Mounting & balancing tires yourself: Difference between revisions

I trust that anyone looking to mount and balance their own tires at home has the skills and knowledge to remove the wheels from their bike, so I'm not going into that. But once off, you will need a couple of tools. A valve stem core removal tool, 2 or 3 tire irons, some 2x4's in different lengths and a plastic milk jug (or similar) cut into pieces.

Not shown, above, is the valve core tool. I like 11" tire irons personally, as they're just long enough to forgive sloppy technique, but not long enough to give enough leverage to Easily bend a rim. Note, I do NOT use tire lube of any sort as I don't find it necessary. But, it does make the task a bit easier... so if you're going that route, buy some purpose made tire lube. Don't try to make due with something, and '''DO NOT''' use dish soap and water, as that stuff can, and will, eat at the tire. It's designed to attack grease (oil), and tires are a petroleum product. I've seen a few nasty looking tires that had gooey, melty rubber from dish soap.  

The first thing you want to do is remove the core from the valve stem, letting all the air out. Next, lay the rim on 2 pieces of 2x4, which acts as a cushion from the floor, and keeps the brake rotor from touching anything.  

This is so we can break the bead. I'm using the [http://www.ibmwr.org/otech/beadbreaker.html 2x4 method]. It's cheap, easy and works well.  

[[Image:mount balance 4.JPG|150px]]   

Once you get the tire started off the rim, you can usually just push it off the rest of the way. Turn the rim over and repeat on the second side.  

To remove the tire, you need to push the ''Opposite side'' (still on the top, just on the other side of the tire than the one you're currently working on) of the tire into the Drop Center of the rim. This is the narrow part of the rim in the middle, before it steps up to the bead. Doing this allows the tire to shift enough for the bead to slip off with the tire iron. If you leave the opposite side up on the bead seat part of the rim it will be much harder to remove the tire, and much easier to cause damage to your wheel. Once you have the First bit over, it's just a matter of repeating the process with the other irons. Make sure you don't try to take too big of a bite, as this is where you get into trouble wanting to use extra strength, and the rim will bend.  

After you make it about half-way around, you Should be able to just pull the bead off the rest of the way with your hand.  

Now for the second bead. Working from the Same Side as before, with 1 tire iron, you should be able to put it all the way through...  

The valve stem itself is also something you should inspect. Bend it and look for cracks anywhere in the surface, but mostly right where it gets narrow to go back through the rim. It's easy to change right now, and more work if it fails when you don't need to change the tire. Replacing it is simple: just cut off the old, use the same tool for removing the core to screw onto the stem, and pull it through from the inside of the rim until it seats. Shorter are better, angled are a bad idea (need to be replaced more often) and I'm not a fan of the screw-together metal stems mostly because they can be a PITA to get to fit correctly, and to remove later when they eventually fail. I tend to just change mine every 3 or 4 sets of tires. The stem is the same standard size as those used by cars. You should be able to get one at any tire retailer. ''If you run anything but plastic caps, you'll likely be doing replacements a lot sooner.''  

I also like to check the static balance of Just the rim, as the valve stem never seems to be the heavy point anymore. I do this on the cheap, with the axle and a couple of jack stands. You can spend lots more money to do the same thing and never feel a difference. Don't spin the wheel, that'll just take more time to slow down. Instead, rotate the wheel 90* and let go. Do this a couple times, and the heavy spot will always fall. If there isn't a heavy spot, then it won't rotate from where you let go.  

It's important to note that tires are Directional due to how they're constructed. The arrow is plainly shown on the side of the tire, like this (to the left)  

Also notice the DOT code. It's a 4 digit code that lists the week and the year the tire was made. Mine is 3205, so the 32nd week of 2005. More than 3~4 years old, and tires start to go 'off', get hard and aren't Any fun to ride on (worse than the stock Dunrocks on the 250!) You should Also look for a round dot, about the size of a dime, on the tire. This is an indicator of the lightest spot on the tire from the manufaturer, though not all brands have this (my Avon did not)... you'll want to line this up with the Heaviest spot on the rim that you noted earlier.  

When it comes time to put the new tire on, you should be able to just walk the first bead over the rim without any tools other than your bodyweight. Though, if needed, you can use a rim protector and tire iron to help, as I needed here:  

With the tire on the rim, it's time to seat the bead with an air compressor. Those cheaper units that just provide an on-demand supply (often in blue boxes at gas stations), do NOT have enough umph to do the job. You need a good source of air, but that's usually easy to get ahold of at any sort of shop doing any sort of work, or (my favorite), the old time gas station/garage. They always have good air.  Fill the tire up '''without''' the valve stem core in the valve stem and listen for 2 "pops". Front tires are usually Very quick and easy with this; rears can be more difficult. But just lay the tire on the ground, as it was when you were changing it, and use your spare hand and knees to bump and lift the tire where air seems to be escaping from. It Will seat with some patience and work. You'll then want to look for an even ring all the way around the rim, on the tire (there's usually some rings moulded into the tire to make this task simple). If it's not even all the way around, the bead is not fully seated. Now, put the core back in the valve stem and fill the tire up. I usually go over what I normally run until I get it back on the bike. Always easier to let some out than to add some back.