Tire Mounting Question

[Conrad_K]

I changed my first bicycle tires this morning. They were for a recumbent, 20" rear, 16" front.

Both old (probably original 1995, given their condition) tires came off easily, and the new ones went on easily. I put air in the 20" tire and everything was fine.

Up front, the 16" tire hopped madly up and down when I spun it with the bike upside-down. Looking at it, the tire was deep into the rim on one side, and 180 degrees from it, the bead was barely contained by the rim.

The old tire said 16" on the side. The new tire also said 16". Alas, the garbage truck took the old tire away before I realized there was a problem, or I would have laid one over the other to look for any obvious differences. I was able to deflate the tire, shift it until it is approximately centered, and reinflate it, and it looks centered enough, but... is this normal? I've mounted plenty of car and motorcycle tires, but those generally fit so tightly they require air just to get them to seat; bicycle tires (and tubed tires in general) are a new thing for me.

 

[Paulus]

Sometimes tyres can take a little effort to get them seated correctly on the rim.
Inflate the tyre a little and work around the rim making sure it is seated properly before inflating the tyre up to pressure. There is often a line just above the beading to show the correct alignment.
One trick is to sprinkle talcum powder around the tyre, this helps with getting it on and adjusting the position.

 

[Conrad_K]

10-4.