Tire changing...?

[B.D.F.]

Please don't take this the wrong way but..... the thing that makes tire changing work is technique, not brute force. I think we have all been there, gotten exasperated and tried to use brute force to forge ahead when a tire discount (or a tire mount) started to go badly but that rarely works. A bit of lube and 99% technique will make an easy job of it. It is tough to learn how to do it from the printed word though and having someone help or show you a couple of times is best. The usual mistake is trying to take too big of a bite with the next movement with the tire iron; small steps are best and sometimes the only way it will work. A lot of the time you have to force the tire iron closer to the point where the tire is against the wheel before trying to lever over the next section; the tire is against the wheel with a fair amount of pressure and where it stops the tire iron from moving toward the area already under the lip of the rim is probably not far enough.

Also, bad language does not really help much but it can be extremely satisfying at the moment. Personally I like to combine bad words in new and unusual ways.... 

Brian

Wow! I had an epic battle trying to change the rear tire on my C14 yesterday. Epic! The old Roadsmarts are pretty well shot, so decided to change them out since I had the day off. My son and I changed the tires on his ZX6R a short time ago, and it was a challenge, but since it was my first time doing it myself I figured it didn't go too badly. We just used the 2x4 box and tire irons on those. I'm pretty handy with most things so I thought to myself 'how hard can it be?".

WRONG. For the life of me I couldn't get that %^$# rear tire off the rim! I got it half way off, but after fighting it for 3 hrs. I was getting mad and starting to nick up my rim, so I finally gave up and took it over to Cycle Gear. It was 110 degrees in my garage and I just couldn't git 'er done. I even stopped at one point to go inside and cool off awhile and checked out some Youtube videos on tire removal. They all made it look so easy.

The drop center of this rim doesn't seem to "drop" much, and no matter how much lubing, prying, cussing, and sweating I did, I finally just admitted defeat and threw in the towel. I hate loosing.

[dras]

Oh I agree 100% Brian. I got hot, tired, frustrated, and down right angry, and then nothing good was gonna happen. I got the front done this morning without too much fanfare. I'm just stubborn enough that I'll likely try doing the rear tire again next time . Strangely enough, those naughty words yesterday didn't seem to help at all. Maybe I need to learn some new ones .

Anyway, now I have shiny new tires to ride on. Incidentally, I decided to try the Shinko 009's this time around. We'll see how they do.

Dave

[B.D.F.]

Great idea in my opinion- do it again next time you need tires. Really, giving up never accomplished anything. The videos on Youtube may help too. Unfortunately using tire irons seems to be a disappearing skill as most people now tend to use long levers to twist the tire over the lip of the wheel (Coats type, Mojo lever, NoMar, etc.) rather than irons levering them on. I actually think levers are faster and easier most of the time especially when you take into account the time and effort necessary to secure the wheel so it will not turn (much) and is not damaged by the wheel clamps themselves.

The key with bad language is the combinations, especially those using farm animals and mining equipment. 

Pass along how those Shinkos perform if you would. Some people are finding them to be a good value and it seems that most people who do try them like them overall.

Brian

Oh I agree 100% Brian. I got hot, tired, frustrated, and down right angry, and then nothing good was gonna happen. I got the front done this morning without too much fanfare. I'm just stubborn enough that I'll likely try doing the rear tire again next time . Strangely enough, those naughty words yesterday didn't seem to help at all. Maybe I need to learn some new ones .

Anyway, now I have shiny new tires to ride on. Incidentally, I decided to try the Shinko 009's this time around. We'll see how they do.

Dave