Seeking help… Conti gp5000 tubeless tires & hunt wheels

This is the only way I’ve been able to get the 5000 TL on my wheels. Not too bad once you get the technique down. But unlike the photo, the center lever that does the prying should be positioned very close to either of the outer levers. Then, taking very small “bites” pry the bead over into the center track and slide the outer lever up to hold it in place, Repeat until the tire is fully in the center track. If you go at it like in the photo somethings is going to break. Either the lever or the wheel.

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I have Hunt wheels, but I run Schwalbe tyres on them. They are tight, but always go on.

Agree with what someone said above - on your photo, it looks like there is still too much tyre bead left to lift it over like that. I’d try again with pushing both sides of the bead into the rim well, all the way round, and see if you can get a bit more of the tyre on, before trying to do the last bit.

My new rule is if I can’t muscle it on with my thumbs, the tires are getting sold. Oddly the first set of GP5000 TL was a struggle fest to install, but 10 rides later I managed to insert a tube/boot roadside on a hot day. Then the weather turned cold, I popped tire off to fix the gash, and I couldn’t get it back on in the comfort of my garage. The bead (carbon or kevlar or ?) they put in the Conti GP5K TL and S TR is pretty inflexible, and Conti seems to downsize the tire just a little too much.

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Trying this… dealing with flying tire levers. When I get a small bite into the center track, the opposite lever pops out or flies out.

Leaning in this direction…

Watch this video. Makes a huge difference.

:point_up_2: :point_up_2: :point_up_2: :point_up_2:This is the way.

You can also, while having the wheel on the ground and standing vertically, work the tire along the rim by pushing it down around the the rim and toward the last little bit of the bead that needs to go. This will help make it easier. Like stretching tubulars onto a rim. Hard to explain so I’ll post a video of that as well: How to fit a Tubular Tyre, the Easy way - YouTube

I’ve never met a tire that I couldn’t eventually mount without levers or soap though those can definitely help.

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That was first technique I learned when converting to tubeless four years ago. Soap and/or a spray bottle of soapy water. Inserts from Vittoria (Kool Stop jack) and CushCore (roll technique) take you to the next level LOL. I’ve posted links to a Mavic technical article where they measured diameter of different rims and tires and it is absolutely possible to get a combo that doesn’t work, barring any feats of strength/leverage that can’t easily be replicated roadside. I’m not going to carry the Kool Stop tire jack with me on rides.

And that’s where I draw the line, it has to be serviceable roadside or with inserts capable of slow rolling home. At some point its better to move on to tires that weren’t “undersized at the insistence of company lawyers” which I say a bit tongue in cheek, but how I feel when working with Conti TL / S TR.

I have no problem putting on GP5000 (tube tire), but the TL and S TR have been incredibly difficult on Enve 5.6 disc, Bontrager Aeolus Pro 3V, Roval Rapide CLX, and now Terra CLX. The Enve and Aeolus seemed to have a slightly deeper center channel and a bit easier to install tubeless vs Roval. In my experience the easier to install road tubeless tires in 25-32c include Hutchinson, Pirelli, Specialized, Schwalbe, and Zipp. The bead and size of Conti TL and S TR make them a challenge for many rims.

Touch wood Ive never had a flat with them, other than one which a tyre worm fixed (no need to remove the tyre) but I’ve thought similar about other tyres in the past but with a bit of actual use (maybe generating heat/ flexibility in the tyre) it has never been a problem.

Ive never seen the video before but I do similar. It might take a few goes with tubeless (working round the tyre and working round it again etc) and sometimes just having a break before trying again touchwood has always worked for me :+1:

I tried to mount GP5000TLs on Bontrager Aeolus Pro 5 wheels. Tried. I used every trick I could find (including the above video) to no avail. I mounted one with a tube to an alloy rim with zero trouble. Inflated it to 130PSI and let it sit for a week, topping up the pressure as needed. No joy. It was still impossible to get mounted on the Bontragers

I gave them to a friend and went with the Schwalbe Pro one. Slipped them on with zero trouble, and only needed one lever for the very last bit.

-Tim

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Totally agree - the center lever should start from the outside, and work towards the center. I used the photo because it shows how the levers clip on to the rim, and avoid you just chasing the unseated section around and around the rim.

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I have the Hunt 3650 combo and it took me a couple of (exhaustive) hours to get the Conti GT5kTL tires on the rims. The trick was several preemptive blow dryer sessions on the bead, with tire stretching by hand (hold down with feet) in between, and then getting them on with the levers. It was a major pita, but achievable. Once you get them on, the next obstacle is getting them to seat with a floor pump. The only way I got that done was taking out the valve core & using soapy water along the rim tire bead before pumping away.

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I feel like this is a physics problem/puzzle. If the first side goes on by hand, then you have to figure out how to get the first side out of the way, so you can slip the 2nd side on in the same fashion.

In the real world though, the ability to move the first side out of the way is constrained by it being installed onto the rim.

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I bought a cheap hair dryer… traveling this weekend will try heat application next week and give y’all an update heh. Thanks for the tips!

But if you cant easily change the tyre on the side of the road, there is no point using them?

I’ll be using them primarily as pit wheels or for short circuit rides around a local air field :slight_smile: at this point it’s the sunk cost fallacy/principal…

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It could be a problem but most tubeless flats should be fixed with a plug. A tube should be a last resort.

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That was my exact thought when I used a pair last year. I couldn’t get a pair of GP5000TL to go on to a set of ultegra wheels. I switched to Schwalbe instead.

I now use my GP 5000TLs on a pair of Hunt wheels too. They went on a little easier on those rims.

I disagree with this statement - I actually think they stretch quite a lot and relatively quickly.

A set that I had to book a day off work to fit are now easily removed with tools and doable without tools. That’s after less than 500km.

My experience is that it’s only the first fit that is challenging.

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