Any experience with tire change machines (manual type) ?

[Mike Pellet]

Has anyone tried any of the tire change machines like the ones sold on ebay? Some will change bike tires only and some will do car tires as well. I am looking at the ones in the $100 to $200 range, but will consider a higher priced unit if it is a better value. I AM NOT looking to spend a $1,000 or more for the powered tire changers.

Thanks in advance for any tips or advice.


Mike

[alke46]

What's wrong with tire spoons? They work well and are a lot more economical. This of course assumes you are talking about m/c tire changing.

[barnbiketom]

I have a Harbor Freight car manual changer mounted on a plate in the yard,which works quite well for what it is. I've changed probably a hundred CAR tires on it in 5 years.. and it has a BEAD BREAKER that works great too.. BUT i read and hated the reviews on the CRAP BIKE ATTACHMENT for it so..
I made one.
I took a 13" car wheel and welded an upright in it to hold against the spokes. Then covered the lip and the upright with air hose to prevent marring...and then welded the whole thing to a 2x2 square tubing that fits into my truck receiver.
I have a strong motor mount bolt for the center where the bike wheel slips down onto with spacers and a nut to hold the wheel solid on the thing and use my Harbor Freight Tire tool that came with my car tire changer, instead of the unwieldy bike adapter thingamajig they sell.
I can mount or demount any bike tire, tube or tubless in less than a minute and no problems.
I might get a tire tool that has nylon on the end to help with marring, but most of the ones I do are my own anyway and I don't get bad marring anyway.
To break the bead is another matter.
You could mount a 2x4 with a "pusher' piece of board onto a wall stud with a bolt and use leverage.. that works well or place the bike wheel close to your car and use the car as the end of the fulcrum as well. lots of Youtube on that!!

[tkent02]

What's wrong with tire spoons? They work well and are a lot more economical. This of course assumes you are talking about m/c tire changing.

What he said. I have a tire machine mounted in the back yard. It's easier just to spoon them on.

[jabcb]

A mechanic/friend that does some work for me is a big fan of the No-Mar tire changers.


Also, don’t forget to set aside some $$$ for something for tire balancing.

[bwringer]

My setup is a padded old steel car wheel much like BarnBikeTom's. I've changed at least a hundred or two tires like this.

I've used a No-Mar, and I'm not at all impressed. On bike with different front and rear wheel diameters, you waste a LOT of time futzing with those damn stupid crappy plastic rim clamps. (It's a little easier on modern sportbikes, which are 17" front and rear, so you don't have to change the clamp settings.)

I can have the old tire off and and the new tire on with levers while the No-Mar user is still trying to get the tire clamped. No-Mar really glosses over this bit in their instructions and videos.

However, once you do get the damn thing clamped, the No-Mar is like buttuh. Very easy from that point. The integrated bead breaker is pretty slick, too.

Changing tires with levers and rim protectors does requires a higher degree of skill. I can pretty much do it in my sleep without breaking a sweat by now, but most people struggle for their first several sets of tires.

Personally, I'd rather spend the $800 on tires. But I can certainly understand why you'd want to use a No-Mar or a similar changer instead.

[Buffalo Bill]

How about the Pit Posse tire changer & bead breaker?
Looks like it functions like your steel wheel DIY changers, plus a bead breaker.
Seems to come with different names Venom tire changer

PS: Brian, I'd like to see a video of you changing a tire with your rig, would be helpful, thanks.

[bwringer]

How about the Pit Posse tire changer & bead breaker?
Looks like it functions like your steel wheel DIY changers, plus a bead breaker.
Seems to come with different names Venom tire changer

PS: Brian, I'd like to see a video of you changing a tire with your rig, would be helpful, thanks.

I don't have a video, but this page here is how I learned, and is the overall method I use.

http://www.clarity.net/adam/tire-changing-doc.html

My car wheel is simply mounted to a hole drilled into my wooden workbench using 1/2" all-thread.

I made a bead breaker out of 2X4s bolted to one leg of my bench, which is bolted to the concrete floor. It's mounted with a wing nut, and goes off and on pretty quickly. I'll probably build a different setup soon.