Tyre Levers/Irons, bead breakers, which ones???
 

Hi all
Does any one have experience of using 'bead breaker' tyre levers? Do they work? Are they long enough? What tyre levers are easiest to use? I have tubeless tyres.
As you may have guessed I am a novice at getting the rubber off, all advice welcome.

Cheers
Andy

I've just bought a motion pro combo tyre lever and hex spanner. Can't testify to it's abilities yet but it is almost lickably beautiful...ahem..:blushing:

That aside, I like my Buzzetti levers, not bead breakers but good quality.

However, my experience has only been with tube-type rims so I'll be as interested as you are in what others recommend. Especially so, now I've gone tubeless..!

Maybe some ideas on puncture repair kits would be welcome too...??c?

I have a 'mushroom gun' puncture repair kit, it was highly recommended & the beauty of it is that you do not need any adhesive for the repair as the tyre pressure holds the repair in place, no need to carry tubes of glue any more.
That said, I have fortunately not needed to use it so far & cannot personally verify how well it works doh

I am using the motion pro combo tyre lever and hex spanner in conjunction with the normal lever (with lip ridge on one side) and I love it!

Its been apart my my kit for 2.5 going on 3 years now and i can not fault it. I also go the socket head adaptor and i use that reguarly too (to change my oil)

As a general rule I find you don't need "bead breakers" at all, though they can make it easier.

You don't say what bike you have - some are easier than others. Some are REALLY hard.

Basics to break the bead - patience and soap and water.

Motion Pro makes good stuff as a general rule, so recommended.

Some basic thoughts:

"Are they long enough?" LONG levers = great way to destroy the tire if you don't know what you're doing. PROS can use long levers to save effort, beginners should use SHORT levers so they stop and think when it gets hard, and make a point of doing it right. I've seen some really sad guys with brand new, destroyed tires, and long levers.

I use 6" levers. For everything. Genuine BMW are my favourite, or Touratech 8" levers are also excellent, very similar design.

Finally, GET MY Tire Changing DVD! :)

It will answer all your questions and make it easy to change any tire.

By the way, there will be a tire changing demo at the HUBB UK which will help, and you can ask me anything on the day, I'll be there. I got out of doing the demo this year, Continental will be doing it. :)

Hi Grant,

Great to have you back posting again..:D

I've just bought a wee and I believe the op has the same bike.
I've changed my share of tyres and never had to use a bead breaker but, as I said, all tube-type. Tubeless is all new to me...:innocent:

I'm looking for a compact repair kit to take on the road. The sticky string type look to have the edge over the mushroom plugs but not having used either, it's tricky to decide which to go for.

Great to hear you'll be over for the HUBB UK, you and Susan have been sorely missed the last couple of years at Ripley. I'd love to come and talk tyres (and everything else) with you but we'll be on the road somewhere in Europe. Assuming we don't get a puncture..:blushing:

All the best.

Thanks Crusty!

I do post occasionally, but unfortunately there is far too much else to do! And with all the health issues I've had over the last year and some, I'm way behind on a whole lot of stuff on the website. :(

If you're trying to go light, personally I'd carry the strings, with several tubes of glue. MUCH lighter than the mushroom plugs system.

The strings are much more reliable IMO, though you still have to lace them with glue before you insert them, I have never had one let air out.
If you have a tiny hole in the tyre, ream out and enlarge the hole with the tool first or the string will break as it goes in...kind feels strange making the hole in your tyre bigger, but it works!

Nevil changed both his DR650 tyres with the Bead Breakr kit/ irons (Motion Pro 08-0003) the other week and the irons have a good profile for spooning with no pinches.

Some wheel/tyre combinations are very tight and if you are riding solo having some sort of bead breaker can be useful when its 40 + Celcius, your dehydrated and you have the shits :eek3:

I use the motion pro combo levers too. Only used them on my DRZ but never had any problems

I just picked up the Motion Pro Bead Pro tool set and have used it once. If your not familiar with it, it consists of two twos, one sit on top of the other one any use the two at the same time to break the bead. it is a bit tricky the first time you use it. But once you get it figured out, it works. Since I plan to change my tires on te road, I need to break beads. I've also got a big heavy bead breaker that looks like a giant c-clamp. But it weighs over five pounds.

I've watched guys try to break the bead with the kickstand of their bike. But i've not had any luck with that. And with one tire off the bike, that becomes much more unlikely to work.

There are no videos actually showing how these Bead Pro's work, at least that i have found. I will be making a video this weekend for my ArmChair Traveler Channel on Youtube showing them in action.

Tire plugs
 

i ve got "Dynaplug" used it on the car no problems at all. haven't used it on the bike yet. really easy to use no glue , just push through the tire and trim off excess.