How can I get my Eliminator Grid T9 tire off my rim? I've been at it for about an hour and it just doesn't want to come off.
Location: Northern Florida, USA
(08-29-2022, 08:57 PM)Kai B Wrote: How can I get my Eliminator Grid T9 tire off my rim? I've been at it for about an hour and it just doesn't want to come off.
You may need tire levers to get it off. They are very inexpensive, easy to find, and often come with repair kits and tubes. Best levers have plastic tips (one end with a spoke hook) with steel reinforced body (they run $6-$12, easier to snap 100% plastic ones run $3-$5; come in sets of 2 or 3[best]). You can try a little dish soap to help (I would not use oil, deteriorates the tire/tube rubber and is a pain clean off of the rim).
If you don't care about beating up an alloy rim (or steel rim) you can use flat tip screwdrivers; but personally I would not except as a last resort.
I just put a brand new and very tight tire on a friend's bike yesterday with the 2 cheap levers that came with the tubes I bought (2 levers per tube). Tire went on without issue using only 2 levers.
You can also try the trick of cooling the rim by dunking it in ice water which reduces the size slightly. Easier to do if you have access to a walk-in freezer or fridge.
Take care,
Jesper
"I am become Death, the destroyer of bicycles." NJS
I am a big fan of the Crank Brothers Speedier Tire Lever.
Also, have you made sure to pinch the beads together, so they drop into the channel in middle of the rim, leaving more give at the other side of the rim (where you'll be trying to lever the tire off)?
Sometimes, I find it helps to lean on the top of wheel with my upper chest, pushing the tire/wheel into the floor so I get as much slack as possible.