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Breaking the (clincher) bead on a tubeless rim

by workhard
Tue, Sep 25, 2018 12:15
8

I've a wheelset where the rim+tyre (Halo Devaura + Conti Gator Hardshell) seem nigh on welded together. Almost impossible to get a lever in between rim and tyre. Almost impossible to manipulate the bead away from the rim, though I accept my technique may be at fault.

Any tips or tactics? I'd dread fixing a visitation out on the road, as it took a lot of effort and swearing to get one tyre swapped in the comfort of my dining room.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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8 comments

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maviczap | 5 years ago
0 likes

I've never had this problem, but these look like they'd do the job out on the road.

 

https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/collections/tubeless-bits-and-bobs/products/irc-tubeless-tyre-levers

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Spangly Shiny | 5 years ago
1 like

Rule #5

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sergius | 5 years ago
0 likes

Happened to me on the road once... Hunt wheels + Schwalbe Pro Ones.

 

After 30 odd minutes of swearing I flagged down a couple of gents who rode past. 

Three grown men couldn't unseat the bead by hand. 

One of those guys had a park tools tyre lever with a much narrower end than my levers - eventually we were able to get that in between the rim and bead to unseat the damn thing.  When I got home I bought a couple of packs of the levers. I do note that Park have since updated their design when I came to buying a third set for another bike - same model number but a thicker end.

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Rmb11 | 5 years ago
0 likes

I had the same trouble with a new set of WTB i29 wheels with Cross Boss tyres....impossible to break the bead by hand or heel method. Resolved by inserting tyre into vice (with softer protection over jaws) right up to just below the rim, then gently applying pressure until the bead broke. May seem extreme, but when done carefully worked a treat on both wheels. No issue from that point forward breaking the bead by hand, just seemed to be an issue stright from the manufacturer. 

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CXR94Di2 | 5 years ago
0 likes

Its only glue, use your fingers to press a section into the middle of the rim, work it round

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dave atkinson | 5 years ago
3 likes

What I normally do is:

  1. find a step with a nice rounded corner
  2. put the tyre on the corner of the step, and stand on it, so the tyre is held and the rim is off the step
  3. apply a bit of downward pressure on the rim with your other foot to pop the seal

Once the bead is off all the way round, move the bead into the centre of the rim where there's a bit of a well; that gives you a bit of room to pull the bead over the rim

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workhard replied to dave atkinson | 5 years ago
0 likes

dave atkinson wrote:

What I normally do is:

  1. find a step with a nice rounded corner
  2. put the tyre on the corner of the step, and stand on it, so the tyre is held and the rim is off the step
  3. apply a bit of downward pressure on the rim with your other foot to pop the seal

Once the bead is off all the way round, move the bead into the centre of the rim where there's a bit of a well; that gives you a bit of room to pull the bead over the rim

This got my tyre off. And enabled my to help another cyclist get her flat tyre off the rim this morning. It was going nowhere by hand.

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hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
1 like

I've had a sticky bead/rim combo before and what worked for me was to pull the tyre by hand to get it to release. Basically, push the tyre from just above the rim and pull the the main body of the tyre to get it to move. I find that once you can get a small part released and moved towards the centre of the rim, it reduces tension enough to make the rest of the tyre easy (relatively).

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