T f T T o T
Time for Ted's Tips on Tubulars
Ready to roll again.
When I get ready to glue my tire on the rim, I usually take a small
tool, go betwen the tire and rim and stretch it out by pulling on my
instrument to give me a nice comfortable mounting experience.
I only saw this briefly written in all the posts, but it's much easier
to stretch the tire on if you inflate the tire to about 20/30 # so the
casing is round and holdable in your hands. on some tires it may be 40.
This you will have to determine for yourselves as to what's comfortable
to hold and not collapse in your firm grip as you begin the exercise.
If you put a coat on the rim only, wait a little before sticking the
tire on and let the glue set up a little for good sticking.
If you also put some on the tire remember to stretch the tire just
before you remove it from the rim so it will go on easier with two wet
coats, because it's messier if you faux pas.
Also note that it's easier to precoat your basetape with the tire
rounded for practical and less messy application.
With your tire now prepared and ready to put on, I have found that the
best for me is to set the wheel on the floor and lean it against your
legs / knees with the valve hole at the top.
Insert the valve.
Hold the rounded tire equidistantly from the valve in both hands and
with equal pressure start to stretch the tire down the rim keeping it in
balance against you, centering the base tape evenly in the well of the
rim while letting your hand slide along the tire, BUT NOT letting the
tire back up and lose it's stretch. This is usually accomplished with
heel of hand pressure against tire pushing it into well. Fingers pull /
stretch, heel of hand keeps tire from backsliding.
As you are pulling the tire down the pressure on your hands and and
eyeballs will increase as you're bending over.
Now you're with the program.
Make sure as you are pulling the tire down that your valve is staying
straight.
If it's moving crooked then pull on the side you need to straighten more
to get it straight and keep sliding your hands down the tire untill you
approach the bottom.
You should be able to have enough tire stretch to pop it over the rim
without smearing the basetape along the rim and making a mess.
Ideally your valve will be straight, tire reaonsbly centered and
sidewalls will be clean.
One word of advice. As you are stretching the tire over you are thinning
it out a little. So, keep the tire in your hands and shrink the little
excess back up along the rim to even out the circumference.
You will probably have to prop the wheel on your knees while stretching
the tire over the last inches to make it easier to handle.
You basically bend your knees a little and lift the wheel off the ground
enough to finish the job.
You can certainly hold the tire against the bench or worktable to do
your tire mounting, BUT be VERY careful not to slide off under pressure!
Aaargh, S.., F..! You get what I mean!
Now inflate the tire about half full, spin the wheel and straighten and
center the tire.
If your valve is crooked you could put a small screwdriver between rim
and tire, hold the wheel down with your feet and run the tool along the
rim while lifting and stretching the tire till the valve is straight and
then pull tool out and continue the process.
It's taking me longer to write this than to put a tire on!
I hope this blow by blow description makes it easier to do the job, It
sound like a lot but it's actually quite straightforward and easy when
done a few times.
When tire is straight and centered spin the wheel and see if your tire
has a low or high spot. If it does you will have to take both hands and
stretch or pull tire to even it out. the casings usually have enough
elastity to do this. The lighter the tire the easier it is.
The rounder the tire is the less you would feel any uneveness while
riding on smooth surfaces.
When this is done inflate tire to about 80% full. Enough to seat tire
and get good tension on it, but not so tight as to force the glue out
and leave you shy inside. Another reason to have the first coats dry and
hard.
At this time take your wheel and put your weight onto it with your hand
and ride / roll it back and forth all the way around so that your
weight will seat tire nicely into the well of the rim.
Make it a habit to check your tires after your ride and make sure
nothing is sticking in or cut in the casing or tire that would
compromise your next ride. Nothing will drive you crazier than grabbing
your bike to go riding, and finding a flat tire.
You can do this during the ride if you stop for food or whatever, ALWAYS
check tires for malaise, Ounce of prevention.
That's the first thing you do when getting back from the ride.
The first thing you do when leaving is to check your tire pressure, and
when you get on the bike see where the WIND is coming from so you will
know HOW to ride that day.
I enjoyed writing this up, trust it will take some of the "mystery" out
of this process.
Please ask if you have some point I didn't write clearly enough or if
you have any related Q's.
I enjoyed the posts about the pedals and quills, btw.
Thanks for joining in.
Safe Riding.
Ted Ernst
Palos Verdes Estates
CA USA