Trying to mount tubes and tires on wire wheels.
The wheels are pretty slick (fresh powder coating)
I do have tire irons and tube talc.
Should I partially inflate the tubes? Should I put both edges of the tire into the wheels before trying to insert the tubes?
Thanks! Any tips appreciated!
Michael
1. Put the tubes inside the tires and inflate them to 10 to 15 lbs pressure and let them sit for a few days. This will stretch out the side walls and make them a little easier to work.
2. Remove the valve from the stem and deflate the tubes.
3. Put the rim liners on and tube positioned inside tire
4. Get a commercial (home depot) plastic garbage bag and slit it so you have the plastic.
5. Put a double thickness of the plastic around the rim between the tire and rim, placing the valve stem in position.
6. Slide the tire over the rim..no tools needed
7. Re-position the double wall of plastic and slide the other edge bead over the rim
8. Air up the tire in increments, `10# Bounce around a little, 20# bounce around a little more and then up to 45#. After mounting take it up to the 55# give or take.
Google plastic bag tire installation and you should see a video of this.
32 to 35 for the 21 inch tires.
Wire wheels are drop center so they will be a lot easier to install if you keep the bead in the middle of the rim where it has the smallest diameter. You can horse them on with irons if you don't do that but it is a lot easier if you do and on a warm day after you let the tires sit in the sun for a while you should be able to do it by hand without irons and that goes a long way to save the paint on the rims.
got all 5 done...THANKS! First one took half an hour...the rest about 10 mins each. whewww.