How the *&^%$ are you supposed to get tyres on these rims 😈

I spent 2hrs yesterday trying to get my Jones Mud X tyres onto my Hope Pro 3 wheels with 355 rims, painful thumbs, hands ache like heck this morning. Eventually took the wheels to my LBS yesterday evening and eventually got the things on.

Woke up this morning to find the front is flat! 😥

There is no way I could get a puncture fixed out on the trial in the cold wet mud.

What are my options? Are there 'looser' tryes I could try?

I'm assuming you are running them tubeless; use tyre levers to get them on, and you have put sealant in haven't you?

I've ran Mud X's tubeless since early November, not even had to top up the sealant (can still hear it).

kenda , schwalbe , panaracer all work fine and go on by hand but then i used to stick comp 32s onto d321s by hand too and ive watched people snap and bend several tire levers with that combo

Learn to fit tyres properly!

The Bonty's aren't the loosest, but none of the many pairs I've ever fitted have been that tight!

Make sure the bead goes down into the center of the rim on both sides whilst trying to get the tyre on and before trying to inflate.
Have you fitted a rubber rim strip ? As its not needed and will make the rim inner o/d too big i suspect.
And no probs here with Mud crosses either

On the other hand could just be you 🙂

Njee20 – it's not always the case that you don't know how to do it. Some tyre/rim combinations are just like that. Try putting Intense DH 4-ply tyres onto Mavic 823 rims; they are impossible without tyre leavers and I loose count of how many innertubes I've ruined this way.

Mega; if the LBS ended up using tyre leavers then they may well have nicked the innertube putting the tyre on. Best advice is to switch tyre brands. I know that Maxxis tyres generally fit the 355 well and work brilliantly tubeless. Can't comment on the other brands named here as I don't ride them.

As well as seating the tyre, try resting the tyre against a radiator for a few hours to warm it up and use fairy liquid on the rim. I did this with a particular stuborn set of tyres. I'm not looking forward to trying to repair a puncture when out and about.

I spent 2hrs yesterday trying to get my Jones Mud X tyres onto my Hope Pro 3 wheels with 355 rims, painful thumbs, hands ache like heck this morning. Eventually took the wheels to my LBS yesterday evening and eventually got the things on.

Cough
😆

Njee20 – it's not always the case that you don't know how to do it. Some tyre/rim combinations are just like that. Try putting Intense DH 4-ply tyres onto Mavic 823 rims; they are impossible without tyre leavers and I loose count of how many innertubes I've ruined this way.

I know it's not ALWAYS possible, but I've fitted at least 10 pairs of Mud X's to various rims including 355s, and have never found a tight combination.

Ritchey rims were always horrifically tight. Having worked in a bike shop for 9 years though, I guarantee that 99% of the time it's poor technique!

I'm running with tubes.
Not sure what technique I should be using? I end up with about 4" of tyre that won't go onto the rim.

I'll try warming the tyre up

i've got two sets
1 with 2.35 swampies the other with 2.25 NN

no probles with either.

did you use just the yellow tape and a valve?

I'm running with tubes.

There's your first mistake! You've got a tubeless compatible tyre which will go straight up, and a rim which just needs a turn of tape and a £5 valve. Tubeless m'boy.

why buy Stans rims and then use tubes… ❓

Make sure you get the bead of the tyre sitting in the CENTER CHANNEL of the rim while you are putting the tyre on. This will give you enough extra to get the tyre bead over the rim. They are supposed to be quite tight. And use some tyre levers – I am pretty sure I used some to get the tyres on my 355s.

I have a send of Kendas that I can't get close to fitting on my 29" Stans arcxh rims. It's not technique, there is 1cm gap and I simply cant get them close.

Go around the tyre, gathering the slack by passing it hand over hand. You will get enough to pull the tyre on without needing to put it in the well, which surely Stan's rims don't really have, that's a UST thing.

I have the same problem with nobby nics and racing ralphs and my roval traversees (which bear a litigation-inducing similarity to Stans' rims). It's not just a lack of skill. I've watched my LBS mechanic take half an hour and break three tyre levers to get them on. You're right, it is a nightmare trailside, but my mates all like to compete to showe how much better they are at changing tyres than I am, and I'm happy to let them.

two lads I ride with run 355s and have no problems. I run Flows with Bonty muds and don't have problems either.

Gotta say I think this is a technique issue.

i've found Bontrager tubeless ready tyres to be a nightmare!! thats on XM819 and 355 rims.

i eventually tried
– inflating an inner tube in them before putting on the rim to stretch them a bit.
– using soap and water
– zip tying the tyre on in one place and using tyre levers to mount the tyre up to the zip tie, if that makes sense.

there were definitely in the centre channel too, and i gathered up all the slack. they are quite old tyres, maybe the more recent ones are better??

I got my racing ralphs on without too much bother. Oddly enough they were almost falling off the on-one rims that I had before. I guess that was why they were states as not suitable for tubeless.

I think the rubber rim strip is part of the problem, but I can't see a way around that.

I have the same problem with nobby nics and racing ralphs and my roval traversees

I have Controle SLs, and change tyres virtually weekly. Never had to even think about using levers.

Come to think of it, I don't own any.

So would I need the £70 stans tubless kit to run these without tubes?

No, you need one of these, two of these and one of these.

[slight thread hijack]

What's the current thinking with ZTR355s for the minimum of faff and the easiest inflation with a track pump – normal tyres run tubeless or UST tyres run tubeless?

A friend is looking at getting some but wants to avoid messing around with compressors, soapy water etc. as much as he can. He needs to buy new tyres either way.

[/slight thread hijack]

They do seem tight 🙂

Least hassle is either no rim strips with UST tyres, or rim strips with non-UST tyres. The former is cheaper, but heavier, the latter lighter, but needs two of the £20 rim strips.

The yellow Stans tape will solve all your problems. My 355 burped on its first ride, so I bulked it out with a couple of layers of gaffer tape. Has stayed up fine since.
I really don't get why tubeless valves cost so much more than innertubes. I just cut mine out of dead tubes anyway.

The weight penalty on UST tyres is too large IMO. There is a bit of a art to non-ust tyres on Stans rims with just the yellow tape.

Two part valves make a huge difference as does a good high volume track pump. I put Kenda SB8s on my 355s recently pumping the track pump with one hand. I had spent some time moving the bead around a bit near the valve stem. If you can inflate 6" either side of the valve stem the whole things should go up pretty quick.

Preparation is the key I think.

It's not just a lack of skill. I've watched my LBS mechanic take half an hour and break three tyre levers to get them on.

Plenty of LBS mechanics with a lack of skill. The whole issue is epitomised by the fact I usually get several people telling me I'm wrong when I explain the correct method.

Yellow Tape and Valves on my 355's and non ust tyres (Bonty MudX's and Conti MK's)
go up first time everytime on my cheapo track pump

no soapy water or faf required for me so far (fingers crossed

I do put the sealant in the tyre first and spin a few times to move it about around the bead but thats it.

and yes they can be bloody tight, bead in centre of the rim works though
didn't do that the first time i tried to mount a tyre and snapped 2 leavers in the proccess 😳

Mud-Xs have a tubeless bead.

I have them with schwalbe and they went down very easily actually.

Maybe try to play around with the pressure on the tube? Sometimes it helps..

But with those rims i would go tubeless.

nj200 Conti MK's don't though, I don't think
Some tyres are better than others tubeless ime

Kenda's generally to be avoided imho too slack, very thin side walls (on some) so very poriouse (SP?) and the delamination issue too with some sealants

Schwalbe don't sound great either generally

Conti good
Bontys good

not sure about others…

According to JRA, normal tyre brands and how they work tubeless:

http://www.justridingalong.com/content.php?pid=529

*whispers to 29erKeith* porous….

I'm running the same combo (Mud X on 355) and watched this before I started the installation:

Stan at work

It's certainly more faff than a tubed tyre install, but it works. Can't say I'm planning on swapping tyres around too much in future, though.

Are RRs ok to go tubeless on my 355s, ive heard that the sidewalls are v thin?

The Sidewalls are thin but RRs have been fine on my 355s and ZTR Race 7000 during the whole of 2009. I wouldn't recommend them for super rocky trails though.

That`ll be fine then, i use them for xc races and riding the south downs!! I did find them tight when i fitted some slicks to em, when i sussed that if you put it in the rim in the well they go on a bit easier but was still a tight fit!

I road the South Downs way on them back in September without problem…there is a lot of flint around there though as I am sure you know. My experience is that you should run them at low pressures to allow the tyre to deform around objects. I think sometimes people run them at 40psi which is too hard. 25-30psi is how I run mine. Higher pressure does not mean more rolling resistence.