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How Do You Change A Tyre?


sam12
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Welcome Sam - there's probably plenty of posts out there discussing this sort of thing, but....I may as well start you off and others will no doubt add on to it.

Depending on the age of your bike, you'll have tubeless rear, tubed front, or for the older ones tubed front and rear.

The things that look like valves but aren't are security bolts - they grip the tyre to the wheel to stop the wheel spinning without the tyre - not a great problem on the front, but used to be a big problem on tubed rears. Could easily rip a valve out when water/mud lubed the tyre up.

Changing the front is similar to any push bike you might have done, other than the security bolt if there is one - just take the nut off and carry on as normal.

Changing the rear is the thing that's alien to people who've not been in trials for years or have only done push bikes. The tubeless tyre has a bead which holds it pretty tight to the rim, and even with no air in it, that seal is almost unbreakable without some kind of tool. Sometimes you can get away with using a shovel along the edge of the rim - basically you have to push the tyre away from the rim to break the seal. Various people have various tricks. I used to use a couple of bits of wood wedged up against a block of wood on my garage wall to get the leverage.

There are tools called 'bead breakers' out there which make it really easy but at 30-40 quid you might decide to take it to a dealer, especially when you learn that to get the tyre back on, the easiest way is with a 'beader' - between 15-20 quid. It's like a ring of rubber slightly smaller than the wheel which fills the gap between the tyre and the rim so that you can get enough air in there to get the tyre back 'in the bead'. Then you pull it out carefully as the tyre expands and pushes out to the rim.

Most of the rest of it, is good old tyre levers in the same way as any other tyre, but I'm sure people will throw in some handy tips and tricks to help you along the way.

Good luck!

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There are tools called 'bead breakers' out there which make it really easy but at 30-40 quid you might decide to take it to a dealer, especially when you learn that to get the tyre back on, the easiest way is with a 'beader' - between 15-20 quid. It's like a ring of rubber slightly smaller than the wheel which fills the gap between the tyre and the rim so that you can get enough air in there to get the tyre back 'in the bead'. Then you pull it out carefully as the tyre expands and pushes out to the rim.

In a pinch (no pun intended) you can use a 20" bicycle tube and lots of soapy water as a beader. I always carry my vintage bike in my trailer with my new bike so I like to carry extra tubes for it, so I put the spare tubes in my spare front/rear new tires and inflate them to spread out the beads during storage. This makes installing the new tires, especially the rear tubeless, easy as the bead is wide apart, the tire is easy to lever on the rim and I don't need a "beader" to get them inflated and the spare tubes are always at hand.

Jon

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When replacing the front or any tyre with tubes put a little air in the tube helps locating the security bolt and avoid pinching.

What I would say is the operation of changing tyres is a dark art, until someone who knows what they are doing shows you then you think, that was pretty straight forward.

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Thats a good tip JSE...I always do that too.

Also, if you have a strong compressor...SOMETIMES you can get the rear tyre to bead by removing the valve and inflating..that helps the air get into the tyre more rapidly. If it beads, fine..job done..of course the tyre will deflate immeditaely when removing the compressor, but if its already caught the rim, no problem just replace the valve and re-inflate.

Hope that made sense?

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Thats a good tip JSE...I always do that too.

Also, if you have a strong compressor...SOMETIMES you can get the rear tyre to bead by removing the valve and inflating..that helps the air get into the tyre more rapidly. If it beads, fine..job done..of course the tyre will deflate immeditaely when removing the compressor, but if its already caught the rim, no problem just replace the valve and re-inflate.

Hope that made sense?

Yep.

I made a gun-type tubeless tire inflation attachment that has a locking tip (that attaches to the valve stem) and is "ported" to allow maximum air flow so it puts a ton of air into the rim all at once, works really well.

Jon

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thanks guys,i think would just about manage the front,but i think the rear is for the shop.

Don't be so soft lad, give it a go! There's nothing you can mess up, if you can't do it you won't bust owt. You can always take it to a shop afterwards if you can't sort it! :unsure:

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If you are having trouble getting the rear tyre to pop onto the bead, try using a ratchet tie down, put it around the circumference of the tyre and ratchet it down a few clicks, that forces the tyre walls out towards the beads and makes fitting much easier. But a compressor is a must.

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" UUUMMM dare I say starter fluid and a lighter????? to get the tubeless rear back on. "

I've done that in the desert on my old CJ7 w/ 36x12.50 tires , but I had onboard air to finish the task too ...

NOT for the inexperienced or faint of heart , Can be disastrous !!!! And I think a trials tire would be harder than a big ole' jeep wheel :unsure:)!

Glenn

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axulsuv Posted Today, 09:51 AM

" UUUMMM dare I say starter fluid and a lighter????? to get the tubeless rear back on. "

I've done that in the desert on my old CJ7 w/ 36x12.50 tires , but I had onboard air to finish the task too ...

NOT for the inexperienced or faint of heart , Can be disastrous !!!! And I think a trials tire would be harder than a big ole' jeep wheel ohmy.gif)!

Harder??? or do you mean more exciting??

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we at home used to use lots of tyre leavers and even sledge hammers have fun and games, but my dad now runs a tyre depot, so they have machines for getting tyres off the rims, with a bead breaker, etc (sooo much easier than the old skool method). i think most tyre shop will change a tyre if you don't want to do it yourself for a small(sih) fee, i know my dad often has various bikers (road and off road) come in with their wheels or even whole bike and they get them to change them.

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