[Grimey]

Ok, I'm finally fed up with breaking plastic tire levers. Most shops don't stock metal ones, and I have never used metal ones. Is there really any difference at all? Pedro's, Park, Minoura and Intense make them - any better than others? Will they gouge out my rim like a screw driver does( not sure how I know that ) Yes, yes - I know this is a lame question, but I'm sure other people are wondering as well.

 

[Phatswalla]

I have metal park ones that I sometimes use to remove a tire with a really tight bead. It doesn't scratch up my rims too badly but it still does a little. I have a really hard time using metal levers to put tires on and not puncturing the tube. Generally I just used these: http://www.parktool.com/tools/TL_2.shtml

They work really well and are a lot stronger than the run of the mill plastic lever.

 

[speedbump]

What sort of tires are we talking about? If it's DH, then I like any of the steel levers such as Intense or Pedro's. Anything else, a quikstik

 

[bohica]

If it's for removing DH tires, i just went to my local mx shop and bought tire levers there. That way I didn;t hve to wait forever to get them. They work great, I haven't scratched my rim with them yet, but it did leave a few scuff marks.

 

[Grimey]

Yeah, DH. I'm running 26" Arrow DHx's w/ 2.5 Ramped Bite 57.

The quicksticks bend on these. I will probably order them through QBP

 

[bomberz1qr20]

Originally posted by Phatswalla
I have a really hard time using metal levers to put tires on and not puncturing the tube.

I never use levers to put a tire on. If you leave air in the tube till just the last little bit of bead, it keeps the tube up inside the tire and out of the way.

Then it's just brute force by hand to get the remaining bit of bead on.

And yes, I'm talking Intense 2.7's here.

 

[RD]

If i ever need to use tire levers, I use Pedro's yellow plastic ones. They can get even the hardest of beads on if needbe. They are really slim, yet dtrong and slide extremely well along a rim, not gouging or disfiguring. They work really well.

 

[skinny]

I use Michelin levers if possible. They're insanely wide, and despite being plastic, they don't break very easily. And due to their width, they don't puncture tubes.

 

[MojoJojo]

ALL PLASTIC TIRE LEVERS BREAK AND METAL ONES WILL JUST PUNCH HOLES IN YOUR TUBE.
Removing/reseating your tires without levers works something like this:
With the tire supported on your feet or on the ground, grip the tire with the tread in your palms and the your fingertips near the bead. Pull the bead back towards your body until it looks like it wants to go over top rim edge. At this point in one motion, pull up, rotate your wrist, and push the tire outward and downward at the same time. The bead should pop of of the rim. To reseat, get half of the tire on the rim. Put the valve stem thru the rim hole and work the rest of the tube into the tire. Starting at the valve stem, work the other half of the tire onto the rim. At this point I put soapy water on the bead. This will lubricate it and help to get that last three or four inches of bead into the rim. In my shop I keep a spray bottle of soapy water, in my Camelback/toolbox I keep hotel complimentary size shampoo bottle. Wire beads are tough, Kevlars are a snap. PRACTICE

 

[oldfart]

are designed to be tight fitting. The reason is so that if you flat, the tire won't come off the rim. I've heard of guys with too soft a tire coming off the rim if they make a mistake and start scrubbing the front tire sideways. So if you are trying to mount one of these, you should get the metal tire levers. Even Arnold in his better days could not hand mount these. Tioga DH rims are aparently brutally tight.

I thibk pedros make a nice set of plastic handled metal levers as do Park. Probably others out there too.

 

[Kornphlake]

I don't have it near me to take a picture right now but I use a screwdriver that I pounded with a hammer so that the end has a slight bend then I filed the corners so that it wouldn't punch holes in my tube as easily. It works much better than any plastic tire lever, it does ding the rim a little bit but I am careful to put the lever in the same place each time so that it doesn't make the rim too ugly looking. Another thing I have thought about but never tried is those little paint can opener tools they give you when you buy paint, they already have that little hook on them so you don't have to pound your screwdriver and they're free.

 

[Grimey]

Pull the bead back towards your body until it looks like it wants to go over top rim edge. At this point in one motion, pull up, rotate your wrist, and push the tire outward and downward at the same time

Yeah I can do this on most road tires, and almost all XC tiries. Its just the DH tire setup I'm running apparently doesn't like to come off - which is normall a good thing.
I haven't gotten around to ordering new levers yet. But with two people and some of the better levers, one pedros and a planet bike, its not soo bad.

 

[MikeD]

The coolest thing I've found so far about UST tires and rims is the ability to hand-mount/remove them without levers...the rim's smaller diameter in the center compared to at the bead lock makes it possible.

MD

 

[BIG_MAN_290]

i have a set of the metal intense tire levers. i use them every time i have to take off / put on a tire.i've never pinched a tube.