CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting

Tyre levers

(21 posts)
  • Started 10 years ago by seanspotatobusiness
  • Latest reply from Nelly

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  1. seanspotatobusiness
    Member

    I use Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres and recently snapped two or three cheap plastic tyre levers trying to get to the gooey centre of my tyre (to fix a puncture). Fortunately I was at home and could go back to get my Park Tools blue plastic levers. I cycled to work. When I was ready to leave, I found my tyre flat again; I must have done a poor job so I set about fixing it and one of my Park Tools levers broke! Luckily I was at work so I could use the communal repair kit which contained something like these:

    http://www.wiggle.co.uk/park-tools-tl5c-heavy-duty-steel-tyre-levers/

    They're a little big and heavy but they felt like they could lever the tyres off a tractor!

    A cheaper variant is here but I don't know if they're a compromise on quality:

    http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fwe/pro-steel-tyre-lever-set-ec053194

    I've also found nylon-covered metal levers:

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DRAPER-31046-BIKE-BICYCLE-STEEL-WITH-NYLON-COVERING-TYRE-LEVER-SET-/310723638168

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SOMA-Steel-Core-Tyre-Levers-Classic-shape-and-with-an-improved-steel-core-/141115201192

    It isn't clear whether the Draper ones have a steel core extending to the tip (seems pointless if they don't though). It would be pretty expensive to try them all out so I'm trying to figure out my best bet. My bike is presumably made out of carbon steel so weight isn't an issue and I'm not bothered about scratching my (steel) rims but I'm very concerned about damaging my inner tubes!

    Posted 10 years ago #

  2. kaputnik
    Moderator

    the Lezyne levers are very short, intended for a road bike tyre, but are machined aluminium and extremely strong. You have to watch they don't score the edge of your rims though.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  3. gembo
    Member

    Depends how old and run in the marathon plus is? Near new is pretty tough. however I changed puncture this autumn on old marathon plus with my thumbs

    Schwalbe do their own levers which are made from glass injected nylon which they claim makes them virtually unbreakable. Google Schwalbe tyre levers if intersted

    Posted 10 years ago #

  4. seanspotatobusiness
    Member

    Hey. Thanks for the quick response. I checked out the reviews on Wiggle for the Lezyne levers and there were comments about fractured pieces of metal puncturing the inner tubes. Would that be pieces fractured from the rim (presumably some soft alloy)? If they score the edge of my rim is that a puncture risk or just an aesthetic issue?

    Posted 10 years ago #

  5. ARobComp
    Member

    just aesthetic really. I've got a few scratches on my fulcrum quatros which is a touch upsetting but at the same time the metal levers I've been using for years since I bought a bulk lot of them in 2008 are fantastic for any use, including as tiny shoe horns when I forget my shoe horn at work. No lie.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  6. seanspotatobusiness
    Member

    I didn't notice Gembo's post since we must've been typing at the same time. The Park Tools levers are also made of glass-injected nylon by that still snapped. The tyre is only two weeks old but nonetheless, I'd like a tyre lever that won't fail me when I'm miles from home!

    Posted 10 years ago #

  7. gembo
    Member

    Bad luck to get a puncture after only two weeks with marathon plus.

    I once bought a bundle from wiggle. Some gator skins and tubes. The tubes ended up being those tiny ones. I believe I 'punctured' on ride to EBC to buy new inner tubes, but this was because I probably pinched the tubes putting the tyres on

    Until just about a month ago my only marathon plus puncture was out on the canal one New Year's Day. Cold, windy and took four tyre levers. That is my strategy with marathon plus, use four normal tyre levers.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  8. Charterhall
    Member

    As demonstrated on the Spa Cycles website, the trick to fitting Marathons is to ensure that the bead on the opposite side of the wheel to the bit you are levering is pushed as far into the centre of the rim as possible. Presumably the same applies when removing the tyre, before setting to work with the tyre levers pinch the tyre into the centre of the rim all the way round.

    Video is here, towards bottom of page

    http://www.spacycles.co.uk/index.php

    Posted 10 years ago #

  9. seanspotatobusiness
    Member

    I've now read that the steel-core ones also snap (the metal bends and plastic snaps at the tip).

    I think I'm going to go for the all-metal ones though I did read of one guy damaging something with the Park Tools ones; I'm not sure whether that was the inner tube or rim or both.

    In any case, thanks for the link to that video. I'll try to implement that as far as I can although notably, even that guy wasn't immune to the pinching of the inner tube. I've started using talcum powder in an effort to reduce the frequency of that.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  10. DaveC
    Member

    I use the levers I got with the very cheap Poundland puncture repair kit. Metal.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  11. Instography
    Member

    Charterhall's advice is spot on. Brute force with the levers will get you there only at the cost of the rims, the levers and probably the bead in the tyre as well. Getting the tyre into the well of the rim makes it all so much easier to get on or off.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  12. chdot
    Admin

    "Getting the tyre into the well of the rim makes it all so much easier to get on or off."

    Helps if you get all the air out of the tube - not always obvious if you have a puncture and it's already let out a lot of air!

    Posted 10 years ago #

  13. adamthekiwi
    Member

    If you use Charterhall's advice, you don't need tyre levers at all - in fact, I don't carry them and I've not yet had a tyre I couldn't put on or off a rim with my thumbs...

    Posted 10 years ago #

  14. Arellcat
    Moderator

    I've tried a lot of tyre levers in my time. They have to be thin to get between rim and bead, with not too long a prong, stiff enough for the tip not to bend, yet resilient enough to not damage the rim.

    Giyo plastic levers are far too bendy.
    Pry Babies' prongs are too long and snap under force.
    TipTop make the grade except that they bend eventually.
    Park make the grade except that the prongs are too thick.
    Pedros tyre levers tick all the boxes for me.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  15. Dave
    Member

    +1 on the Pedros levers. Far and away the best I've tried.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  16. chrisfl
    Member

    I bought a speedlever:

    http://www.crankbrothers.com/support/usage_speedlever.php

    a few years ago, found it to be very effective where other tire levers fail. Just seems to slide in and spin around works great for getting the tire off.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  17. CycleCommute.CC
    Member

    Also recommend the speedlever. I've been using it a couple of years now and it is very useful.

    However, the hook on mine snapped off this morning when trying to get under the bead. It still worked for fitting the tyre afterwards though, and I will probably buy another one to replace it.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  18. Stepdoh
    Member

    I actually managed to break a Pedros lever, naturally it happened in the rain when I was miles from anywhere useful.

    Sometimes think it's good to have a mongrely selection of levers to hand, sometimes the thin ones can work well with gruntier ones like the pedros levers.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  19. Bigjack
    Member

    Spa cycles push Rigida rims. I recently got a Smidt dynohub /Rigida rim wheel from them and could NOT fit a wire bead 28mm Gatorskin to it no matter what tricks I used. seems from reading blogs that this is a known problem with such rims.I followed the video, trying using washing up liquid lubricant etc but eventually , just before returning the £220 wheel to them I thought I'd try the Var tyre tool- (from St John St Cycles)This is the only way I can fit/remove the tyre with this rim.I have never had such a problem with any rim tyre combination in decades of cycling.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  20. Cyclingmollie
    Member

    I was changing a tube last night and I could not remove a Michelin Axial Pro 2 from a Mavic Open Pro rim with my bare hands. And that was indoors, warm and dry. I used Giyo levers which are a bit bendy but do work for me.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  21. Nelly
    Member

    Hilarious review of Pedros levers on LFGSS forum.

    A tad too sweary to post here, but worth a search if you like childish/sweary forum banter!!

    Posted 10 years ago #

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