Changing your own tyres?

[Easy-X]

I already have a tyre-balancing stand I've used when lacing up dirt-bike wheels so I was wondering whether one of these are any good:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134266804315

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/pmsAAOSwECljPnco/s-l1600.jpg

Might also need to add some more tyre levers and rim protectors to my collection but £50~£60 is not too much of an outlay. If I were to get two tyres changed I'd have to take them off the bike, get them to a garage, pay a tenner or more to get 'em swapped and then after refitting might still have to do a static balance.

I done gazillions of bicycle tyre changes and a few dirt-bike ones but no tubeless so far
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Royal Enfield Continental GT 535, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[P.]

I used to do mine with a big spade and a pair of boots on. I'd rather have had one of these

I know plenty of people who do it at home, but for me I just can't be bothered these days.

[Bhud]

It's similar to what I use, except mine doesn't have the round base frame - just a long square bracket. It will work better than mine but you'll still have to put your foot on one end to hold it down to steady it. Fatter tyres will be hard work - modern sports bike rear tyres will take a bit of patience.

[ThunderGuts]

I get the impression when fitting tubeless tyres a fairly forceful blast of pressure is needed to get the bead to seat and seal more quickly than the air can escape; do you have that capability (compressor presumably)?

TBH, I think it's one of those things that unless you're doing in regularly (e.g. have a lot of bikes, do track days, extreme mileages or regularly ride around a screw factory) the faff of learning/relearning something you're not doing regularly, the potential to not get it perfect and the clutter of more kit would put me off.
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TG.

[Ayrton]

I bought one to fit my brothers xt660's tyres a few months ago and found it a right pain to do and still ended up scratching the rim a little. I definitely wont be doing it again on a road bike, it's just not worth the hassle to save £20.

I get the impression from videos that if you do it often then it's super easy, but I'd probably be doing a set every couple of years at most.

[xX-Alex-Xx]

[Bhud]

[grr666]

Bollocks to that, for the mileage I do, I'd happily pay someone else to fit and more importantly, balance tyres.
I'm happy to remove the wheels myself and take them to the fitter though. Even I can manage that.
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Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
Ste wrote: Avatars are fine, it's signatures that need turning off.

[Easy-X]

I might only have the one bike but my father-in-law has... let's see now... 5 so it might see some use other than just my own bike. And yes, I do have access to a compressor.

I used to have a bike garage about three roads away but now it's a fair trek (to find someone half decent that didn't go kaput during Covid.)
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Royal Enfield Continental GT 535, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[woo]

I bought the tools and that thing to change my own tyres..............it was such a headache I said never again id rather pay, so sold the stuff and am happy to pay someone to change my tyres!
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Elen sila lummen omentielvo!

[Easy-X]

Hmmm... alternatively my local car tyre place said they can do motorcycle tyres but wouldn't be able to balance them. I seem to recall static balancing being sufficient?
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Royal Enfield Continental GT 535, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[WD Forte]

You can devise various means of breaking the bead and removing them but without a good compressor
you have to resort to using 'the lynx effect' ie fire & assplosions etc to re seat them.
Then there's balancing, new valves etc

I just take them to a shop nowadays
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bikers smell of wee

[A100man]

[yen_powell]

[Bhud]

[blurredman]

Always change my own tyres, tubes and tubless.

I even change my car tyres with just some spades.
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CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S, 1979 MZ TS150.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 18k, 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 10k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 (295cc) - 40k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 51k.

[grr666]

[blurredman]

[sickpup]

[Skudd]

I have a larger version of that bead breaker, need it for the bloody BMW tyres.
I mix between doing them myself and getting the tyre place to do it, depends on availability of good second hand tyres or new tyres.
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Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[Bhud]

[Robby]

I have dabbled with changing my own tyres over the years. I've concluded that it isn't worth it from a cost perspective. Modern tyres last a good while and are expensive, the extra few quid for fitting and balancing by a pro is worth it.

I will still change my own on my old 250, but that's because I like to have a bike where I can personally do absolutely everything to it, the rims are bare alloy so I can't scratch any paint, and tyre shops don't tend to have what I want in stock.

For anything with vaguely modern radials tyres I go up to FWR in Kennington, where the fitted price is less than I can buy the tyres on their own for. It's also a shop that I trust, never had a bad experience with them.

[Easy-X]

[Bhud]

Given up already, then.

[sickpup]