I have had this tool for several years and have found it to be the answer to get that last 6-8 inches of tire bead over the wheel. I mount Continental 5000 clinchers on DT Swiss R 470 DB wheels. When I get the tire to the last 6-8 inches that will not go over the wheel, I use a Crank Brothers tire tool to hold one end of the unseated tire bead in place and then take about 2-2.5 inches of the bead and use the tool to pull that smaller amount of tire over the rim. If you don�t hold the other end of the tire bead then you may end up chasing that 6-8 inches around the rim. I repeat 3-4 times to get the entire bead over the wheel. I think where some of the issue with this tool comes from is a tendency to try and pull the entire bead over the wheel at once because the tire bead starts moving as mentioned above. I also believe trying to pull the full bead over the wheel may be the source of why the tool breaks. Think about this. If the tool were made of steel and couldn�t break what might happen to an expensive carbon fiber wheel. It would break. You might bend an alloy wheel. The people that make this tool were correct to make it the sacrificial piece at under $20 rather than damage or breaking a wheel.
I wish I had bought one of these years ago. It makes it a lot easier to put on a tubeless road tire without damaging the tire. It would probably make it easier with tubes too, but I haven't had to try that.
For REALLY TOUGH TO MOUNT TIRES
It took me a couple of quick attempts to get the hang of it, but wow what a great tool. What used to take up to 5-10 minutes with frustration, scraped knuckles and a few choice words now is really easy. Brand new tires on some of the newer rims can be a real pain, but now I can save time and no longer bleed occasionally. The size of the tool does not lend itself to take on rides but most of my tire rotations, installations are done at home as I don't wait to replace tires once I see signs of ware.
Tubeless tire installs suck and this tool makes it a little bit easier. I imagined an effortless wrench on the this tool would bring the bead to heal�ha. Still lots of sweat and tears.
My friend always breaks her newly manicured nails fixing a flat. Now her nails will stay in tact.
If you have carbon rims and find it very hard to get tire seated you need this. Makes tire changing a breeze.
From bleeding palm to high fives and five minute wire bead on a sun cr-18 installs. IKyKY, otherwise time 2 find out :) !
Conti Grand Prix tires are so tight on my wheels I've peeled skin off my fingers and pinched more than one tube. Now with this tool, l'm able to easily work that last foot of tire over the rim. A great tool!
I mounted a Conti 5000 TR on my rim with no problems (no cursing!) - I also saw a buddy of mine use the tool for a roadside flat repair of a road tire with a tube. Two thumbs up!
Recently, I purchased some new Zipp wheels that made mounting tires, like the Gatorskins, extremely difficult . I am a 54 year old female with sort of small hands, but I've always changed my tires myself. When I got the new wheel set I was frustrated that I couldn't get the darn things on. (The last bit was a @#$*&!) However, this tire bead jack made it possible for me to mount them! It took a bit for me to figure it out, but I'm grateful to have this guy!
This tool is amazingly simple to use but it does take some muscle. The first time I used this on a really difficult-to-mount tire/rim, I was thinking "this tool is surely going to break" under the force needed to mount the tire... but it is built very well, didn't even flex and popped the tire on the rim. I've used it several times since and it makes this task so much easier. My thumbs are thankful!
This tool really helps with mounting 20 inch trike tires. I have no issues mounting larger tires on my bicycles but the 20 inch tires arent near as flexible. This tool isn't perfect but it does help get them on the rims.
I discovered this simple, elegant, effective tool after struggling way too many times to mount road bike tires. This makes it simple. I strap it to my second bottle cage, or store in jersey pocket when commuting and touring. Highly recommend.
Flat tires are my second least favorite thing while riding (getting hit by a car was number one). This tool makes the process much more bearable with tight fitting tires. No more sore hands and pinched fingers on that final 10 inches! I carry it in my frame bag since it is too long to fit with my other tools in my seat wedge bag. I have used it twice so far with great results. Highly recommend!
If you've EVER struggled with getting a tire on your rim this would have solved your problem and saved your thumbs.
I broke 3 tire levers before breaking down and buying this item. The difference is unbelievable!
In my case I was using Vittoria Randonneur tires on a bontrager rim. I know some tires are very easy to fit on the same rims but I don't have those and had gotten quite used to the tires I had. I had also struggled before with the same tire but got over it. I didn't know there was such a gadget.
While not the smallest item its not too big to strap under your saddle. I won't leave home without it cos changing a tire in the rain is no fun. Changing in the searing heat is no fun. Now I don't worry about it.
Works great to remove and install tight bike tires. Really helps with Continental tires. With my old hands they were getting tough.
Mounted tries for over 40 year, but jut could not get this tire on. Thought I would try this tool. It's not perfect. However to be fair int might have been operator error. This was a particularly tight bead on a vintage rim. Tool kept slipping off bead as I struggled with the last six inches, but only if i tried to lift too much bead over trim wall at one time. Going inch by inch it worked although the bead itself kept crawling off opposite where I was lifting on. Fixed that by jamming another tire lever in to stop the bead from coming off. Glad to have it in the toolbox.
This product is probably good for tires that are not more than 1.75 width. Bought it for my 2.00 tires and it could not accommodate the tire size. Was disappointed that I could not use it. Hopefully the manufacturer will make one that can work for larger width tires.
With 2-way fit rims, I always struggled to install new tires. Occasionally, I would pinch the new tube and have to remove and reinstall the tire. Since I got the Kool Stop Tire Bead Jack I have not had any problems - installation is now relatively easy. One of my best purchases.