Tyre bead breakers
 

Finally started buying goodies for changing tyres in my garage...

Looking for cheap/second hand stuff, but I do want to get the proper stuff (don't want to make/hack together anything - cba). Got to bead breakers and on Ebay I am looking at £21 (+£6 postage) for one of these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWA:IT&ih=021

It says it works up to a 190 tyre so you would assume they are implying it'd be OK on sports bike tyres. However, the example photos show a motocross (?) wheel with only a single disc - will I have problems with twin disc wheels? I.e. having to remove at least one of the discs?

Aside from that it looks a little small (lever is not that long - not much leverage). My other option is one of these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-MOTORCYCLE...QQcmdZViewItem which look pretty tasty. Not decided which route to go down yet but this thread will help me decide that :D

Re: Tyre bead breakers
 

I have one of these http://www.abbastands.co.uk/product_details.asp?id=11

Works nicely.

Re: Tyre bead breakers
 

I use one of these. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KART-BEAD-BREA...QQcmdZViewItem

Re: Tyre bead breakers
 

Looks like the design is similar enough to have the same problem as I was thinking about (therefore there is no problem?) - useful info :cool:

I was hoping you'd reply as you had quite a bit of info in my last thread on this sorta thing ;)

I saw those kart bead breakers when I was browsing ol' Ebay actually...do you reckon they work just as good as (or close enough) to the £80 one I linked to? What I'm after is that things are as easy as possible (within reason) so I'm not put off doing this by stuff that is more difficult to use (although will work). Hence concerns about not having much leverage on the £21 one I linked - BUT your one seems to have a longer handle and generally looks quite big/bulky which is good. Thoughts? (for £16 I'm almost thinking it is worth it to try)

Oh - and looking at that, how do you stop the disc getting damaged? It looks like the disc would rest on the frame of the breaker, which can't be brilliant for it?

Re: Tyre bead breakers
 

The Abba ones are ace, but sooooo expensive compared to the cheapy ones which do the job just as well. I use yet another random ebay angle-iron number which does the job perfectly. I sometimes wish for more leverage though, as I'm puny.

Re: Tyre bead breakers
 

Working on fat wheels? It's a bit of a funny photo on there. I've taken tyres off a speed tripple, and they have 190 section on the rear, no problem.

Re: Tyre bead breakers
 

I take the discs off. The Kart one does the trick (I have done kart rims and car rims with it too ;)). But it is a bit of a faff. The long handle actually gets in the way. Think about it, the 'squisher' bit only moves a fraction of the end of the bar ... I like the design of the £21 one actually ... not used one, but unless money isn't an issue at all, I'd go for the £21 as it looks like the best tool per £ :)

Re: Tyre bead breakers
 

Is that similar to any of the ones on here? Or maybe - have you got a photo? I'd like to try and get an idea of what length of handle would be needed to make it a fairly easy/trivial task...

Actually I meant the disc problem - I want to be able to change tyres without removing the discs (i.e. minimum effort required). Looking at that design, the rim would lie on the rubber-coated bit, so that side of the disc would be off the ground (assuming the disc doesn't protrude that far out from the wheel). But what about the other side - do you prop it up with a bit of wood, etc?

Yeah I see what you mean - presumably since it's designed for kart wheels, the intended use wouldn't normally see the handle come into contact with the wheel (kart wheels being much smaller)?
Only problem I could foresee with the £21 one is as above - disc contacting another surface (and possibly having force pushed against it). E.g. on the red one, the part of the rim where you are breaking the bead would have to be against the bottom part of the frame (since it pushes against it). I'm not sure if that even rules out the disc being on there - since the frame of the braker just out quite far (looks like to the spindle hole).
I've bid on a 2nd hand "expensive" one - that would be the ideal - but if it gets too much I'll buy a cheapo one and bide my time for a more sophisticated breaker :cool:

Re: Tyre bead breakers
 

Oh, and actually - the other problem I could see with the £21 one is that the handle is shorter compared to the others...I really don't know what kind of force is required to break the bead hence being so apprehensive about getting a short-handled one...maybe unjustified...but don't really know!:help:

Re: Tyre bead breakers
 

Don't be so lazy ... take the discs off :rolleyes: ...

After doing the bead, when you are using the tyre leavers to try and get the tyres off, you are going to need to stick the wheel on the floor and put pressure on it ... again ... you don't want the discs on it for that either ;) .. you can do it with discs on, but the whole thing is less risky with them off ;) ... with a t-bar allen key, it takes a matter of seconds to get the discs off.

Oh and I think the leverage on that ?21 one should be fine - unless you are a b1tch!! ;)