Comments on: Good Tire, Bad Tire

By: page mill rider

page mill rider — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 04:53:24 +0000

If you have to mount a tight tire, the Michelin levers are the best–been using them over 25 years. Can be hard to find at times (they never break, but I lose them) I had to order from a European supplier last time.

BTW Michelin tires are always a bear to mount, so I avoid them.

By: Slonie

Slonie — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:46:52 +0000

Agreed on all counts! Another really tough one is Vittoria Randonneur Cross… The tire that made me buy the Tire Bead Jack. This is an invaluable tool for mounting tough tires, but it’s a bit large to carry with you, so you’re still going to be in trouble if you get a flat out on the road.

PS: Just got your Santa Cruz Mountains book, thanks for publishing it! Can’t wait to read it…

By: Cardinal Fang

Cardinal Fang — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 20:04:17 +0000

The world champion tire for hard-to-get-on is the Schwalbe Marathon. Good thing flats are rare with it, because on a good day I can get one on in half an hour, using three tire levers and two toestraps.

By: Murali

Murali — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:09:35 +0000

Great post. When buying new tires, the primary quality I want is ease of mounting by hand. Its frustrating that there is no way to know this about a tire until you bring it home and actually wrestle it onto the rim.

I also noticed that the Bontrager tires I have go on easier than the Continentals I just got. Given your similar information, I think I may be sticking with Bontrager exclusively from now on.