Stuck tyre

trying to get my tyre off front wheel so i can true it better. spent a good half hour with 3 types of tyre lever (metal, pedros plastic) and teaspoons and could only ever manage to get one tyre lever in. its a conti top touring 2000 on a ritchey aero road rim. any tips before i shell out for a posh park tools workshop tyre lever thingy?

pinch the tyre all the way round the rim to make sure its sitting in the centre of the rim (away from the raised edges), then try with the pedros lever again, starting at the point opposite the valve. sit on wheel while pushing tyre lever away from you (down). that way you can get all of you body behind the lever. just perservere and you'll get it that way. good luck!

tacx levers are the best, very thin and don't break, but yeah pinch all the way around while doing it ;)

Put all three levers in before you lever, space them maybe 3 spokes apart. Then level the middle, next left, then right, hook each around a spoke as you do it to stop it flipping back.

Steel-cored Soma levers are the business.

And I agree with Mr. Zipple.

thanks for the advice everyone. will try again this eve

I'd steer clear of metal levers altogether.

Tried to drunkenly take off a gatorskin and scratched the hell out of my rim.

The up-side of this is that I polished the rim to get rid of the scratches and now it looks super-bling.

mr_tom Steel-cored Soma levers are the business.

Have to disagree there - the steel core is only along the central part, so the 'business ends' are no stronger than any other plastic lever. Unless you're gripping the lever with something thin, like a set of pliers (although why anyone would do that is beyond me), the steel offers no benefit whatsoever, except for a few extra grams in your bag/jersey. Which I guess makes them a training aid of sorts.

Pretty much all tyres can be got on and off with just your thumbs -

Well I am sure there are bad/tight combinations out there - but in twenty years I have not come across a tight rim I haven't managed to sort out with my thumbs.

!!!! - [insert picture of Carry-On Star here]

The "push tyre into rim centre" and "gather the bead" techniques do it for me every time, no problems, in fact I have not owned a tyre lever for many many years.

tynan, just say what you really feel.. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y

how the hell do you get them off with just your thumbs?

• I just recently bought my first set of 'skinny tyres' 700c x 20mm
  
  

adn goddamn they were hard to get on. - I'm used to big fat tyres that are so much easier. my thumbs were sore for days. and i doin't think i got them on very well. the tube may have been a bit twisted/bunched.

Practise and thumb exercises. :)

Gatorskin/Campy Delta is a tight combo. Have to use levers.

Thumbs are levers. :)

But they don't have little ridged clips on the ends.

...or do they??

a small amount of washing up liquid rubed around the beading can help with tight tyres.

can you get them back on with just your thumbs? is there a magic technique?

every time i change a tyre it takes me longer and longer...

It's like with taking the beards off muscles.
They tense up when provoked.

place dynamite near wheel light fuse and run. hey presto!