Tyre websites vs shop

[Jefr0]

Hi all

I'm in need of a Pirelli MT60 110/90-17 for my XR. I used to go to a garage near me and pay for the tyre with fitting to the bike also as they were a small company and offered fair prices.

They folded and now I need a new tyre fitters. Went Watling tyres every now and again and they aren't bad.

My question is, do you still get your tyres from the garage or get them online? With taking your own tyre you usually pay more for fitting so can even itself up a bit. I imagine a tyre from Watling will be near £70 plus fitting (probably take loose wheel) but online I've had a look:

Round and black £70 delivered
Black circles £67 delivered
Ebay £58 delivered
My tyres £57 delivered
Moto tyres £57 delivered
Motoblouz £53 delivered
Oponeo £51 delivered

Only ever used black circles. I could get a tyre from Ononeo and be prepared to pay £20? To a loose wheel?

What do you do?
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Rides: Honda XR 125 ('03) Honda CBR 600F ('91), Ducati 916 Biposto ('95)

[Az]

If I buy new tyres, I buy them off Oponeo as they tend to be the cheapest and I've had a good experience with them. Personally I have them delivered to the guy who fits my tyres and I'm charged £15 per wheel (on the bike).

Where as in the summer I run scrubbed super corsas which me and my brother can fit ourselves with the appropriate levers and he has an Abba manual wheel balancer machine. We've tried fitting my BT023s with levers and the tyre was to rigid to push it over the wheel.

It may be worth finding out how much your local tyre shop will supply & fit your tyre for you, it may not work out too much more than buying them online and having them fitted. You don't know unless you ask.

[Beehive Bedlam]

I ring the garage have him order whatever I want and take bike for the tyre fitted.

£110 PR3 Fitted.

£95.34 online - blackcircles + fitting.

Works out roughly the same.

Not worth ordering online unless you can fit yourself IMO.

[G]

Always fitted trail size tyres myself pretty much.

Got a basic manual 'tyre machine' to do tubeless road ones too.

So generally online - probably secondhand on ebay.

[Az]

[G]

Only done a couple (CB-1) and they were fine - in the past used an air operated 'proper' tyre machine, but don't have space for that here.

First off, are you making sure you're pushing the bead opposite where you're using the lever right into the centre of the wheel?
It can help to stand on it there to make sure it does go into the middle - if you've got someone else to stand on it for you, idea!

You could try warming the tyres up a bit - if you don't have tyre warmers, at least in an airing cubpoard or above a heater for a while.

[yen_powell]

[G]

Apparently some people will use ratchet straps around the tyre to help that.

Like this:
https://www.motofab.com/images/repair/tire_change/straps/img_4086.jpg

[Az]

[Az]

[zark]

Last front tyre - local garage ordered it for me - took the bike in and they fitted it. Best part of £155.00 for a BT023 and an hours labour to remove wheel, change tyre and replace.

Last rear tyre - ordered BT023 from Oponeo delivered. Around £65 i think. Removed wheel, took it to local tyre shop. Tyre changed for £7.50 plus vat. Took it home - put wheel back on bike.

If i've got time - i'll always try and remove wheel and do it that way... gave me time to give it a bit of a wash around the hugger, caliper and inside the swingarm while it was out too...
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Rides a Fazer like an idiot... Edit: Now ride a Fazer Thou...

[MarkJ]

Brand new tyres are harder to fit to a rim compared to some race scrubs that have already been put on & off, but should still be possible. I haven't had a bike tyre I can't fit yet. Are you using tyre lube?

Also, don't try pulling a large chunk of the tyre bead over the rim at once, work along in 1-2 inch increments until you get near 12 o clock and it then just drops over.

[Enduro Numpty]

I get all my tyres delivered to my house and fit them myself. Much cheaper and much more convenient than wasting time going elsewhere to pay someone else to do it. It's also an opportunity to check bearings, brakes etc.. I have decent tyre changing gear which makes easy work of it: An enduro mousse changer which makes an excellent "wheel holder" and bead breaker, high quality Buzetti levers and a tyre bar. I use plenty of lube for both fitting and removing the tyres and a static balancer for balancing (strangely enough). I bought a 50 litre compressor last year and it's the best money I've ever spent. I do change tyres a lot so it pays me to have decent gear.

The money I've spent on gear has been repaid many times over.

[Enduro Numpty]

I get all my tyres delivered to my house and fit them myself. Much cheaper and much more convenient than wasting time going elsewhere to pay someone else to do it. It's also an opportunity to check bearings, brakes etc.. I have decent tyre changing gear which makes easy work of it: An enduro mousse changer which makes an excellent "wheel holder" and bead breaker, high quality Buzetti levers and a tyre bar. I use plenty of lube for both fitting and removing the tyres and a static balancer for balancing (strangely enough). I bought a 50 litre compressor last year and it's the best money I've ever spent. I do change tyres a lot so it pays me to have decent gear.

The money I've spent on gear has been repaid many times over.

[Snod Blatter]

I buy my tyres online as I like the extra choice it gives me, most of my bikes use strange sizes that a tyre place wouldn't keep in stock or if they did they wouldn't have much of it. I've also taken to trying weird tyres lately, The TRX has Nankang Roadiacs on it (they're not bad at all) and the CB250 has had a Bridgestone Trail Wing rear and now a Golden Tyre GT201, neither of these would ever be found in stock at a tyre place.

I take the wheels out and do it myself though if the bike has a centre stand, easy enough and I can check everything else. The TRX though, with just its silly side stand.. The man can have his extra fitting money. I should buy a front stand, really..
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1994 CB250, 1984 CBX250RS-E, 1989 K100RS, 1995 TRX850, 2016 Z250SL

[Jayy]

Unless I'm cleaning the bike, I don't touch them at all.

New tyres? Take the bike to a bike tyre place and let them put them on. I don't mess about with wheels coming off and all that, leave it to the pros!

Oil change? Take it to my guy.

Literally, I just clean the things and that's as far as it goes

[DrDonnyBrago]

Cheapest online for tyres then DIY fit.

My tyre changing kit set me back about £13, which includes the parts to make a static tyre balancer.

[bikertomm]

Local Indy, D C Rogers.

This was back in March last year, £233 fitted & balanced to the bike for brand new PR3's. I got quoted £330 from another local garage to put that into perspective.

Even now they are £120+ for the rear, £80 for the front, that's £200. Unbelievable value and top blokes!

Really pleased with them and their work.
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07' Honda Hornet now full powaah! My guide on performing an oil change!

[ForestRunner]

Like I said on another thread

I used https://www.moto-tyres.co.uk recently.
Local dealers, shops were not helpful.
Ordered after 5pm on a Thursday, delivered from Germany to my house on Monday. Fitted by my local back street tyre shop while I waited, for £10 cash per tyre, and I got tea and a chat.
Both tyres were much cheaper and manufactured this year.

Can't see why bike shops don't want easy money. I was taking them wheels loose, and would have paid a good price had they been able to sort me out. Seastar Superbikes couldn't be bothered to even ring me back after I had visited them in person.
Recommendations will go elsewhere. Too many places around here seen to think the bike is just a trinket that can be of the road for weeks until they can fit it in. Can get tyres fitted to my van while I wait, so the place that does my van did the bike tyres that I brought them and will do again.
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Slowly learning...
CBF125 Red (Stolen) -> CBF125 White -> 1999 Hornet

[Alpineandy]

For Car tyres I've had some decent deals off tyretraders web-site.
I'll check them next time I need bike tyres.

The last bike tyres I got were from ebay and the garage fitted them for me.
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The above comment isn't necessarily the truth and anyone that says it is, is only correct if it's the truth or they're bigger than me.

[.....]

DIY here. I'm surprised more people don't do the same on BCF, where people are encouraged to have a go at DIY'ing most other servicing on their bikes.

I picked up bead breaker etc pretty cheaply unused from Gumtree for less than my local place wanted for fitting.

[Kris]

I usually use Watling Tyres. I travel to an old local place that I've used since year 2000 when I first started riding. The current chap used to deal with lots of bikes including couriers in London so knows his stuff. In fact, it was he that noticed my Pan Euro was missing a spacer in the front brake assembly - and he fabricated one for free as a get-me-home measure.

I have ordered from FWR and taken tyres to Watlings for fitting but only because they didn't stock the Maxxis I wanted to try.
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www.prisonplanet.com

[Jefr0]

Thanks for replies all

[Kris]

[Old Git Racing]

I use Biketyres, Leeeds at Barwick. Free fitting to loose wheels, good choice, good prices, good fitters.

OGR
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2022 Tiger Sport 660 2019 Street Twin 2003 K3 gixxer 1000 1998 Srad 600 track hack