I got my Bridgestone bt-45s delivered yesterday and changing my tires is my next project.  any tips for a first-time tire changer as far as correct bead seating and balancing. I don't want to do anything wrong or screw anything up. Starting with the front tire because I'm also doing a sprocket and chain replacement when I do change the rear tire

NEWBIE

This pertains to my interests as well. I'll be monitoring this thread.

The challenge is getting the tire on (the last like 1/5 of it), not the bead seating. from the tires i changed, the rear
was always the easiest, never had a problem with seating the bead. the front tire is a different story, for me it was
always a pain to seat that bead on the front. It will sit itself once you get some pressure going, dont pinch your finger,
the bead will 'pop' on.

Sunday I used zip ties to get enough starting pressure on the tire and help put pressure on it so the compressor
would push the seat on and was able to seat it finally. I use a 6 hp 8 continuous sqf compressor.

main things:

1) GOOD tire irons (i like motion pro spoons), I need two on dirt bikes and three on GS tire swaps
2) GOOD rim protectors (again, i like motion pro) or a cut mountain bike tire (redneck rim protector)
3) NEW valve stems (dont save 3 bucks here and regret it later)
4) Lots of lube (dish detergent with 2 thirds water)
5) DONT MOUNT EM BACKWARDS... chalk the rotation on the sidewall so you see it good. I messed up twice already and not notice until I had the wheel mounted, extra pain, sucks   

Don't force it, if you don't get the tire on the rim you could bend the rim. once you got it right, it
will go on with a healthy amount of pressure

Two years ago i had one that i could not get on for the life of me, brought it to a Harley Shop near
crane hwy and they put the tire on (front), guess what, they had to use a bead booster to seat it,
had some evil name for that thing, after they used it, i knew why...scary stuff.

Balancing, easy, watch on youtube, i use a harbor freight balancing stand and weights, works good enough and paid for itself with first tire change 

I got the bead broken on one side but the other size is the hardest thing ever

NEWBIE

Just do some youtube searches
lots of great videos with great tips and hints

use good tire irons

use good rim protectors  (can be made from Orange juice jugs)

Go get some "real" tire lube from the auto parts store  (yeah, guys use soapy water, or wd 40, or pledge etc.)

you can make a bead breaker for 0.50c from a 2x4

you can make a wheel balancer from a 2x4 and a couple of bearings taken out of inline skate wheels

Quote from: newbie1993 on March 25, 2014, 07:07:48 PM
I got my Bridgestone bt-45s delivered yesterday and changing my tires is my next project.  any tips for a first-time tire changer as far as correct bead seating and balancing. I don't want to do anything wrong or screw anything up. Starting with the front tire because I'm also doing a sprocket and chain replacement when I do change the rear tire

NEWBIE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grunCumm8go

Quote from: newbie1993 on March 25, 2014, 07:07:48 PM
I got my Bridgestone bt-45s delivered yesterday and changing my tires is my next project.  any tips for a first-time tire changer as far as correct bead seating and balancing. I don't want to do anything wrong or screw anything up. Starting with the front tire because I'm also doing a sprocket and chain replacement when I do change the rear tire

NEWBIE

For the bead breaker, wheel balancer, and tire irons, go to Harbor Freight (if you're in the US). I was able to get all for $60. Now I can change my own bike tires for the rest of my life. My local Cycle Gear would have charged $30/tire to mount/balance.

For tire lube, use water-based personal lubricant. KY Jelly works. It is slick as snot, but once it dries it disappears. This gives you adequate lubrication to mount the tire on/off the rim, and then you won't have residual soap or grease in the tire causing it to slip on the rim. I wouldn't use dish soap because most contain phosphorous (phosphates?) that can damage certain metals.

Expect to scratch the rim your first time. Expect to buy some touch up paint.

Do buy rim protectors. 3 is adequate.

Do buy a valve stem installer tool. Do buy new valve stems (get short stems for motorcycles).

When seating the bead, if you cannot get enough seal to inflate the tire (40PSI MAX!), use a ratcheting cargo strap around the circumference of the tire to cinch it down.

When balancing the wheel/tire, make sure you've installed the sprocket and rotor. These parts can affect balance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-PD48uGl4o



This seems to be the method of choice lately on youtube....looks great....no tire irons to fluk up your nice rims!!

Also costs almost nothing $$$$

Cookie

Quote from: newbie1993 on March 25, 2014, 07:07:48 PM
I got my Bridgestone bt-45s delivered yesterday and changing my tires is my next project.  any tips for a first-time tire changer as far as correct bead seating and balancing. I don't want to do anything wrong or screw anything up. Starting with the front tire because I'm also doing a sprocket and chain replacement when I do change the rear tire

NEWBIE

Quote from: dinkydonuts on March 26, 2014, 03:23:54 PMWhen seating the bead, if you cannot get enough seal to inflate the tire (40PSI MAX!), use a ratcheting cargo strap around the circumference of the tire to cinch it down.

Seconded, this is a very easy way. Actual ratcheting part over top of where the bead's not seating. A few clicks and you should hear it 'ping' right into the seat.

Opinions on using powder instead of soapy water?

Quote from: twocool on March 26, 2014, 03:34:35 PM



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-PD48uGl4o



This seems to be the method of choice lately on youtube....looks great....no tire irons to fluk up your nice rims!!

Also costs almost nothing $$$$

Cookie

Quote from: newbie1993 on March 25, 2014, 07:07:48 PM
I got my Bridgestone bt-45s delivered yesterday and changing my tires is my next project.  any tips for a first-time tire changer as far as correct bead seating and balancing. I don't want to do anything wrong or screw anything up. Starting with the front tire because I'm also doing a sprocket and chain replacement when I do change the rear tire

NEWBIE

i tried this for giggles...didn't work at all for me..took me longer to get the zip ties on than changing the tire with spoons

With 6 zip ties on i still couldn't get it over the rim 

I never heard of using powder for putting a tire on....we use powder inside the tire and on the tube for TUBE type tires to keep the tube from binding inside the tire.  anti chafe rather than slippery lube..

For tubeless tires I think you'd better stay with the liquid lube...

Quote from: cWj on March 26, 2014, 06:11:54 PM
Opinions on using powder instead of soapy water?

Quote from: cWj on March 26, 2014, 06:11:54 PM
Opinions on using powder instead of soapy water?

Are you talking about baby powder or talcum powder? Either way, you really need as much lube as you can get when mounting tires by hand. Plain water would work if you had enough of it.

But really, a tube of KY Jelly is $3 and is slick as snot and won't leave behind any corrosive residue like dish soap.

I always used liquid dish wash soap to lube tire beads when changing tires.  It's free if the wife doesn't catch you.  And as mentioned again recently an old Escort was the best bead breaker I've used.  Put tire/wheel under side of car with jack base on tire close to rim and jack it up a bit and pop.  Only used one long curved lip tire uron and a large screwdriver to R&R tires from rims.

I tried using the longest screwdriver I had and could only get one side of the tire loose from the rim. So now my tire changing project is on hold till my tire spoons, rim protectors and dynabeads come in the mail

NEWBIE

A valve stem installer tool is nice, but not necessary.  We use diagonal cutters placed just below the threads to pull them through.

As someone else said, go out and buy some real tire mounting lube/paste.  I work in a tire shop for a living, and my life became a thousand times easier when we switched from soap-and-water-based lubricants to the paste.  The reasoning for the switch was that water-based lube supposedly promotes galvanic corrosion along the bead line.  I'm not sure how much of a difference it actually makes, but it does make tires go on a hell of a lot easier.

Quote from: Leadberry on March 27, 2014, 03:06:43 PM
A valve stem installer tool is nice, but not necessary.  We use diagonal cutters placed just below the threads to pull them through.

As someone else said, go out and buy some real tire mounting lube/paste.  I work in a tire shop for a living, and my life became a thousand times easier when we switched from soap-and-water-based lubricants to the paste.  The reasoning for the switch was that water-based lube supposedly promotes galvanic corrosion along the bead line.  I'm not sure how much of a difference it actually makes, but it does make tires go on a hell of a lot easier.

You have any brand names for that that tire mounting lube? And does it also work for removing tires from the rim?

NEWBIE

It works both ways.  Makes everything slippery.  You should be able to get it at your local Autozone/O'Reilly/Advance etc.

Edit:  It comes in a bucket, like this:

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/XTS0/14700/N0982.oap?ck=Search_N0982_-1_2371&pt=N0982&ppt=C0192

You may be able to find smaller sizes, not sure.  A bucket that size lasts forever in the shop.

Quote from: newbie1993 on March 27, 2014, 03:10:17 PM

Quote from: Leadberry on March 27, 2014, 03:06:43 PM
A valve stem installer tool is nice, but not necessary.  We use diagonal cutters placed just below the threads to pull them through.

As someone else said, go out and buy some real tire mounting lube/paste.  I work in a tire shop for a living, and my life became a thousand times easier when we switched from soap-and-water-based lubricants to the paste.  The reasoning for the switch was that water-based lube supposedly promotes galvanic corrosion along the bead line.  I'm not sure how much of a difference it actually makes, but it does make tires go on a hell of a lot easier.

You have any brand names for that that tire mounting lube? And does it also work for removing tires from the rim?

NEWBIE

you need to get the angle right, getting the tire off should be fairly easy if you have the right angle on it. Getting the tire on (the last half foot or so) is the real challenge. Again, possible, with the right angle. Don't force it too much, re-adjust and try again

I got the new front tire on the rim. The yellow circle marked on the tire should be right above the valve , right?

NEWBIE