything like that for a few bits of metal tube
I could buy attachments to change and balance bike tyres on them but it's not cost effective for the few bike tyres I do
I know they're good but I just couldn't pay anything like that for a few bits of metal tube
I could buy attachments to change and balance bike tyres on them but it's not cost effective for the few bike tyres I do
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