No way I can get a 2.5 DHF front tyre on rim. Anyone done this?

[Doug Stampfer]

If you're looking for maximum grip. Instead of whacking the tyres up to 40psi and riding lots of trails, A really fast way to get decent a base tyre pressure settings is to simply ride the bike on a hard surface and push down through the tyres as hard as you can with the bike leant over (You need to really push down hard. no pansying about). Gradually lowering the pressure as you repeat this process you'll eventually get to a point where you can feel the tyre fold. At this point you need go back up and add a little more pressure.
As this is a base setting you then can ride familiar trails and fine tune to preference. you'll then only really need to alter pressure up or down by one or two Psi front and rear

Great tip. I'll try that thanks

 

[Kernow]

the plastic rim strips are just a cheap & quick way of making the rims airtight at the factory do they are tubless ready. Tubless tape works just as well if you take a bit of care fitting it (5 minute job) and makes it a hell of a lot easier to get tyres on and off as the central rim well is accessible. Yes, I always carry a tube when riding with my tubless set up in case the puncture is too big to seal or plug as a get you home emergency

Stop blaming the rim strips , they are much better than tape , if tyres fit ok tubeless with them then they will fit with a tube . The problem here is simply a lack of tyre changing experience / know how , everybody has to learn

 

[Karve]

Kernow - disagree with that - the design of the rim strips is flawed. The Bontrager rim strips have a central channel measuring 7mm wide when the rim is 30mmm wide, which is far too narrow to get 2 beads of a thick DD or DH tyre tucked into easily. I like the concept but the central channel needs to be wider. It's an extra level of risk and faf that no one needs when tape works so well, and gives you a way bigger rim well to work with.

I've ripped my rim strips off and preplaced with tape which works just as well but has massively increases the size of the rim well. I can now remove & fit DH casing tyres with inserts quickly on the side of a trail. Using lightweight tyre levers or my hands. There was no chance of that with the plastic rim strip. Its a win win situation IMO

It's a classic case of looks good on a CAD drawing / when fitted by a machine in the factory but a PITA on the trail

You can get the strips off super easy by Screwing in an M8 bolt the valve hole in the plastic rim strip a few turns, then use the bolt , with some pliers pulling on it to lift the strip.. roll a screw driver round the rim to unseat it and off it comes. ( 2 min job) You can put it back on if needed - video on how to do it here - got to 7.30 in

 

[Kernow]

Kernow - disagree with that - the design of the rim strips is flawed. The has a central channel measuring 7mm wide when the rim is 30mmm wide, which is far too narrow to get 2 beads of a thick enduro tyre tucked into easily. I like the concept but the central channel needs to be wider. It's an extra level of risk and faf that no one needs when tape works so well, and gives you a way bigger rim well to work with.

I've ripped mine off and preplaced with tape which works just as well. I can now remove & fit DH casing tyres with inserts quickly on the side of a trail. Using lightweight tyre levers or my hands. There was no chance of that with the plastic rim strip. Its a win win situation IMO

It's a classic case of looks good on a CAD drawing / when fitted by a machine in the factory but a PITA on the trail

You can get the strips off super easy by Screwing in an M8 bolt the valve hole in the plastic rim strip a few turns, then use the bolt , with some pliers pulling on it to lift the strip.. roll a screw driver round the rim to unseat it and off it comes. ( 2 min job) You can put it back on if needed - video her on how to do it here - got to 7.30 in

there is a good enough well in that video , and not all rims have a deep well these days , especially the stronger wider ones commonly used on enduro and ebikes
you only need one bead at a time to drop into the well at a time to fit the tyre .
I’ve not had any difficulties fitting tyres even with inserts etc on my rail 9 rims using a basic plastic tyre lever .some inserts are made easier with a clamp to pinch the tyre in , or a second pair of hands .
I like how tight the beads lock onto the rim strip when you blow them up , if you have a flat with an decent insert fitted there’s less chance if the tyre coming off the rim
One mistake that can be made is starting at the valve , the valve and raised area around prevent the bead from sitting in the rim to allow slack . Lots of instructions say start at the valve , it’s wrong start opposite the valve . What sort of riding are you doing to require dh casing tyres with inserts , thats way ott unless your on some kind of super rocky ews sections sending it like a pro , even then not many favour tyres that heavy
A tip we’ve discovered if your running inserts and you damage the tyre enough to need a tube , carry a small road size tube , approx 32-38mm and just pop that in under the insert . Works best with the foam type inserts that fill tyre void rather than rim void

 

[Yoak]

After fitting tyres without a problem for a long while I ran into a 4 hour battle the other day. New Line 30 carbon rims, new Wild enduro rear tyre. It was close to impossible. I had fitted the front wheel with a used DHF tyre the day before without a problem. Not sure why I was so hard. The well is narrow and makes it more difficult than tape. That is for sure. But still.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

Stop blaming the rim strips , they are much better than tape , if tyres fit ok tubeless with them then they will fit with a tube . The problem here is simply a lack of tyre changing experience / know how , everybody has to learn

Ummm, seven months later & several easy tyre changes later without the strip you pick up the thread?

 

[Karve]

Yea, blaming lack of tyre changing "experience" is maybe not helpfull as there is far too much "noise" on these strips for that to be the primary reason. Here is a quote from a NSMB review on Bontrager wheels which summarises it well

In general, my experience with Bontrager's rubber rim strip has been good but I know more than a few experienced bike-wrenchers that have tossed them and I have also had a singular experience that almost resulted in tire (and rim) fire. It's a double-edged sword as the rim strip absolutely aids with tubeless inflation when it's not helping the neighbourhood kids learn an exciting new arrangement of curse words.

The worst part is that there seem to be two categories of riders. Either they've never had a problem and these rim strips are endlessly awesome or there's an abject refusal to work on bikes with Bontrager rims because one of these strips may be involved. I left them in for this round and have already had the tires on and off a few times with no issues.

Differing tolerances across rims and tyres may well account for this bipolar view. He made a note of calling out that its not technique "more than a few experienced bike-wrenchers have tossed them"

IMO its just not worth the risk of “tire (and rim) fire” when stuck on a wet cold hillside, when Ive never have an issue with inflating tyres with tape.

 

[Kernow]

Yea, blaming lack of tyre changing "experience" is maybe not helpfull as there is far too much "noise" on these strips for that to be the primary reason. Here is a quote from a NSMB review on Bontrager wheels which summarises it well



Differing tolerances across rims and tyres may well account for this bipolar view. He made a note of calling out that its not technique "more than a few experienced bike-wrenchers have tossed them"

IMO its just not worth the risk of “tire (and rim) fire” when stuck on a wet cold hillside, when Ive never have an issue with inflating tyres with tape.

I think he more or less points out there that some can handle them some can’t ,
if I compare to more difficult tyre fitting , such as motorbikes , there are some that will throw a heavy tyre on an enduro rim with ease while others curse for hours . Some never gain the right way of doing it
I agree some tyres are tougher than others , and Iam not being derogatory when I blame lack of experience or lack of technique / skill it’s just the fact .
The number of times I have been out with the roadies especially and watched someone struggle for ages with a simple road tyre that pops on with thumb pressure , then pinch the tube and on it goes like a never ending saga while we all freeze . In the end you offer help at the risk of being called a clever dick .

 

[Kernow]

Ummm, seven months later & several easy tyre changes later without the strip you pick up the thread?

Your point is ? Sorry I didn’t look at the date if that’s annoyed you

 

[RowanTheKiwi]

The amount of swearing and cursing it took to get an Eddy Current mounted on these rims was awful. I easily mounted Minion DHF's/DHR's, some Michelin eWilds were a bit more difficult, but when it came to the Eddy Currents that was something else. That little channel is too narrow to reasonably get both beads into the channel. Never ever had such problems trying to get tyres on rims before. Did all the tricks - lubed up the channel, made sure opposite side from valve was in first, left in the sun yadda yadda... no idea how you're supposed to deal with a trail side repair. Was an absolute p---k to get on. Got there in the end eventually on both rims. I can see if you don't know the tricks it will seem impossible and you'll break lots of levers in the process. But still - shouldn't be *that* hard.

Then one developed a fun creaking/ticking sound that can only come from the rim strip/spoke interface somehow. All spokes were tensioned evenly. Hub fine. but no... weight the front wheel, tick....tick....tick..... searched some forums and saw others had similar issue. Rare but happened.

Got really annoyed at that point, pulled a DT Swiss XM1501 off my other bike, so much easier. Only took 5-10mins to install and no ticking.

Put me in the "not a fan" club. If there were a candidate for the extreme opposite of "user centric design" these rim strips might beup there..

 

[HORSPWR]

Was an absolute p---k to get on. Got there in the end eventually on both rims. I can see if you don't know the tricks it will seem impossible and you'll break lots of levers in the process.

And that is why I carry a couple of Metzler metal tyre levers with me when I ride.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

Be interesting to see how you get on after a few rides- whether it softens & falls off easy like my DHFs did after a couple of months. Just fitted a DHR on the back which was a hell of a lot easier. Maybe I've pounded the rims so much that they are a lot smaller now ?

 

[Flatslide]

I recently fitted a Schwalbe Rock Razor 2.35" onto my Remedy's 30mm Bontrager rim. What a bitch lol. If I didn't have metal tyre levers there would've been some busted plastic for sure. Even fitting the 2.4 Magic Mary on the front was difficult but nothing like the 2.35. The 35mm rims on the RM are super easy to fit 2.6's on.

 

[Rusty]

Just need strong thumbs ...

Y'all think MTB tire fitting is difficult - try fitting a 18" Barum MX tire on a rim