Mounting that new tire onto your wheel rim can be not only hard but almost impossible.

Use the following technique to get it done quickly without damaging your inner tube. This is always a risk if you attempt to force a very tight tire onto a rim using tire levers.

One thing though: it can be hard on your hands. If you have an old wheel rim laying around, you can practice this. You’ll need to have a good feel for the technique in preparation for puncture repairs 🙂

2017 Update

You might find these innovative tire levers useful as illustrated in this video.

Hit the button and check it out!

Anyway, assuming there are no tire levers in sight, try this:

First fit the inside tire bead to the rim at the bottom. I find placing the wheel in my lap and working from the bottom towards the top is quick and efficient.

To make the tire/wheel combination look neater, align the tire logo with the wheel logo. This will normally be bisected by the valve. The look is cooler.

Moving towards the top I can see if working the tire onto the rim shifts it left or right so that the logo is no longer centered on the rim logo. I have not found a tire any more difficult to mount by ending with the last and tightest section at, or near to, the valve.

The bead is mounted into the rim and gets progressively tighter as you work around to the last section.

Mount the tire bead over the rim until it gets really tight towards the top.

Roll the front of the tire over the rear rim. The rear bead, tight against the rim, can be stretched by pushing it over the rim, bit by bit, first on the left, then right, then left and so on.

You use your upper palms, just at the base of your fingers to do this. The action has the effect of pulling the inside bead over the edge onto the rim proper since the bulk of the tire in this section is laying over the outside rim.

Work your way in from one side. Then f rom the other side. Alternate between them. You will reach a “critical mass” where the bead will simply pop over onto the rim.

The inside bead is on the rim; the tire is half-way mounted! Now for the tricky bit

Having installed the tube, begin to fit the outer bead onto the rim. Work back down towards the bottom of the rim.

Spin the wheel around so the bottom is now at the top and easily worked. Begin to fit bead over the tightest section.

Push/roll the bead up with the top of your palms. Work the edge that is just slipping over the rim.

Continue to mount the tire by rolling the bead over with your palms. Work on one end at a time. Push with your right and left hand. Here your right hand does most of the work. The left hand, though, helps a lot, and prevents the tire from slipping back over the rim.

Work the left side. The right hand holds the tire steady. The technique is just the reverse of the previous focus on the right side. Use pressure from the left palm to push/stretch the bead over the rim; hold it in place with your right.

The bead is now at the tightest part. However it gets easier from here. Continue to mount the tire from the right then the left.

Not far now. To complete the action, apply equal pressure with both palms.

Just about there!

SUCCESS

Just check that the inner tube is tucked away inside the tire. With tight tires the bead will often pinch down on the tube preventing it from completely installing into the tire snugly inside the bead.

As I said, mounting a tight tire to a rim using this technique is hard on your hands. I prefer not to use gloves since this method relies on the firm contact between your palms and the tire’s surface.

Jeepers, I did twenty wheelsets in one session earlier this year–the European-based customer preferred not to do it himself. Ok, no problems lol.

Continental tires along with some Panaracer models have been the most difficult tires to mount for me as for quite a few others. The Continental model in this example is Ultrasport, a modest, reliable entry-level tire. But it will give entry-level riders a challenge come the day that they puncture.

The technique covered here requires some practice. Once learned, it is a skill that will reward you for as long as you cycle the highways and byways.

Those tight tires will be far less troublesome.