[Blindstitch]

After I did all my tire changing last year I must say I got pretty lucky because all I used was a prybar as a wedge and thin flat blade screwdriver as a bead breaker. Just wedge the prypbar and push in lightly and turn the screwdriver. Well David in Wisconsin gave me a cx650 tire with some pretty nice tread on it so I figured this morning why not break down the tire so I can use it. Prybar 1 said no, prybar 2 said no, the little screwdriver wondered what the hell I was doing. So I remembered back to when I did the tires the first time and all the guys on the smart and cheap seemed to think a c or g clamp was the way to go. So I just bought one. I used a piece of 1/4 inch plywood on the rim side and a 2 inch washer on the rubber side which allowed the c clamp wobble head to move around and in minutes the bead was broke. Flipped it around and did the same thing.



And the clamp only cost me $5. Not a great clamp but it did the job.



Here's a picture the Dex took a while back of a similar solution.

By the way I don't know if there is a right or wrong but I did mine with the clamp on the inside of the rim. Seemed more logical because it couldn't really pull away from the rim/tire if it was on the inside.





So thanks guys.

 

[Blue Fox]

I've done them that way too, Don. I find it is easier to just throw them in my bench vise, allowing only the sidewalls to be clamped, and tighten it down. That gets both sides at once. Sometimes it needs just a little assistance from a tire iron, but it usually only takes less than a minute. I have a 6" vise, and that is about the minimum needed for this.



Another thing is to use a 5 gallon plastic bucket with some weight in the bottom to lay the tire on. It won't scratch the rim and keeps the rotor from contacting the floor.

 

[Trickster]

+1 on the bucket or old car tire, as a cushion.

 

[Interstater]

Don,

you are a do-it-yourself type of guy, someday when you get your garage you can build yourself one of these...

 

[Blindstitch]

Now that's how you know someone is serious.

 

[ki4radiocom]

My shed is to small for that wood press. Nice ideas. Reminds me of my ten speed bike, doing the tires.

 

[elwood440]

you don't even need the wall-mounted setup there. just two 2x4s.. wedge a long one under your car, and push a short one down into your bead with the wheel lying on the ground.

 

[Dex Sinister]

Here's a picture the Dex took a while back of a similar solution.



By the way I don't know if there is a right or wrong but I did mine with the clamp on the inside of the rim. Seemed more logical because it couldn't really pull away from the rim/tire if it was on the inside.

Thought that photo looked awfully familiar! LOL.



If you clamp it from the outside, both sides of the clamp squeeze the tire. If you do it from the inside, the fixed side of the clamp is going to rest on the rim, not the tire.



Obviously, either way works!

 

[Shep]

A C/G clamp and a bit of wood does make the job easy

I also pour some watered down washing up liquid around the rim as that helps the tyres slide off

 

[Dex Sinister]

And of course there is always this ...helpful... suggestion for reseating the bead back on the rim:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hJFNuNoVfg



[Came across that video the other day and had never seen the concept before, lol! Not recommending it...though it would be interesting to try.]

 

[nolavox]

And of course there is always this ...helpful... suggestion for reseating the bead back on the rim:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hJFNuNoVfg



[Came across that video the other day and had never seen the concept before, lol! Not recommending it...though it would be interesting to try.]

IT works.... most of the time. Somewhere I have a picture of a friend catching his pants leg on fire doing this. I'm sure someone has blown his cajones (or worse) off doing it.



You might get a "Darwin Award"

along with a seated bead.

 

[nolavox]

Don,

you are a do-it-yourself type of guy, someday when you get your garage you can build yourself one of these...

Looking at your pic, I noticed the giant lever and almost missed the rest of the really cool tire machine underneath. That is a GREAT idea.

I'm stealing borrowing the design ASAP

 

[Linny]

Interstater, I too like your press design!

 

[Interstater]

Interstater, I too like your press design!

Even though I have a very similar bead breaker device that I made from 2x4's that I bolt on the garage wall when I need to change a tire, that one in the pic is not my design. It came from a forum for Valkyrie riders.



Here is a pic of one a guy fabbed from steel.

 

[Ohm]

I just used out 2 ton arbor press to break the beads on my front tire when I changed the front wheel.