No hurty thumb (AKA how to get a tyre on)

[Pippa]

After having a sulk this morning following some issues getting tyres onto my wheels I had a search of this place and came across the following suggestion:

Stand with the wheel parallel to your thigh/leg, tyre on the ground and the unmounted bit of the tyre at the bottom.  So the wheel is in the sort of position it would be if it were on the bike and you were standing beside it.

Scrape the bead and tyre down with the outside edge of your shoe - this is the hard bit, really you need to be standing on it - simultaneously lean the top of the wheel away from you.

You are using the whole wheel as a lever, and the edge of your shoe is what you are levering against.

It's hard to describe and takes a couple of goes to get the hang of it. Only really works with rigid-soled shoes.

This sounded intriguing and worthy of a try.

Off I went to find a rigid-soled shoe to have an initial attempt – Jurek was very forthcoming with his clogs and even volunteered his foot and leg.....

RESULT!!!

Buoyed on by our success and full of confidence, I had a go with my SPD commuting shoes.

YAY!!!

And then tried with the Sidis, which seemed to be a trickier proposition owing to pokey outey cleats and the like.....however, using just the front of the shoe also produced pleasing results:


However, it does not work with all shoes Despite how fabulous Louboutin shoes are, they are pants at getting a tyre onto a wheel  


So thanks very much to mrcharly  

DISCLAIMER: This was all tried from the warmth and comfort of my living room. I have no idea if it will work teh REAL WORLD

[delthebike]

Damn it! I have neither clogs nor high heels!  Oh woe, what am I to do? 

[Moloko]

Jurek was very forthcoming with his clogs and even volunteered his foot and leg.....

 

[clarion]

Jurek looks good in those Louboutins

[clarion]

Damn it! I have neither clogs nor high heels!  Oh woe, what am I to do? 

Ask a friend

[woollypigs]

However, it does not work with all shoes Despite how fabulous Louboutin shoes are, they are pants at getting a tyre onto a wheel 

Get these pictures over to Cycle Chic from Copenhagen - The Original. Streetstyle and Bike Advocacy in High Heels forthwith

[andygates]

Ninja tyre work there.  Top tip that I'll pass on to the weak-thumbed milquetoast men and the small-thumbed yet excellent women of my acquaintance.

[Sigurd Mudtracker]

That bit stuck to the heel of the last pair of shoes looks just like a tyre lever to me...

[Rhys W]

This is the method I've been using for years. I find a solid rubber adidas sole to work best - I find I need just a little bit of give.

Another one I heard recently (esp. for new tyres) was to pop them in a tumble drier for a minute or two, makes them temporarily more pliable.

[oncemore]

Stunning "heels" (and with RED soles). I may have to develop a fetish....

[Wendy]

Cycle chic it is, fabulous shoes and legs, superb sense of style.  I'd like that photo to go up at least another 6 inches!!

[hawkeye]

Goodness, you're brave doing stuff like that on a pale carpet.

[Basil]

Pippa, you should submit this for 2011 calender

[Notsototalnewbie]

Jurek looks good in those Louboutins

New keyboard please!

[mattc]

Goodness, you're brave doing stuff like that on a pale carpet.

You see, there IS a reason to wash your tyres thoroughly.

[Paul Smith SRCC]

If I would have know you were a Louboutin girl I would have shown you the Van Veyron with Cullinan ‘Diamond encrusted’ triple group, Fabergé wheels and Diamante bell, a ping of the latter calls up your domestic staff to change gear for you; but when you will know when you've really made when you can get some Assos.

Paul_Smith
www.corridori.co.uk

[αdαmsκι]

Brilliant post, Pippa!

[clarion]

This is the kind of dedication to research we need

[Jurek]

This is the kind of dedication to research we need

Too cold to stay out for long yesterday.
Innit. 

[mike]

 

Home of Socks and Sandals the world over

[longers]

I read this last night and thought it were a good idea. Done it twice today in anger and it works, ta

[Tim Hall]

However, it does not work with all shoes Despite how fabulous Louboutin shoes are, they are pants at getting a tyre onto a wheel  

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I put it to you that the leg pictured above is not Pippa's, regardless of how shapely it is. A real Pippa's leg has distinctive markings on it like so:

[clarion]

Cool tattoo!

[mattc]

Having done this in the garage, then OK last week on a sunny day, I tried it on someone else's wheel yesterday morning. (a gurrl's, as it happens) Didn't work, although it may have stretched the tryre a bit, because the bloke that grabbed the wheel off me got it on with thumbs really easily. (after 3 others had failed).

I had wet shoes. I think this makes a big difference. Maybe with some dry ground I could have dried them before a 2nd attempt.

[Rig of Jarkness]

What a great thread !  I've been cycling for over 30 years so I reckon I've come across most such roadside tricks and bodges but that was a new one on me ! 

Actually in cases of difficulty I resort to tyre levers.  If you do the bead next to the valve last you can use the valve to push the inner tube upwards out of the way of getting pinched between the bead and the rim.

But doing it with heels looks more fun