uclown2002
Guru
- Location
- Harrogate
Thanks guys; hoping its a while before I need to do it 
Park Tools Tyre Levers... Not impressed
- Thread starter RhythMick
- Start date
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chqshaitan
Guru
- Location
- Warringon
Thanks guys; hoping its a while before I need to do it
good luck bud, depends very much on the tyres that you have and what terrain you go over
i got a set of these back in jan, and they work well. I can change a marathon plus tyre with no major struggles, well worth getting.
Only problem with steel tire levers are that they can scratch up your rims, especially if you have a black finish where it would be all the more obvious. I carry 2 standard GRP levers which will work for my tires, but I also carry a single steel lever in case I come across someone with a particularly tricky tire.
bicyclos
Part time Anorak
- Location
- West Yorkshire
15yr old Brook metal tyre levers never fail. Plastic tyre levers come on.........I had a pair made of chocolate but I have eaten them already. If you dont want to scratch your rims using metal levers, then use a small square peice of inner tube between rim and lever so not to scratch and damage alloy rims.
MrJamie
Oaf on a Bike
Blunt ended plastic tyre leavers are awful compared to the metal ones, although i'm sure I read the latter can damage your rims. Cutlery works quite well, you can lever a tyre with the end of a fork or spoon and tuck the other end behind a spoke, apparently non-cycling women don't appreciate this ingenuity though 
It sounds like such an easy thing but I've made so many mistakes with fitting tyres/tubes, getting them trapped, splitting the valve etc. The above method seems to be working good for now
Funny how we all have slight variants on the method... I normally put one side of the tyre on the rim, then pump just enough air into the tube to get a bit of shape to it so it doesn't get caught under the tyre but not so much that the tyre is hard to fit over the rim, then work the other side of the rim over. For really tight tyres like marathon plus it helps immensely to have the innertube very very low pressure so the opposite side of the tyre can free up some slack. Once the tyres on I go round each side of the tyre wall squeezing it in to make sure I cant see any innertube caught between the tyre and the rim. Then pump the tyre fully to pressure and once done loosely screw the little nut on the presta valve, so it barely grazes the rim.
It sounds like such an easy thing but I've made so many mistakes with fitting tyres/tubes, getting them trapped, splitting the valve etc. The above method seems to be working good for now
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
what works for me includes M+:-
putting on - inflate tube a bit, put tube in tyre, put valve through valvehole, spin on the valve ring and seat first side of tyre. Then whizz round tyre just rolling whole thing on further so that inner tube is well on. Then I start fitting the second bead beginning at the valve, going both direction but aiming to finish around 3 o'clock assuming valve is at 6 o'clock. For the last bit I find if I pinch the already fitted parts, again starting near valve, together and get them down into the rim well then the last bit goes on comfortably by hand. If it's tricky then releasing air from the tube at this point helps. Finally I work all the way round both sides just pushing the bead over to make sure there's no tube caught.
removing - I can get them off by hand, some come off very easily, but it's easier to use a lever - deflate then pinch tyre and tube into rim well and get lever in opposite valve, I use Park levers - then do the pinching the tyre into the rim well again from the valve and then the second lever will slip straight under and the tyre is off. Before I started doing the second pinch of tyre into well I could easily skin a knuckle getting the second lever sliding round.
It sounds like a lot but this is more easily timed in seconds than minutes and I don't even think about most of it now.
putting on - inflate tube a bit, put tube in tyre, put valve through valvehole, spin on the valve ring and seat first side of tyre. Then whizz round tyre just rolling whole thing on further so that inner tube is well on. Then I start fitting the second bead beginning at the valve, going both direction but aiming to finish around 3 o'clock assuming valve is at 6 o'clock. For the last bit I find if I pinch the already fitted parts, again starting near valve, together and get them down into the rim well then the last bit goes on comfortably by hand. If it's tricky then releasing air from the tube at this point helps. Finally I work all the way round both sides just pushing the bead over to make sure there's no tube caught.
removing - I can get them off by hand, some come off very easily, but it's easier to use a lever - deflate then pinch tyre and tube into rim well and get lever in opposite valve, I use Park levers - then do the pinching the tyre into the rim well again from the valve and then the second lever will slip straight under and the tyre is off. Before I started doing the second pinch of tyre into well I could easily skin a knuckle getting the second lever sliding round.
It sounds like a lot but this is more easily timed in seconds than minutes and I don't even think about most of it now.
To cover all bases, not just mine but more often for others struggling with their multi tools, I carry a plastic coated SOMA steel core lever which has never failed to get anything off and a VAR lever for getting the tightest of narrow tyres on any rim. Given the time at home I'm able to get any of my tyres on and off without tools, last week in the snow with freezing hands I was glad of both the tools and the CO2 inflator.
http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/38/soma_levers/soma-steel-core-tyre-levers---pairs.html
http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b65s72p1263
Little tip I was shown as a kid but doesn't seem to get repeated nowadays - get three quarters through putting the last side back on, then take quarter off again and work in the opposite direction, the advantage is the last quarter has already been on, less chance of pinching the inner tube and generally easier.
http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/38/soma_levers/soma-steel-core-tyre-levers---pairs.html
http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b65s72p1263
Little tip I was shown as a kid but doesn't seem to get repeated nowadays - get three quarters through putting the last side back on, then take quarter off again and work in the opposite direction, the advantage is the last quarter has already been on, less chance of pinching the inner tube and generally easier.
RWright
Guru
- Location
- North Carolina
Park TL 6 tire levers impressed me. They are composite covered steel. They are small enough to carry on the bike (they are not light). You will bend the rim before you bend these. If you don't lose them I would think it will be the only set you would ever need to buy. They are pricey.
http://www.parktool.com/product/steel-core-tire-levers-tl-6
http://www.parktool.com/product/steel-core-tire-levers-tl-6
PaulSecteur
No longer a Specialized fanboy
- Location
- Walsall, West Mids.
e-rider
Banned member
- Location
- South West
I too like park tools generally, but I agree that their tyres levers are shoot - I tried all 4 that they make, and all were rubbish.
The VAR is really a girls tool so I wouldn't recommend that unless you have very delicate hands
Zefal make the king of all tyre levers - see them here (the red ones) for just £3.59
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/zefal/tyre-levers-ec038823
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/zefal/tyre-levers-ec038823
The VAR is really a girls tool so I wouldn't recommend that unless you have very delicate hands
Zefal make the king of all tyre levers - see them here (the red ones) for just £3.59
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/zefal/tyre-levers-ec038823
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/zefal/tyre-levers-ec038823
I've got a pair of Lezyne levers. Not had a chance to try them out yet because my Gatorskins have done a good job of keeping my tubes in form, but Lezyne have an eye for quality (they're definitely my most trusted brand for bike tools/accessories) and they feel sturdy enough.
Before these, I had a set of cheap plastic Park levers. Not the proper metal stuff admittedly, but they chipped and were a bit bulky anyway. Lezyne's levers are very compact, though that does mean you get less leverage.
Before these, I had a set of cheap plastic Park levers. Not the proper metal stuff admittedly, but they chipped and were a bit bulky anyway. Lezyne's levers are very compact, though that does mean you get less leverage.
Try them out right now. Let the air out of a tyre and make sure that you can use them to lift it off. Don't wait till you're 40 miles from the house to find out.
