Topic: in home tire change

[rbmgf7]

anyone perform a tire change at home?

the dealership wants almost $200 for a set of bridgestone spitfires and another $60 for the change/balance ($40 if i bring in the wheels).

heck, i can get the set of tires for almost $120 off of bike bandit and figure it'll be cheaper to have them just balance them.

i have the comstars.

thanks

[Bob Wessner]

I've done it, with spoked wheels and tubes in tubeless tires. On Comstars it should be much easier. Dealing with mounting the tire along with the tube was the real pain.

[gpdesign]

I change them myself, three tire irons, Napa tire lube and this:

http://www.nomartirechanger.com/product/show/9

Not difficult once you get the hang of it.

[hymodyne]

I've done it myself as well. Good spoons, some talc or some sort of lubricating agent and it can be done.

I just got quoted $60.00 by a local bike shop to put a pair of D404's on...
hymie don't play that.

[smccloud]

i mount my own tires using 2 screw drivers and a lot of sweat

one screwdriver is around two and a half feet to three feet long, the other is the largest screwdriver i have (around a foot long).  it is work, but can be done.  my dad mounts his tires on his comstars all the time.

[Gordon]

I've often considered swapping out my own tires, but Woody's here in Denver will change a tire and balance for 20 bucks a rim in an hour.  For that price and quick turn-around I have no real incentive to do it myself.  Check around in your area.  There may be some smaller shops who will do it for cheap.   

[Donzon]

I've done it, with spoked wheels and tubes in tubeless tires. On Comstars it should be much easier. Dealing with mounting the tire along with the tube was the real pain.

Ya, ditto on that.  I wrecked a couple tubes before I got the hang of it.  One important thing that makes it a lot easier is to make sure the tire is good and hot.  Leave it out in the sun for awhile to heat up and it softens up and goes on tons easier!

Don

[dustyc]

hymie don't play that.

That's too funny.

I changed my own and it wasn't bad.  I even made my own tools to do it.  -But I plan on buying some before I do it again.  Just do some research so you get them on right.

[78 k550]

Mine are also $20 and within an hour usually.

Paul

[MoTo-BunnY]

I was able to do it - was a bit of work the first time but I have done it now a couple other times and its getting fairly easy. I just didn't want to fork out $40+ I was hearing shops charge and I wanted to learn how to do it. I have a pretty strong back but little arms so it was a bit of a challenge, but I was able to and its nice knowing that if I got a flat out in the sticks or something, I could do the repair on my own.

I found that the right tire tools were everything, though. I would NEVER even THINK about using a screwdriver, however, as I tried that (before I got a tool set) and promptly put a hole in the tube, despite being beyond careful.

I used this set of tools that can be gotten off of feeBay for like $30.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&viewitem=&item=330243126521



It was the bottom tool that was the best - I ended up buying another one of those, actually, as you can really get a lot of leverage with it. The middle tool is nice for moving the bead over the rim.

Also, some form of lubricant on the rim and tire REALLY helps immeasurably. I just used a bit of Simple Green in a spray bottle - worked great but I have heard others using silicone, grease, etc. (I was worried that the latter would be too persistent and maybe the tire would slip on the rim - possibly shearing the stem?) I checked said rim/tire over a year later and there wasn't any residual water inside or rust from the spraying, either.

OH - ALMOST FORGOT - I also found a rubber mallet is perfect for getting that last 6" or so over the bead (THE hardest part of all of this, to do - see next post (what jogged my memory)). I got one at Wal-mart for like $1.99. While trying to lever that last bit over, a few whacks with the mallet kinda sideways on the bead made it WAY easier!!!

[Tower]

Small tyre iron (like MoTo-BunnY's bottom tool)
Tyre spoon (similar to Moto-BunnY's middle tool, but double ended and offset bent)
Talc powder
Rim protector (coke can aluminum, doubled over then wrapped around rim - slide it along the rim as you move the spoon - sand the aluminum edges, otherwise its an accident waiting to happen).

Its the last 6" that's the buggerest to put on.

[chrislib]

2 prybars here also. If you go that route duct tape the ends to avoid marring the rim/ruining the tube.