Do you mount and balance your own tires?

[cadd]

Over the long run, it'll be much more beneficial if I mounted and balanced my own tires. I think the cost of tools will eventually pay for itself after a few tire changes.

Does anyone have a DIY written up somewhere on how to mount and balance tires?

Or should I just fork over the cash and bring it to a shop? Or perhaps, take off wheels and bring them in the shop? Should be much less expensive than having them take the wheels off your bike, correct?

[Qomomoko]

if you have the space and skill why not!! and then happen to save some $$

i never balanced my self but the effect on cars are obvious...
All my tyres have been changed by shops and i trust them to do it right and balance them but it be nice to do it your self.

[cadd]

There's a "zip tie" method to mount tires on. No tools required except for a few large zip ties and a bottle of windex.

But I think I would need some tire irons to dismount the old tires first.

As for balancing them....I have no clue!!!

[csmith12]

I hate tires...

[cadd]

Here's the zip tie method to dismount old tires: http://youtu.be/vuXsIy1jMrE
Same method to mount new tires: http://youtu.be/tI01yB8clSM

Question is....how do you balance?

I've dismounted a car tire before. Found a 15 gal barrel and put rubber on top of it to prevent scratching. Then put car rim/tire on top of barrel. Then just jump onto the rim and step onto the tires hard. This will brake the bead. Then use a tire iron to take off tire.

Since our rims have sprocket and a brake disc attached to it, I'm not too comfortable putting it on the ground and jumping onto it to break the bead. I guess, I'd have to find a barrel with a diameter that's larger than the brake disc, but smaller than the rim.

But definitely a winter project

EDIT: A little googling and found a DIY balancing machine. LOL. Alright, this will be my little project over the winter. http://youtu.be/Psyw5NwsZUo

I guess with the money I'll save, I'll buy a Pitbull front stand?

[Desmoluci]

I've always mounted all my own tires and lots of my friend's, too. It's never a pleasant thing, but with good irons, lube and good technique you can impress the peeps with your amazing skills.

P.S.
I've never balanced a tire on a factory built wheel. Just line up the red dot on the sidewall with the valve stem and leave the existing weights in place. Never an issue in hundreds of tire changes.

Link to original page on YouTube.

[nickjpass]

I use tire irons. Make sure when mounting you put enough pressure on the opposite edge of the tire irons to push the tire further into the rim. That way you have more free play if you will call it that. You won't tear the bead that way.


I use motion pro assorted tire irons, motion pro valve core tool, a c clamp or two 2x4s to break the bead (prefer the wood), a compressor to pop the beads (use a friends or go to a shop). Don't forget the rim protectors (motion pro lol) at least three.

To balance, I'd get two jack stands, and make sure they're level using that leveling tool with the bubble in the green liquid lol

Then set the axle down on it, and apply a lot of pressure (about the weight of the tire) and make the stands don't move. Then, remove axle and put it through your rim with the new tire, remove the old weight, and balance it. YouTube that part its pretty easy. I used motion pro black weights. With the new tire and with it properly balanced, I didn't have a high speed wobble anymore !!

Time consuming but saves you dough.

[flitecontrol]

I found used motorcycle tire irons on ebay, and they paid for themselves the first tire. Used old leather gloves to protect the rims.

As mentioned above, jack stands make good supports for tire balancing. Time consuming to mount and balance, but not too difficult and you save a ton of $. If you have a large enough vise, it makes a good bead breaker.

[Klondike1020]

The tire iorns are cheap at cycle gear. I would get the tire balancer from harbor freight.

Its an easy process. Just take your time and do it carefully.

Ive have changed hundreds of car tires , many by hand. Also changed some backhoe and tractor tires.

[PHMCS]

I mount my own tires as well with a set of motion-pro tire irons. In my area, few places will mount tires. Those that will, want $25-40. It's just not worth it to pay someone.

The last set of tires I mounted, I added counteract balancing beads. I have had zero wear issues or vibration problems since. Some people hate them, some people love them. I'll probably do another set of tires with them before I decide, but I've yet to have any complaints.

[iamjacob]

I made a static tire balancer using a steel shaft,, some roller skate wheel bearings and some scrap wood. I think I have about $8 worth of parts in it and I would put it up against almost any store bought model.

[jenkem]

I did my tires with some longish flat head screw drivers, a tire iron that was way too thick, and the plastic from a five star notebook to protect the rims. It was a total pain in the ass but it's doable and worth the money saved. The hardest part was getting the new tire bead to seat with the rim. I wasn't about to do the fire trick so I brought the rim with the tire already on it down to the closest tire shop and they used their air compressor to seat the bead in about 5 seconds, for free. Brought the other wheel and a box of donuts, really cool guys.

Oh and I attempted balancing but the weight difference was just not enough to make an effect that I could observe without better equipment. If you line up the heaviest part of the tire with the lightest part of the rim it shouldn't be too off. I just threw in some dyna beads and called it a day. Haven't had any problems.

[Rifleman]

I do my own tires. I purchased a static balance stand only because it was inexpensive and a lot less time then building my own.

I've looked into purchasing one of "nomar" stands but I have seen a number of home made stands that work really well.

I've seen one that was an old steel rim with a garden hose split and slipped around the bead. Set that on your work bench and then drill a hole in the top of the work bench and run a threaded rod through. Now you can pull your bike rim and tire down tight on the work bench.

Break the bead with a C-clamp and walk the rubber off with tire spoons and more bits of split garden hose to protect the bead and rim...

be sure to lube the new tire with soapy water and walk it on.

the small tires are easy. the 180/220's are a PITA



be sure to use a wooden block to protect your rim and bead on the "other" side



run the C-clamp in until the tire bead slips off the rim





put the new rubber in the sun and let it warm up and get as soft as it's going to get



the first bead can usually just be "slammed" on, lube the rubber and just give it one quick push and it should slide on. the second bead needs to be walked on with the spoons... lots of soap and a little water REALLY helps

BE SURE THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION IS CORRECT. There will be an arrow on the rubber showing the direction of rotation...

AND the dot, two dots, yellow dot... THE DOT is aligned with the valve stem of the rim. The tire is marked from the factory with it's heavy (or is that lite) spot... in any case, it is supposed to be aligned with the valve stem




The SCARY part. with the valve core out, use your air chuck to press up the tire. Almost instantly one bead will seat... but the other won't seat until the tire stretches a little... you are going to need to add a bit more air. Usually above what the normal tire pressure is (30 - 40 psi normal) I've had to go as high as 80 psi to get the big tires to seat the bead...

it will pop, pretty loud, when the second bead rides up and seats... remove the air chuck instantly once the bead seats and let the tire depressurize. Install the valve core and press the tire up to normal operating pressure.

a valve core removal tool is very helpful... and not all that expensive.



be sure to dispose of the old tire in a proper manner

[b.miller123]

Yep, it isn't really that hard. New 16 inch tires on the ninjette are a little tougher than nice soft supersport takeoffs.

No need to spend money on a bead breaker. Just buy a couple 2x4's and use some leverage. If you don't have a garage with exposed studs, you can screw a 2x4 to the studs through the drywall, or just use the hitch of a truck/suv. Way easier than using a big c-clamp, or even the purpose built stuff (since you can make the 2x4 lever as long as you want). I use the square mentioned below for the wheel to rest on while breaking the bead, and a foot on the opposite side.

I use the method in this video below with a couple changes. I have a square made of 2x4's that is big enough for the rotor to sit down in, so the rim doesn't fall off or move around much. Makes it much easier. I have the motion pro 3 tire iron kit, but I'll probably buy another one of the long curved irons.

Seating the bead can be a bitch without a decent compressor. Some gas stations have really crappy compressors. Try going to a car tire shop (or just about any other shop that is likely to have a big compressor) and just ask them nicely if you can use their air for a second.

http://youtu.be/L6FD_lXPYbM" TARGET="_blank">Link to original page on YouTube.

[jenkem]

Also, you can use the other tires as a stand. the new tire when getting the old tire off and then the old tire when putting the new one on. rotor side down.

[flitecontrol]

I tried the 2X4 leverage method and all it did was lift my Tundra! That tire was as tight as I've seen them. Put it in a vise and it finally broke loose.

[LittleRedNinjette]

Cycle Gear will balance the tires for free. The one in Edison i know does it, not sure about the new one in Cherry Hill.

Also they have mixed reviews but we have not had a problem with the tire beads.

[verboten1]

I've been doing my own tires since I got my first bike.

rarely do I balance them, unless the wheel is messed up.


and then just let roll on the bearings to find the heavy spot, add weight 180 degrees away.

I use A Motion Pro BeadPro tool to break the beads, best $50 i have spent for tire changes.

I have 4 different spoons, I can usually dismount and re-mount within 30 minutes max typically WAY less though

[Qomomoko]

ah yes.. at the track will charge $20 for each tyre of the bike.. not bad but for $40 I can learn to fish..

also...

EDIT:

using soap and water to lube stuff... how you get the water out later? is it not bad for balance and such ... ? and... how accurate does the balance have to be especially for track use? (manually as in "us" vs shop with a "machine")

[alex.s]

i use a short 4x4 and a long 2x4 taped together with ducttape to make a large lever that i wedge into my work bench which is bolted to the house. with this i pop the beads, then i use tire spoons and windex to remove the tire. more windex and spoons to get the new tire on. a second set of hands helps.

the zip tie method is stupid and expensive when you consider the cost of those massive zipties that you have to use in order for it to work (small zipties just break. the kind of zipties you have to use cost a fortune. you might as well buy a tire machine.)

i balance the wheel by putting the axle through it sitting on stands and let it settle to the heavy spot after rotating both directions. weight the opposite of the heavy spot until it never settles in the same spot.

[Rustitution]

This is something I've been looking at doing you guys have brought this back to my mind and will be doing this with my next set of tires my Yamaha needs a new front one right now as it has a small leak

[cadd]

Originally Posted by alex.s

i use a short 4x4 and a long 2x4 taped together with ducttape to make a large lever that i wedge into my work bench which is bolted to the house. with this i pop the beads, then i use tire spoons and windex to remove the tire. more windex and spoons to get the new tire on. a second set of hands helps.

the zip tie method is stupid and expensive when you consider the cost of those massive zipties that you have to use in order for it to work (small zipties just break. the kind of zipties you have to use cost a fortune. you might as well buy a tire machine.)

i balance the wheel by putting the axle through it sitting on stands and let it settle to the heavy spot after rotating both directions. weight the opposite of the heavy spot until it never settles in the same spot.

The only reason I mentioned zip ties is because I have over 100 of those large zip ties sitting in my garage

I didn't want to go out to buy tire levers.

Maybe tire levers are better since they are tools that are made specifically for unmounting and remounting tires....whereas zip ties are not.

For those who use tire levers, any brand you would recommend? I'm not looking for high end stuff. Just the best bang for the buck....so definitely not crappy stuff either.

[FrugalNinja250]

Do yourself a favor and use real tire lube. Soaps and detergents are designed to break down things and can damage tire rubber as well as attack aluminum. I took a Nalgene bottle down to Sam's a few years back and they gave me a great glop of solid tire lube I've been using ever since. You can also buy it locally or online.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by cadd

The only reason I mentioned zip ties is because I have over 100 of those large zip ties sitting in my garage

I didn't want to go out to buy tire levers.

Maybe tire levers are better since they are tools that are made specifically for unmounting and remounting tires....whereas zip ties are not.

For those who use tire levers, any brand you would recommend? I'm not looking for high end stuff. Just the best bang for the buck....so definitely not crappy stuff either.

by large i'm assuming you mean the normal large size which are like quarter inch... you need the ones that are about an inch thick.

they are called tire spoons not levers. you wont see much difference in quality.

one thing that makes the entire process a world easier is having a quality bead breaker.

the nomar bar with the quick change stand is the best way to change tires though. but its expensive.

[chrly]

Did anyone mention that setting the tires in direct sunlight for 30 mins or so will help the operation ? Not sure that works in states that actually have winters but here in Northern California it helps a bunch.

[verboten1]

It even helps in the winter!

[flitecontrol]

Originally Posted by alex.s

by large i'm assuming you mean the normal large size which are like quarter inch... you need the ones that are about an inch thick.

they are called tire spoons not levers. you wont see much difference in quality.

one thing that makes the entire process a world easier is having a quality bead breaker.

the nomar bar with the quick change stand is the best way to change tires though. but its expensive.

He's not spending money on the zip ties, so for him and anyone else that has the very large zip ties on hand, it's not an expensive proposition. Haven't seen any that are an inch thick, but possibly some that are that wide. I reuse zip ties by releasing the catch mechanism. Doing that means it costs virtually nothing.

Emgo and other manufacturers make tire levers: https://www.denniskirk.com/282680.sk...FRRp7AodpVMAkw

Tire spoons look like this: http://www.amazon.com/Motion-Pro-08-...cle+tire+spoon

My six inch vise takes less than a minute to break a tire bead once the wheel is properly mounted in it. I'm too cheap to buy a specific tool that will do it better/quicker when I already own something that works that well. Many folks have vises.

[cadd]

Originally Posted by alex.s

by large i'm assuming you mean the normal large size which are like quarter inch... you need the ones that are about an inch thick.

Correct. Mine are about 0.25" wide. I'll give the zip tie method a shot over the winter and I'll report back to let you guys know how it went.

[Rifleman]

Originally Posted by chrly

Did anyone mention that setting the tires in direct sunlight for 30 mins or so will help the operation ? Not sure that works in states that actually have winters but here in Northern California it helps a bunch.

yes, I did... both for the mount and de-mount... the softer the rubber the easier it is.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by cadd

Correct. Mine are about 0.25" wide. I'll give the zip tie method a shot over the winter and I'll report back to let you guys know how it went.

what i am saying is .25" isn't big enough. they will simply break. i have tried it

[sharky nrk]

I have done both dirty tires and street tires and they had at least one thing in common ...... it sucked. It can be done with just a set of spoons and a cut up shampoo bottle but its not fun. I could see doing it more often if I invested in a stand and some between holders/guards but ........uhhhhgghghg it is nothing I would do for fun lol.

[b.miller123]

Originally Posted by flitecontrol

I tried the 2X4 leverage method and all it did was lift my Tundra! That tire was as tight as I've seen them. Put it in a vise and it finally broke loose.

I haven't had any issues, even with really old tires or factory mounted stuff. You just have to have a long 2x4 for a lever, and make sure the one going down onto the bead is positioned much closer to the end opposite of where you are pushing down.

Originally Posted by alex.s

i use a short 4x4 and a long 2x4 taped together with ducttape to make a large lever that i wedge into my work bench which is bolted to the house. with this i pop the beads, then i use tire spoons and windex to remove the tire. more windex and spoons to get the new tire on. a second set of hands helps.

the zip tie method is stupid and expensive when you consider the cost of those massive zipties that you have to use in order for it to work (small zipties just break. the kind of zipties you have to use cost a fortune. you might as well buy a tire machine.)

i balance the wheel by putting the axle through it sitting on stands and let it settle to the heavy spot after rotating both directions. weight the opposite of the heavy spot until it never settles in the same spot.

The zip ties aren't that much if you get them from harbor freight. I think it is less than $2 for a pack of ten, and you can reuse them.

[sharky nrk]

I used my press to pop the bead, wasn't too difficult once you get it in place

[cadd]

Originally Posted by alex.s

what i am saying is .25" isn't big enough. they will simply break. i have tried it

Didn't realize 0.25" wide zip ties won't do it. I guess I'll just have to double or triple them up to see if they'll hold up.

Thx for sharing your personal experience.

I wonder if packing tape would do the trick. I have a few rolls of those in the garage as well. Double or triple layer them so that they are not sticky inside the rim. Then pull tight and tape the ends together on top of the treads. Removing should be easy since the inside isn't sticky at all. Hmm.....

[Desmoluci]

I bought one of these for $150 at an auction several years ago. It's paid for itself many times over, and also put a little extra jingle in my pocket from time to time.
It was worth it just for the bead breaker, it's almost too easy.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by cadd

Didn't realize 0.25" wide zip ties won't do it. I guess I'll just have to double or triple them up to see if they'll hold up.

Thx for sharing your personal experience.

I wonder if packing tape would do the trick. I have a few rolls of those in the garage as well. Double or triple layer them so that they are not sticky inside the rim. Then pull tight and tape the ends together on top of the treads. Removing should be easy since the inside isn't sticky at all. Hmm.....

what i tried was i put about 10 of the 0.25 zip ties around the tire off the rim in one spot... all together... you have to squeeze the edges of the tire together so the beads will go in the center channel... i held the tire together with the help of my brothers hands. once the 10 or so zip ties were on, we slowly released the tire and it broke all 10 of the zip ties. so unless you plan on putting 100 zipties all the way around... the ziptie method is just a flat out joke.

also... packing tape?... you realize that there are two metal bands on the inside surrounded by like an inch of rubber.... this isn't a bicycle tire.

[Rifleman]

Originally Posted by Desmoluci

I bought one of these for $150 at an auction several years ago. It's paid for itself many times over, and also put a little extra jingle in my pocket from time to time.
It was worth it just for the bead breaker, it's almost too easy.

ohhhhhhh that is sexah

this is the one i'm looking at... just need to find a foot print in my shop.

http://www.nomartirechanger.com/Cycl...20standard.htm

[alex.s]

ken has the nomar. it's fantastic!

[chrly]

Originally Posted by Rifleman

yes, I did... both for the mount and de-mount... the softer the rubber the easier it is.

Sorry I missed your post but it is worth saying twice

[b.miller123]

Originally Posted by alex.s

what i tried was i put about 10 of the 0.25 zip ties around the tire off the rim in one spot... all together... you have to squeeze the edges of the tire together so the beads will go in the center channel... i held the tire together with the help of my brothers hands. once the 10 or so zip ties were on, we slowly released the tire and it broke all 10 of the zip ties. so unless you plan on putting 100 zipties all the way around... the ziptie method is just a flat out joke.

also... packing tape?... you realize that there are two metal bands on the inside surrounded by like an inch of rubber.... this isn't a bicycle tire.

This guy didn't seem to have a problem:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9MpgD-xIjg