Tire glued to rim

[bikeenthusiast]

Not a bike repair guy, but love bikes and mechanical stuff..anyway, got a problem here I don't understand...maybe one of you guys can help. Got a flat on the back tire of my Trek mountain bike and removed the wheel. Then I got the tire unseated (my word) to get to the inner tube and removed the tube. Here's where I'm stuck: I want to replace not only the tube, but the tire itself, which has the sidewall damaged in two spots.
Trouble is, I can't get the damn tire off the rim. Half of the tire is like glued on the flat part of the rim!

I've searched up and down the internet, here on the biycletutor and all I can find are vids/articles that talks about getting the tire off of the rim, which is not what I want to do. My bike does not have tubular tires either, they're standard knobby tires (clinchers, i think there called in bike parlance) with regular inner tubes.

Thanks everyone for reading this and if you have any ideas what's going on here, please inform a struggling new guy!

Thanks!!

[bikeenthusiast]

Nevermind! -- I just went back and took another look at it...this time, I noticed that it wasn't as "glued" as I thought to the inside of the rim..I was able to get the tire unstuck from the inside of the rim by pulling fairly hard. I think I know what happened - the rubber part of the tire carcass is no longer supple, but dried out...this caused the rubber to "meld" to the metal of the rim on the inside. The tire is quite old (from 1999), so I'm not surprised if the rubber started to decompose and made it stick like that.

Carlos

(08-24-2013, 04:32 PM)bikeenthusiast Wrote:  Not a bike repair guy, but love bikes and mechanical stuff..anyway, got a problem here I don't understand...maybe one of you guys can help. Got a flat on the back tire of my Trek mountain bike and removed the wheel. Then I got the tire unseated (my word) to get to the inner tube and removed the tube. Here's where I'm stuck: I want to replace not only the tube, but the tire itself, which has the sidewall damaged in two spots.
Trouble is, I can't get the damn tire off the rim. Half of the tire is like glued on the flat part of the rim!

I've searched up and down the internet, here on the biycletutor and all I can find are vids/articles that talks about getting the tire off of the rim, which is not what I want to do. My bike does not have tubular tires either, they're standard knobby tires (clinchers, i think there called in bike parlance) with regular inner tubes.

Thanks everyone for reading this and if you have any ideas what's going on here, please inform a struggling new guy!

Thanks!!

[nfmisso]

Actually the rim has hook like features on the inside to grab on to the tire; so you have to push the sidewalls inwards while pulling them out. Start tire removal by letting the air out, if it is not already flat, then go all the way around squeezing the side walls towards each other. If you have Presta valves, make sure you unscrew the retainer nut. Before getting out your tire irons ( mine are aluminum alloy ) start with one tire iron 180° from the valve, under the bead, making sure not to pinch the tube. Next one goes two spokes over to the left or right; third one goes two spokes over in the opposite direction, and the first one will most likely fall out. This one goes two spokes over in the same direction as the second one. Continue alternating directions until the bead has popped off the rim far enough that you can just slide a tire iron all the way around. At the point you should be able to pull off the other bead, again 180° from the valve stem, and work both directions. And the tire/tube assembly will fall off the wheel.

[nfmisso]

Actually the rim has hook like features on the inside to grab on to the tire; so you have to push the sidewalls inwards while pulling them out. Start tire removal by letting the air out, if it is not already flat, then go all the way around squeezing the side walls towards each other. If you have Presta valves, make sure you unscrew the retainer nut. Before getting out your tire irons ( mine are aluminum alloy ) start with one tire iron 180° from the valve, under the bead, making sure not to pinch the tube. Next one goes two spokes over to the left or right; third one goes two spokes over in the opposite direction, and the first one will most likely fall out. This one goes two spokes over in the same direction as the second one. Continue alternating directions until the bead has popped off the rim far enough that you can just slide a tire iron all the way around. At the point you should be able to pull off the other bead, again 180° from the valve stem, and work both directions. And the tire/tube assembly will fall off the wheel.

[bikeenthusiast]

(08-25-2013, 01:24 AM)nfmisso Wrote:  Actually the rim has hook like features on the inside to grab on to the tire; so you have to push the sidewalls inwards while pulling them out. Start tire removal by letting the air out, if it is not already flat, then go all the way around squeezing the side walls towards each other. If you have Presta valves, make sure you unscrew the retainer nut. Before getting out your tire irons ( mine are aluminum alloy ) start with one tire iron 180° from the valve, under the bead, making sure not to pinch the tube. Next one goes two spokes over to the left or right; third one goes two spokes over in the opposite direction, and the first one will most likely fall out. This one goes two spokes over in the same direction as the second one. Continue alternating directions until the bead has popped off the rim far enough that you can just slide a tire iron all the way around. At the point you should be able to pull off the other bead, again 180° from the valve stem, and work both directions. And the tire/tube assembly will fall off the wheel.

Nigel -

Thanks for your informative reply! I did use the tire levers but the procedure I used didn't follow that exact sequence - hence probably the reason for the difficulty. Thanks for sharing that knowledge for the ordering and direction with regard to valve stem of the irons when removing the first bead. I lacked said knowledge and somehow just flopped off the first bead using just one tire lever without too much effort. Then I proceeded to remove the tube. I guess I was thrown off by the fact that the tire rubber (carcass, sidewall, etc.) was pretty dry and everything would just pop off.

But now knowing the correct procedure I'll make sure to follow it, especially now that I have the new tube and tire to put back on. I'm supposing I just reverse the sequence you indicated when putting a new one on.

Thanks again!!

C

[nfmisso]

(08-25-2013, 11:44 AM)bikeenthusiast Wrote:  ...... I'm supposing I just reverse the sequence you indicated when putting a new one on.
.....

Yes; except no tools should be used.

Please note that this is my way of doing it, which not the only way to be successful.

[bikeenthusiast]

Thanks for your guidance Nigel...but I'm sad to report that I played fast and loose and decided to go ahead and put the tube and tire back on after I read your first reply but before I read your second one where you say not to use tools. Now I'm paying the price...I used an iron to get the last section of tire bead over the rim and pinched the inner tube...

I did it all by hand except for a section that measured about 4-5 inches across...It turns out that the new tire is under 2.0 in width..not as wide as the one being replaced. I heard that the narrower the tire the tougher it can be to get the last section of bead over the rim. I think I'll exchange the tire for a wider one.

C

(08-25-2013, 04:27 PM)nfmisso Wrote:  

(08-25-2013, 11:44 AM)bikeenthusiast Wrote:  ...... I'm supposing I just reverse the sequence you indicated when putting a new one on.
.....

Yes; except no tools should be used.

Please note that this is my way of doing it, which not the only way to be successful.

[nfmisso]

My widest tire is 47mm (1.95"), most of my fleet is 32 to 37mm.


Installation:

Put liner in tire (optional), inflate tube to about 5 psi - just a couple strokes of the pump to remove the creases. Put tube in tire. Place valve stem in hole (if Presta put on the nut to hold it in place. Seat one bead next to valve, work both directions away from valve to seat that bead all the way around. Back next to the valve, seat the other bead, work both directions away from the valve. You most likely will have to let some air out of the tube during this stage. As it gets tight, go back to next to the valve and massage the tire in both directions.

Once the tire is on the rim, go around a couple times from both sides pushing/pulling the side walls inwards to ensure good seating and no pinching.

Inflate to 20 psi and repeat the pushing/pulling all the way around. A couple of pops are not unusual during this process.

Now fully inflate.

[bikeenthusiast]

Thank you for those instructions, Nigel. Much appreciated. Well, I have an update. After pinching the tube the first time, I went to go get a new one (grrr...) which I didn't have time to do until this weekend. I figure I'll keep the bad tube and repair the leak at some point later on when I have time.

Yesterday I tried again to install tire onto rim after placing inner tube into tire and following instructions you gave above. It was practically impossible to get the last remaining section (~ 8 in. across) of tire bead onto the rim! (The other tire bead on the other side I was able to mount completely). So I had no recourse but to resort to a tire lever (a metal one). I levered the last section of tire bead onto the rim, using the lever quite lightly and not too forcefully. After mounting the tire, I attempted to inflate it. At that point, I noticed that as soon as air would enter the tire, it would exit it! In other words, it would not hold air for more than two seconds. Curiously, there was no hissing sound of air escaping. I tired two more times pumping air vigorously into said tire and again, tire wouldn’t inflate and no hissing sound
although clearly air was entering the tube (I put my hand on tire as I would pump just to make sure the pump was working and I had everything connected properly at valve stem).

Bewildered and frustrated, I went online to look around for a solution...on another site I found something that said basically if you have tires made of Kevlar, or that have some Kevlar in the composition, it can be very onerous when it comes to the suppleness needed for mounting that last section of bead. Not sure if this is true or not, but
the tire (Bell brand) I bought at Sports Authority is made “with Kevlar”.

I'm thinking my troubles stem mostly from my lack of experience and practice with bike maintenance...But maybe returning the Kevlar tire and getting a 100% rubber tire might help. Could this help?

C

[nfmisso]

All of my tires are Kevlar belted, with steel wire bead. The Kevlar belts are good for reducing punctures - I will not purchase tires without Kevlar belts.

I also use thorn resistant tubes, and tire liners - there is a lot of sharp garbage (nails, glass, screws,...) on the road around here; and flats are no fun.

Thorn resistant tubes are almost impossible to pinch.

[Painkiller]

(09-15-2013, 12:52 PM)bikeenthusiast Wrote:  Thank you for those instructions, Nigel. Much appreciated. Well, I have an update. After pinching the tube the first time, I went to go get a new one (grrr...) which I didn't have time to do until this weekend. I figure I'll keep the bad tube and repair the leak at some point later on when I have time.

Yesterday I tried again to install tire onto rim after placing inner tube into tire and following instructions you gave above. It was practically impossible to get the last remaining section (~ 8 in. across) of tire bead onto the rim! (The other tire bead on the other side I was able to mount completely). So I had no recourse but to resort to a tire lever (a metal one). I levered the last section of tire bead onto the rim, using the lever quite lightly and not too forcefully. After mounting the tire, I attempted to inflate it. At that point, I noticed that as soon as air would enter the tire, it would exit it! In other words, it would not hold air for more than two seconds. Curiously, there was no hissing sound of air escaping. I tired two more times pumping air vigorously into said tire and again, tire wouldn’t inflate and no hissing sound
although clearly air was entering the tube (I put my hand on tire as I would pump just to make sure the pump was working and I had everything connected properly at valve stem).

Bewildered and frustrated, I went online to look around for a solution...on another site I found something that said basically if you have tires made of Kevlar, or that have some Kevlar in the composition, it can be very onerous when it comes to the suppleness needed for mounting that last section of bead. Not sure if this is true or not, but
the tire (Bell brand) I bought at Sports Authority is made “with Kevlar”.

I'm thinking my troubles stem mostly from my lack of experience and practice with bike maintenance...But maybe returning the Kevlar tire and getting a 100% rubber tire might help. Could this help?

C

If your tire is tight on the last part of the bead, you have to at that point hiss out a bit more air. do not use steel levers. then carefull stick your lever under the bead and pinch the tire with your finger then push your lever till you feel it hit the rim lip and make sure you are not pinching the tube, thats all, it happens to the best of us. every once in awhile you get a tough one depending on the rim and tire combo. In manufacturing you have a + and - tolerance, so if your rim is at the top tol. and your tire is at the low end of the tol. you can see how this affect it sometimes. keep your tire and try again. as long is your tire has the right Iso. which i am sure Nigel got that right for you