TYRE LEVERS

xrc15t
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TYRE LEVERS

Postby xrc15t » Tue Mar 17, 2009 10:03 pm

Sooo ...............

With so many types of tyres levers... whats the top pick? whats crap?

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mikesbytes
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Postby mikesbytes » Tue Mar 17, 2009 10:10 pm

Michelin
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

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munga
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Postby munga » Tue Mar 17, 2009 10:14 pm

zefal!

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Postby ruscook » Tue Mar 17, 2009 10:42 pm

Michelin. I find they don't bend as much as other plastic levers, and work on all wheel sizes.

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Postby Sov » Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:09 pm

Michelin! The yellow ones that I have are indestructible. I bought mine in 1996 and they're still going strong, fitting everything from skinny lightweight kevlar tyres to tight 2-ply wire bead dh tyres.

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Postby sogood » Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:12 pm

Surprised that the hard core guys haven't said "fingers". :roll:
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Postby Mulger bill » Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:35 pm

Crank Bros Speedlever with Michelin yellows as backup.
Fingers are for MTBs :wink:

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Postby drubie » Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:39 pm

Mulger bill wrote:Crank Bros Speedlever with Michelin yellows as backup.
Fingers are for MTBs :wink:

Shaun
Heh heh.

Last Sundays bunch ride featured two punctures on the same bike thanks to "I use my fingers" tyre remounting. The dude was as dirty as a frenchman by the end of it and still managed to get a pinch flat 100m up the road from the first flat.

I don't care what any of the hard core, old school cyclists say, use the damn levers on a slightly inflated inner tube.

I've been using the levers that came with some crappy Slime glueless patches and I like them. I threw the patches in the bin though, unlike the levers they were useless.

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il padrone
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Postby il padrone » Wed Mar 18, 2009 12:07 am

Michelin are good, despite their width they seem to work well on most tyres, even skinny road tyres.

Brooks are good too - neither bend nor break :wink:

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Oh, you know another good standby is a pair of nice tea-spoons, the old-style ones with a smooth spoon shape, and rounded handles. Put the spoon end in your hand (face down to spread the pressure) and lever the tyre with the handle end.
Last edited by il padrone on Wed Mar 18, 2009 2:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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tallywhacker
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Postby tallywhacker » Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:29 am

sorry to say Michelin levers are crap, too wide, too flexible and no spoke hook. Have broken several different brands but found that Soma steel core levers are quite good

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familyguy
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Postby familyguy » Wed Mar 18, 2009 11:03 am

I like the idea of the Soma's, but never used them. No flex, and no damage to rims from bare metal levers (a la Brooks). I use a set of TranzX cheapie plastic levers that work fine, save for a sharp edge one of them has developed. Nothing a little sandpaper wont fix.

I have also tried the QuickStik lever (first item on that page). Worst device ever for 700c wheels. The BikePro website says they're good for 26" wheels that dont fit too tight. I bent one twice putting one tyre on a 700c rim, and it wasnt even what I'd consider "tight". I may try one again now that I have a 26" wheel bike.

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nimm
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Postby nimm » Wed Mar 18, 2009 11:19 pm

ok sogood :)

Say What you don't need no stinkin' levers*: http://www.teamestrogen.com/content/asa_levers

* I have to admit I needed levers to get my Ultragator Skins on the wife's bike (and off after some punctures) since they are ridiculously tight.
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il padrone
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Postby il padrone » Wed Mar 18, 2009 11:51 pm

familyguy wrote:no damage to rims from bare metal levers (a la Brooks).
Damage to rims??

Most of the past 35 years I've been using steel tyre levers - usually just like the Brooks, with a smooth shape. Never seen any damage to rims :?. Maybe if you use plastic rims.... yes.
familyguy wrote:I have also tried the QuickStik lever (first item on that page). Worst device ever for 700c wheels. The BikePro website says they're good for 26" wheels that dont fit too tight. I bent one twice putting one tyre on a 700c rim, and it wasnt even what I'd consider "tight".
Never used these, but I don't really like the way they're supposed to work - seems like it'd be awkward and rough on both tyre and rim. I know car tyre mounting is done this way but both the tyre, rim ad even the mounting mechanism are all much more robust. I'm happy using my tyre levers.
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Postby toolonglegs » Thu Mar 19, 2009 12:39 am

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herzog
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Postby herzog » Thu Mar 19, 2009 6:15 am

If by chance you're running tubeless it's best to learn to do it with your hands only.

Certainly Fulcrum, Mavic and others recommend this for their UST rims.

Levers can damage the bead apparently.

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familyguy
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Postby familyguy » Thu Mar 19, 2009 9:24 am

il padrone wrote:Most of the past 35 years I've been using steel tyre levers - usually just like the Brooks, with a smooth shape. Never seen any damage to rims :?. Maybe if you use plastic rims.... yes.
Maybe it was my (then) inexperience with levers, but even now I wouldnt like to lever on tight Michelin tyres onto my Mavics with a metal lever. Call me paranoid...or maybe I just dont have 'the touch'.
il padrone wrote:Never used these, but I don't really like the way they're supposed to work - seems like it'd be awkward and rough on both tyre and rim. I know car tyre mounting is done this way but both the tyre, rim ad even the mounting mechanism are all much more robust. I'm happy using my tyre levers.
They are plastic, so they're generally the failure point in the system if anything goes awry (hence me bending it). The principle seems sound, only for tyres that are not too tight. And if they're not too tight, you could probably get them on by hand anyway.

Jim

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Postby sam86 » Thu Mar 19, 2009 5:47 pm

Nothing beats a PEDROS lever...

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Postby snedden9485 » Thu Mar 19, 2009 8:08 pm

sam86 wrote:Nothing beats a PEDROS lever...
Agreed. I have some hot pink pedros levers and they are tops. Very strong and easy to find. I had some conti ones and they sucked. Broke em on first time.
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RadioDog
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Postby RadioDog » Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:26 pm

I was a bit suss on them at first, but the yellow Michelins for the win.

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Postby clin » Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:29 pm

this might sound silly but why do they come in packs of 3's

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Postby valkis » Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:36 pm

.. for when you inevitably break a plastic lever.

Spoons with a rounded handle end are the best.

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Postby mikesbytes » Fri Mar 20, 2009 9:37 pm

tallywhacker wrote:sorry to say Michelin levers are crap, too wide, too flexible and no spoke hook. Have broken several different brands but found that Soma steel core levers are quite good

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tallywhacker
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Postby tallywhacker » Sat Mar 21, 2009 12:49 am

singles on the track using tufo tape. Dont even want to think how I'll get them off when the times comes. On the road its armadillos, tough buggers to get on, broke 2 trax levers and michelins just bend.

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