[Sideknob]

Got a wheelset using these rims in 24 hole on my Cannodale Rush. They struck me as hard to mount / dismount tyres on when I swapped the stock CrossMarks for a Monorail / Rendez combo.

Well, forget even trying to mount folding bead Kendas on these things! My set of 2.2 Cortez's saw plastic levers bent in half, then out with the MX levers. Just crazy - and these Cortez's just about fall on and off the Mavic 317's on my HT.

Picked up a set of 2.0 Karma's - same thing. Not even worth leaving them on as they will be so hard to dismount on the trail when I get a flat. This is with paper thin rim strips also.

I won't even bother trying to mount any of the wire bead tyres I have lying around....

Ghetto tubeless - forget it! Can't get the tyres over the exposed tube.

Very annoying - I'd hate to be trying to fix a flat in the middle of an XC race with these rims.

So, for next time I get new rubber, what are typically looser fitting XC and trail rubber? (Maxxis being the obvious choice as I can at least get them on + off with not much swearing.....)

 

[bholwell]

What kind of rim tape are you using? If you're not already, use a single layer of reinforced packing tape.

 

[ACMI]

I had the same problem with X450's. I almost took off a nail trying to mount/remove tires. I changed rims. The hassle just wasn't worth it since I like to change tires a lot. Schwalbes seem to have a looser bead - at least it seems like it to me.

 

[fsrxc]

What kind of rim tape are you using? If you're not already, use a single layer of reinforced packing tape.

+1
That has helped for me too.

 

[Sideknob]

What kind of rim tape are you using? If you're not already, use a single layer of reinforced packing tape.

It's a Schwalbe rim liner - very thin. I already thought of that. TBH it would not help going thinner even if I could as the Kenda's were so tight there was a good 7" of bead I could not get over with anything less than a steel tyre lever. Which of course marks your rims too.

 

[bholwell]

It's a Schwalbe rim liner - very thin. I already thought of that. TBH it would not help going thinner even if I could as the Kenda's were so tight there was a good 7" of bead I could not get over with anything less than a steel tyre lever. Which of course marks your rims too.

I had some Schwalbe rim liners on my road rims- the blue soft plastic ones. They were thicker than I initially thought. Couldn't hurt to try.

Might want to get some burly plastic levers, too. The Maxxis levers are the thickest & strongest I've ever used: https://www.shopmaxxis.com/b2c/ (under factory gear items/miscellaneous.

 

[AlliKat]

I am not familiar with that rim. Are you making sure you don't put the bead on any bead seat? At least with a UST rim, there is a good trough in the middle. You put the bead in the trough until it is mounted then use air to push it onto the seat. Look for info on mounting UST rims.

 

[Sideknob]

Thanks for the tips, I'll have a play with thinner rim strips - they are the blue Schwalbe ones.

As I said, it was a FAR bigger issue with the Kenda's than the Maxxis tyres - so bad I'm selling the Kendas.

 

[SHICKS]

I have the x430's on my Rize 3. They are tight, but I have not had any problems mounting or dismounting tires using levers. I run ghetto tubeless using Schwable Fat Albert's and some gorilla tape.

-Steve

 

[Sideknob]

Thanks Steve.

 

[leggatt]

I have EX500 rims and wow are they hard to get tires off! I will have to try different tape as well. My 2.5 Blue Groove is near impossible to get off.

 

[hondaph00l]

Sideknob, what did you end up going with? Ive got a rush also and need to make a choice on tires to replace the stock crossmarks. My friends keep pushing me towards kenda but I definitely dont want to drop the cash on a set that barely fits. LMK

 

[LMN]

Thanks for the tips, I'll have a play with thinner rim strips - they are the blue Schwalbe ones.

As I said, it was a FAR bigger issue with the Kenda's than the Maxxis tyres - so bad I'm selling the Kendas.

That is crazy because I wouldn't say that Kenda's are a particularly tight fitting tire.

I had a set of WTB rims once that were so tight that I never actually put a tire on them. The wheel set arrive, I tried to mount the tires, broke a couple of levers and cursed for a while. Then I grabbed a set of Mavic rims some spokes removed the WTBs and laced the Mavics to the hubs.

 

[gvs_nz]

I have DT5.1's and I have no trouble with plastic levers and some of the tightest tires around Michelins and Geax. Just got to make sure the beads sit in the hollow of the rim not on the bead when levering the sidewall over the rim. I don't use rim strips.

 

[Sideknob]

Sideknob, what did you end up going with? Ive got a rush also and need to make a choice on tires to replace the stock crossmarks. My friends keep pushing me towards kenda but I definitely dont want to drop the cash on a set that barely fits. LMK

The bike is currently running a 2.25 Ardent up front with a 2.1 Ignitor out the back, set up ghetto tubeless with tape and sealant.

I don't really like the Ignitor - it's not the fastest tyre going consider it's fairly narrow, not very heavy and has all the ramped tread blocks. It also behaves oddly on loose trails.

Before that I had a Monorail on the back but it was the Exception version and too light for the rocky terrain hereabouts - got cut up pretty easy.

Good tyre on the back otherwise.

Prior to going tubeless, I replaced the blue Schwalbe rim tape with narrower strips and that helped somewhat also.

The Maxxis tyres mounted up a LOT easier than either the Kenda Karma or Cortez tyres I had, which were unusable.

 

[barry_kellett99]

Just tried to put a pair of maxxis swampthings, dual ply dh wire bead, on my recently bought dt swiss x430 rims. Not a chance they were going on!

Had planned to use these as wheels to keep my winter tires on to switch quickly when needed so have had to put the swampies on my 719 rims and my panaracer rampages on the x430s... which incidentally went on very easy.

 

[Sideknob]

Yep, it's a major PITA.