how do i set bead on front tire?

[jpweldshop]

i have recently installed a new tire on the front wheel, it has a new tube as well. i am having a ton of trouble getting the tire to set its bead on both sides. i have tried lube and taking the valve stem out and i have even inflated it to 80 psi! i have done everything from lowpro car tires to offroad tires on trucks and never had this much problems. what's the secret? thanks

 

[xjwmx]

Some people bounce them on the floor. Some people ride on them carefully as hell to make them seat, then check them and adjust the pressure and balance and so on. I think it's unusual for them to be so hard.

 

[jpweldshop]

i forgot to mention i tried that too. next step i think i will try heat i hear this may work?

 

[xjwmx]

I've heard of people putting starting fluid in them and lighting them off. I think I'd put a long fuse on it and jump down in a hole.

 

[Loffer]

Assembly lube, just did one where we worked.it several times and I kneel on all sides so I can get te lube all around the bead and after the 3.rd. time and a lot of pressure. It finally went. Vintage coker tire?

 

[jpweldshop]

thats for tires without tubes not a good idea when you have a tube to light it on fire. the concept behind that is that the explosion from the starting fluid sets bead. fire gets put out cause it it needs air... not going to work with a tube cause i would have to spray fluid down the valave stem. see what im saying...

 

[jpweldshop]

its ok i already popped the new tube i just bought and i needed to have it balanced anyway. i'm just going to take it to my local bike shop and have them install a new one and balance it. sucks that this happened. i was trying to save money, now its cost me more

 

[jpweldshop]

thanks for everyones imput tho!

 

[xjwmx]

I did have my doubts about lighting off a tube, but we were at last resorts....

 

[Loffer]

I popped 2 tubes today trying to get that vintage tire to seat. Then i found the powder coating tape still on the inside of the rim. Its a bitch sometimes

 

[RFLIVES]

Tore 3 tubes up putting on my dirt track tires. And this was on a machine hang in there.

 

[5twins]

I just did 2 on powder coated rims and both were harder than usual to seat. Maybe that powder coating? I just deflated, inflated, deflated, etc. several times, adding more lube at the trouble spots - and eventually they popped out. I had to use a lot of air, at least 50 lbs. My pencil gauge tops out at 50 and it was pegged, lol. Also, they were those vintage style tires, 1st time I ever mounted some of them.

 

[pa23driver]

i had a problem getting my tires to seat as well (tube tires), i got tired of messing with it and just rode the bike, they seated in about 20 miles. i figured the repeated blows of the shitty pavement here in michigan would do a lot more work than me bouncing the tire off the garage floor.

 

[Gordon]

I have had q1uite a few bike wheels that would not let the beads seat, using up to 100 PSI, with the cores out, of course. Finally, in desperation, I sprayed silicone spray on both the wheel and where the tire would not slip over the bead area. Filled 'em up and let them sit in the sun. About 2 minute's later I heared them pop into the proper position. Also, make sure you are on a 'clean' part of the tire, no damage from a heavy hand with the tire lever's. You can stand on the clean area as you are filling the tube. Not so much, as the tube will come out between the wheel and tire. Inflate and deflate several times without the valve core in, so you got most of the air out from between the tube and tire.

 

[oldbiker]

hi i just replaced a front tyre on my gs1000e,,,, any what i used was a good tacky liquid clothes washing liquid and prior to that made sure the inside of the bead was spottless,,,as crap does stick to it regards oldbiker

 

[ReycleBill]

Put a strap around the circumference of the tire to force the tire to expand sideways and not grow taller. Then inflate.

 

[MacMcMacmac]

I had a hell of a time mounting a front tire on my GS1100 (same size as an XS). First of all, I got rid of the tube. I had two fail on me soon after installation. I filed a flat on the inner rim. I drilled out the rim to take a tubeless valve stem. I took the valve core out of the stem, then slipped a partially opened cotter pin down through the stem, with a nylon line attached to it. I pulled the nylon line outward through the rim. In this way, I could install the tire over the rim, and have the stem assembly flopping around inside the tire, with a few feet of retrieval line sticking out through the hole of the rim. The main problem I was having, was not getting enough volume of air flowing into the tire to get it to expand fast enough to seal off the beads and begin to inflate. What I did to remedy this was to use a large air hose that could flow lots of volume. I installed a ball valve on the end, then bushed it down to take a 1/8" NPT street elbow. A street elbow has female threads at one end and male at the other. In this way, I had a 90 degree fitting I could push down into the hole in the rim, then open a ball valve for max flow through the elbow. When I popped the valve, I was amazed at how easy the tire crawled up onto the rim. I didn't use anywhere near 100psi (which I had the last time i mounted this tire and it still didn't go on right). I shut off the air and pulled out the valve stem with the line. Once it was in the hole, I slipped the jam nuts down over the thread and locked the stem in place. Once they were torqued down, I pulled on the line and the partially opened cotter pin slipped out through the valve stem. I installed the core, inflated the tire, and it hasn't leaked one pound since.