Home Tyre Changing… Rabaconda Review
Discussion
For those that like to, have to or want to change your own (road) bike tyres, I can report to you that the Rabaconda tyre changer is a pretty nifty piece of kit.
Facing a load of tyre changes I really wasn't looking forward to wrestling with tyre irons and such so a little bit of man maths and tool want found a Rabaconda street kit arriving at my door.
So, after a few moments setting up and seeing where the "duck head" needed to go, I managed to fit a set of slicks and dismount another old pair in about 15mins.
If you have easy access to a friendly tyre changing facility then it's probably not worth it but if like me, you're miles away from a company that can or will change tyres, especially if you didn't buy the tyres from the same establishment, it's probably not a bad investment. Not cheap but it's quicker, easier and prevents damage to rims better than the normal tools.
Effectiveness 8/10
Price 4/10
But perhaps by the fact it made changing the tyres so easy that convenience alone justifies the price...
Pics might help....
Facing a load of tyre changes I really wasn't looking forward to wrestling with tyre irons and such so a little bit of man maths and tool want found a Rabaconda street kit arriving at my door.
So, after a few moments setting up and seeing where the "duck head" needed to go, I managed to fit a set of slicks and dismount another old pair in about 15mins.
If you have easy access to a friendly tyre changing facility then it's probably not worth it but if like me, you're miles away from a company that can or will change tyres, especially if you didn't buy the tyres from the same establishment, it's probably not a bad investment. Not cheap but it's quicker, easier and prevents damage to rims better than the normal tools.
Effectiveness 8/10
Price 4/10
But perhaps by the fact it made changing the tyres so easy that convenience alone justifies the price...
Pics might help....
Edited by Steve Bass on Saturday 14th September 21:27
My issue is that I bought a pneumatic car tyre machine for less than a used rabaconda, let alone a new one
If it was half the price, it would still be overpriced IMO
I bought a £45 chinese machine to help my get tyres changed with mousses
The more I do the faster I get and I want to be able to do them when needed at the side of the trail
If it was half the price, it would still be overpriced IMO
I bought a £45 chinese machine to help my get tyres changed with mousses
The more I do the faster I get and I want to be able to do them when needed at the side of the trail
KTMsm said:
My issue is that I bought a pneumatic car tyre machine for less than a used rabaconda, let alone a new one
If it was half the price, it would still be overpriced IMO
I bought a £45 chinese machine to help my get tyres changed with mousses
The more I do the faster I get and I want to be able to do them when needed at the side of the trail
Agree with the maths however a pneumatic machine is difficult to take to the track If it was half the price, it would still be overpriced IMO
I bought a £45 chinese machine to help my get tyres changed with mousses
The more I do the faster I get and I want to be able to do them when needed at the side of the trail
...... And offroad tyres are fairly straightforward compared to road/track rims ...
Don't disagree that it's overpriced but for the convenience and packs away easily are pretty compelling arguments.
Was interested to see what you'd bought and how it worked, as I fit all our tyres. That looks like a nice piece of kit, but at that price I'll carry on the old fashioned way... Usually the only problem I have is with breaking the bead, and that is generally only with the reinforced sidewalls on stuff like Harleys.
Of course, you could always pop over and fit the Tourances for me, just to demonstrate how good it is... Cheers.
Of course, you could always pop over and fit the Tourances for me, just to demonstrate how good it is... Cheers.
KTMsm said:
Steve Bass said:
And offroad tyres are fairly straightforward compared to road/track rims ...
Are they ?Can't say I've noticed a difference
If you can make the man maths work - fair enough
You have to factor in the new tool exponent and the "oooh shiny s
t" constant and even then it's a failed equation. Jokes aside, I was looking at the standard pneumatic machines but I'm tight for space in the workshop and being able to take it to the track kinda made the equation nearly balance out.... nearly...
Steve Bass said:
Jokes aside, I was looking at the standard pneumatic machines but I'm tight for space in the workshop and being able to take it to the track kinda made the equation nearly balance out.... nearly...
It doesn't look much slower than a pneumatic kit, but a tiny fraction of the space required. Seems like a no-brainer to me, looks like a great bit of kit.Thanks for the reply on the pic a day thread Steve. It looks a great product. I had the constands walk around one before and it was sweat, swearing and rim damage all the way. These are pricey for what they are but I'm being charged £45 a pair for fitting loose tyres now without balancing. I'll give it some thought....
For those looking at these, you also really need a compressor to ensure you can get the tyres to pop onto beads and a static balancer (cheap) for wheel balancing.
For those looking at these, you also really need a compressor to ensure you can get the tyres to pop onto beads and a static balancer (cheap) for wheel balancing.
trickywoo said:
Krikkit said:
It doesn't look much slower than a pneumatic kit, but a tiny fraction of the space required. Seems like a no-brainer to me, looks like a great bit of kit.
It’s way over priced. You can get virtually the same thing without the ratchet for a 1/4 the price.Krikkit said:
trickywoo said:
Krikkit said:
It doesn't look much slower than a pneumatic kit, but a tiny fraction of the space required. Seems like a no-brainer to me, looks like a great bit of kit.
It’s way over priced. You can get virtually the same thing without the ratchet for a 1/4 the price.A bump for this awesome product and thanks for the recommendation Steve. I bought the road tyre kit from Germany and minus EU VAT, plus import n UK VAT, it cost about £445 delivered.
Not only does it take any sweat and exersion out of tyre changing, the main bonus is if you want zero chance of damaging or scratching you rims, this is the product for you.
I reckon it'll pay for itself well within 5 years, depending on number of trackdays I do, but what price to avoid the aggro of taking my loose wheels to tyre places and sitting about, worrying about scratches etc?
I already static balance my own wheels and have a compressor that allows popping the tyres back onto the beads, so all good! Well chuffed!
The game changing part is the duck head and mechanism. In under a minute it all packs down into a bag too, so unlike my last rim destroying set-up, this doesn't take up space either.
Not only does it take any sweat and exersion out of tyre changing, the main bonus is if you want zero chance of damaging or scratching you rims, this is the product for you.
I reckon it'll pay for itself well within 5 years, depending on number of trackdays I do, but what price to avoid the aggro of taking my loose wheels to tyre places and sitting about, worrying about scratches etc?
I already static balance my own wheels and have a compressor that allows popping the tyres back onto the beads, so all good! Well chuffed!
The game changing part is the duck head and mechanism. In under a minute it all packs down into a bag too, so unlike my last rim destroying set-up, this doesn't take up space either.
Edited by 3DP on Wednesday 1st January 20:06
3DP said:
A bump for this awesome product and thanks for the recommendation Steve. I bought the road tyre kit from Germany and minus EU VAT, plus import n UK VAT, it cost about £445 delivered.
Not only does it take any sweat and exersion out of tyre changing, the main bonus is if you want zero chance of damaging or scratching you rims, this is the product for you.
I reckon it'll pay for itself well within 5 years, depending on number of trackdays I do, but what price to avoid the aggro of taking my loose wheels to tyre places and sitting about, worrying about scratches etc?
I already static balance my own wheels and have a compressor that allows popping the tyres back onto the beads, so all good! Well chuffed!
The game changing part is the duck head and mechanism. In under a minute it all packs down into a bag too, so unlike my last rim destroying set-up, this doesn't take up space either.
Nice one Not only does it take any sweat and exersion out of tyre changing, the main bonus is if you want zero chance of damaging or scratching you rims, this is the product for you.
I reckon it'll pay for itself well within 5 years, depending on number of trackdays I do, but what price to avoid the aggro of taking my loose wheels to tyre places and sitting about, worrying about scratches etc?
I already static balance my own wheels and have a compressor that allows popping the tyres back onto the beads, so all good! Well chuffed!
The game changing part is the duck head and mechanism. In under a minute it all packs down into a bag too, so unlike my last rim destroying set-up, this doesn't take up space either.
Having used it a bit more of late, to move tyres around different bikes, it's getting easier and easier to use. Little tricks getting picked up with use now mean it takes longer to assemble and disassemble than remove and reinstall a tyre.
I also bought it to allow me a fighting chance to work on my BST carbon rims and can report that once the duck head mounting distance is properly set it's absolutely fantastic for working on them.
The fact that it packs away and goes in my race trailer is a huge bonus as it allows me to manage tyres without having to have purchases them at the track.
Not cheap but it really is that good.
Edited by Steve Bass on Wednesday 1st January 22:08
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