Advice on Cycle Hill or No-MAR Classic tire changers

[jabcb]

Will soon have spiffy freshly-powder-coated wheels for our 2 cafe racer projects.
Am thinking about getting one of these tire changers rather than trust the local bike shops.

Vintage spoked wheels we work on includes XS650, Suzuki & Honda.
Vintage cast wheels we might work on is a mid80s Honda Nighthawk.
Likely will occasionally do some wheels for modern bikes (R1, Bonneville, …)

Any personal experience or suggestions?

Both changers are sold by:http://www.nomartirechanger.com/Tire_Changers_s/37.htm

 

[gggGary]

Advice? Don't learn on those fancy powder coat rims LOL I change a lot of tires on an old coats 200 manual MC changer. I am kinda slow on the uptake but it is definitely a learned skill that takes a while to master. And some tires just are no fun to mount, others practically fall onto the rims.
As far as changers, it's all about being rigid, any flexing can really make your job go awry. The flex takes away control. wind up light weight parts like a spring and boing! your tool, tires will move unexpectedly and always in the wrong way! Have a gallon of ru-glyde and a bottle brush and don't be afraid to use enough of it especially on powder or painted rims. Take your brand new tire bar and sand, polish, buff the tire end till it's smooth with no ridges bumps or rough spots.anywhere. Even with the changer I keep and use a set of good old manual tire paddles to convince the last bit of a reluctant tire on to the rim. OLD tires are the worst to deal with Those 30 year old rocks can be near impossible to remove. Many times I have grabbed the hacksaw and bolt cutters to release one from the rim cause sometimes they just won't stretch over the bead..

 

[jabcb]

Thanks for the tips.

A friend & I are doing 2 cafe racer projects. One is mine & the other is his.
He has training as a car & motorcycle mechanic, and is doing the tough tasks.
This weekend he should have his set of wheels trued.

The suggestion that he do some other wheels before his set is definitely the way to go.

Both changers have only plastic parts that touch the rim. They also come with the tire lube.

 

[5twins]

For what those things cost, the seller should come over and change your tire for you, lol. With a few tweaks, the HF unit works very well. Including the gallon of RuGLYDE, I probably have about $80 into my set-up. I figure I recouped that after changing only 2 or 3 tires.

A whole gallon of lube may seem like an awful lot but be aware that the RuGLYDE comes in 2 versions. The cheaper basic stuff is just a lube. The better stuff does triple duty and only costs a few dollars more. I recommend getting the better stuff so you can use it for more than just tire changing .....

 

[jabcb]

I caved and bought Snap-On ratchets so my mechanic friend would stop complaining about my lousy Craftsman ratchets.
I don’t know if I’d ever her the end of it if he scratched the powder coat with a HF tire changer.

 

[5twins]

Oh, you can scratch a rim just as easily with the fancy expensive tire changer, lol. It's all about the care and technique you use. But like I said, my HF changer is "tweaked". The rim clamps are padded with rubber so never leave a mark. I bought the replacement plastic ends that some of the expensive changer places sell for their motorcycle specific pry bars and made my own bar. It's the same as the bars they sell for $90 to $120 but cost me barely 1/4 of that.

 

[angus67]

Even a shop can gouge powder. The shop i used tore my black powder rims. About 1/4 inch. That was the front . Knock-off speedmaster on a 1980 rim. Nothing special there. Then the guy couldnt get my rear chen-shin to center. On and off 4 times. Shop only charged me one install because they tore my powder.
Point is, even a shop can screw up.

 

[Tomterrific]

By far, the best rim protectors I've used are cut from the sides of plastic milk jugs. They are thin, flexible and slippery with lube. Yank them out with pliers. I change tires with irons. Every year it gets harder now.

Tom

 

[5twins]

I finally broke down and bought a set of purpose made rim protectors. I must say, they are very nice and I quite like them .....

http://www.motionpro.com/product/08-0546

 

[jabcb]

Even a shop can gouge powder. The shop i used tore my black powder rims. About 1/4 inch. That was the front . Knock-off speedmaster on a 1980 rim. Nothing special there. Then the guy couldnt get my rear chen-shin to center. On and off 4 times. Shop only charged me one install because they tore my powder.
Point is, even a shop can screw up.

Do you know what kind of tire changer your shop used? Seems like the typical Coats air/electric-powered tire changer isn't that friendly to powder coat.

 

[angus67]

Looked like a smaller version of a car tire changer.
Cycle gear in Tacoma by the mall on 38th street.

 

[XSLeo]

Harbor Freight has upgraded the motorcycle changing adapter. I was up there the other day and it appears to be made out of heavier steel. The screw is larger the tubes thicker and the pieces that stick up to hold the rim are taller and straight.
Weather it's better or not is the question.
I like the curved part that holds the rim on my old version, they just should be taller. On my Harley rear wheel I have to remove the belt pulley to let it set down close enough to reach.
This adapter sets on top of their regular tire changer. The regular tool has a bead breaker. It works ok, just need to block up a bike wheel to use.
I don't use the over head bar that comes with it. I just lever them off. Getting the tire up waist high is the big thing, I'm to old to crawl around on the ground pounding tires.
Leo

 

[jabcb]

Ended up getting the No-Mar CH200 tire changer.
Did two sets prior to mounting new Avon RoadRiders on the spiffy freshly-powder-coated wheels.
It has a bit of a learning curve — we are getting faster & got these tires on without marking up the powder coating.
Here is a pic. (That’s a smudge from lube you see on the left wheel.)

 

[drdano]

I found a No-Mar unit on Craigslist this fall for about half price of a new one with all the bells and whistles. For me, it's worth every penny to never again have to fight with local shops that wont touch "internet tires". I've not changed a powder coated setup yet, but I'm pretty confident if you're paying attention you'd not fudge it up. My very first tire was a 190/50ZR17 off an off-topic salt flats bike and it was easy peasy, even for a low profile stiff sidewall sport bike tire. The machines are not cheap, but I look at it as an investment like good tools. You'll be happy with one.

 

[jabcb]

Agreed. I’m happy with the No-Mar. I bought it when it was on sale but didn’t get the sweet deal you got.

You mentioned a cost savings that I hadn’t thought of. I expected the No-Mar to eventually pay for itself. But I hadn’t factored in the cost savings from buying tires online.

Another plus…
A mechanic/friend badgered me into replacing my “junk” Craftsman ratchets with Snap-Ons. I avoided mass quantities of badgering that would have happened if a local shop had scratched those spiffy wheels. (I’m not complaining — you don’t complain about free help.)