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Tire Mounting Lube?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JMHJ
  • Start date Start date
J

JMHJ

Guest
OK, I've looked at some of the tire mounting posts, and still have a Q.: do you need to lube the beads, and if so, what with? I know the guys at the tire shops (for cars) swab something on there, but I don't know what.

It's (past) time to change out the original Bridgestones on my '83 850, and I picked up some nice IRC Durotours and a tire iron set (two) from Bike Bandit a few weeks ago, but haven't made the time to do the job yet.
 
bead lube its fleet farm comes in a quart container, its really gooey. I use it and it I feel its neccessary. Farm and fleet or fleet farm.

brand name is...Camel 12-090 Tire Bead Sealer Non Flammable
Schrder Bridge\port
\Dixon Ill 61021
Contains methylene and Trichloretheryne whoo hoo can you say sniff sniff. lol j/k
 
You can also get a rubber lube called RU-Glyde (think that's how they spell it) from NAPA. That's what we used at the gas station back in the day.
 
In the shop I we just use plain dish soap for lubing the tires. Granted they are trailer tires & we have a tire machine but it does the job.
 
A glycerin soap (like Murphy's Oil Soap) and water will do a good job.
 
NAPA auto parts stores sell tire mounting lube. Ru-Glyde is the top of the line, and it's about $14 for a gallon lifetime supply. They also sell a cheaper tire mounting lube for about $7 or $8 a gallon that also works just fine.

Personally, I don't see the point of fooling around with possibly dangerous or corrosive homemade substitutes.
 
bwringer said:
NAPA auto parts stores sell tire mounting lube. Ru-Glyde is the top of the line, and it's about $14 for a gallon lifetime supply. They also sell a cheaper tire mounting lube for about $7 or $8 a gallon that also works just fine.

Personally, I don't see the point of fooling around with possibly dangerous or corrosive homemade substitutes.
Click to expand...

The "top of the line" Ru-Glyde is 85-90% Water, 5-15% Potassium Vegetable Oil Soap, and 1-5% Ethylene Glycol (antifreeze, to prevent freezing). Your basic soap and water. Potassium soap is soft soap used in some liquid hand soap and shaving creams.

Other types of soap commonly used for mounting tires are not dangerous or corrosive, at least not any more than Ru-Glyde.:)

See Soap Chemistry for an interesting explanation of soap.
 
Boondocks said:
The "top of the line" Ru-Glyde is 85-90% Water, 5-15% Potassium Vegetable Oil Soap, and 1-5% Ethylene Glycol (antifreeze, to prevent freezing). Your basic soap and water. Potassium soap is soft soap used in some liquid hand soap and shaving creams.

Other types of soap commonly used for mounting tires are not dangerous or corrosive, at least not any more than Ru-Glyde.:)

See Soap Chemistry for an interesting explanation of soap.
Click to expand...

back in my commercial tire mounting days we used a commercial tire mounting lubricant, it came in gallon jugs.
it was just average ordinary pink liquid hand soap, without the perfume.
I actually preferred to use it to wash my hands as it did a better job than the soap we had in the wash room.
 
You guys are probably going to make fun of me again, But KY is non corrosive, dilutes with water and works well on those days the task turns out to be a F'in Beech.
:-)

Earl
 
earlfor said:
You guys are probably going to make fun of me again, But KY is non corrosive, dilutes with water and works well on those days the task turns out to be a F'in Beech.
:-)

Earl
Click to expand...

I certainly hope so :mrgreen: !!

I think walking up to the counter with a gallon of Ru-Glyde would be easier to expain than with a gallon of K-Y :lol: :shock: ! !
 
wazz said:
If using soap and water, you may want to mark your tires. I understand a tire may actually slip on the rim during a hard launch.

That's where the specific tire mounting goo comes into play.


-greg
Click to expand...

Maybe you missed it, but the "specific tire mounting goo" is soap and water.
 
TY for the answers. I thought I'd heard something about soap and water, but I was wondering about corrosion using something like that. I guess there's a certain amount of moisture inside there anyway, in the form of water vapor in the air (why we've got rusty gas tanks I guess). I'm not sure how the pressure affects it condensing out, but I imagine it does once in a while. I think I've got some of that Murphy's, but I might end up springing for the real stuff anyway.
 
JMHJ said:
TY for the answers. I thought I'd heard something about soap and water, but I was wondering about corrosion using something like that. I guess there's a certain amount of moisture inside there anyway, in the form of water vapor in the air (why we've got rusty gas tanks I guess). I'm not sure how the pressure affects it condensing out, but I imagine it does once in a while. I think I've got some of that Murphy's, but I might end up springing for the real stuff anyway.
Click to expand...

What, you don't get tires filled with 'dry' nitrogen ala NASCAR? :shock:
Me I use helium, cuz it makes the bike so much lighter.

Why's them wheels so heavy? Cuz they got 35 pounds a air in 'em, dummy! :-&
 
JMHJ said:
TY for the answers. I thought I'd heard something about soap and water, but I was wondering about corrosion using something like that. I guess there's a certain amount of moisture inside there anyway, in the form of water vapor in the air (why we've got rusty gas tanks I guess). I'm not sure how the pressure affects it condensing out, but I imagine it does once in a while. I think I've got some of that Murphy's, but I might end up springing for the real stuff anyway.
Click to expand...

The "real stuff" is soap and water. The original Murphy's product was used as a tire mounting lubricant as well as a household cleaner. Murphy's Oil Soap was sold to Colgate as a household product.

JTM Products (for J.T. Murphy, the originator) has continued with a line of tire lubricants. To quote from their site about their "real stuff" tire lubricant -

QUOTE:
MULTI-PURPOSE
You can also use Murphy's as an all-purpose cleaner around the shop.

Murphy's pureness and freshness make it useful as an all-purpose shop cleaner and hand cleaner, too. With a lower-quality, cheaper brand you aren't likely to use it as a cleaner because is is less pleasant smelling and tends to be harsher on your hands.

Murphy's is also versatile as a lubricant for rubber parts and other applications.


Tire Dealer Benefit

With Murphy's, you get three products in one:

1) The best tire mounting lubricant on the market.
2) An effective, all-purpose shop and hand cleaner.
3) A lubricant for other applications.
UNQUOTE
 
Just tell them you're an optimist.

Earl :-)

ScottMc1100L said:
I certainly hope so :mrgreen: !!

I think walking up to the counter with a gallon of Ru-Glyde would be easier to expain than with a gallon of K-Y :lol: :shock: ! !
Click to expand...
 
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I am still using tubes in my spoked rims, and I talc up the tubes so they will not bind & fold when mounting & inflating. Talc also works on the tires, and wont rust the old style steel/chrome rims.

On the really hard to mount ones I break down & use the soap & water trick.
 
Dish soap can be corrosive on aluminum parts, so please don't use it for tire mounting lubricant.

Diluted Murphy's should be safer, if you're trapped 90 miles from nowhere and someone's holding a gun to your head and you have to mount the tires to win the immunity challenge and save the president form the terrorists... It smells nice, too, at least better than your average garage.

The tire mounting lube I got from NAPA (the cheaper blue stuff) feels exactly like "Kentucky Jelly". I try not to ponder that too much. Men of a certain age will understand why. It isn't a very good soap, but it's nice and slippery, dries sticky, and rinses off easily. I would bet that it contains some sort of anticorrosive stuff, so it might not be the best choice for intimate moments or impromptu home medical examinations.

The Ru-Glyde (also at NAPA, more expensive) does seem to contain soap -- it'll do a nice job of cleaning your hands while you work. I've used it for mounting tractor tires in another lifetime (if you think motorcycle tires are tough, you ain't seen nuthin'...).

Either one works great. Don't forget to pick up one of those miniature mops for applying the tire lube.
 
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I used to bust tires for a living. Tractors ain't got spit on skidders!

I go down to my old employer and use their gear. PLain ol' blue lube.
 
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