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Tire changer tooling innovation

Hey! That was a nice video demo of the tire changer and it looks relatively easy to make the tire change. I bought a TiRx changer a while back and although it mounts to a wall structure seems to work in a similar manner with the exception of the ratcheting system on the Rabaconda which is a nice feature. The TiRx relies on the user rotating the tire by hand to remove the bead or reset it which depending on the tire and its wall stiffness can be good exercise. It also acts as a balancing tool once the new rubber is on and inflated.

Thanks for sharing this cool product!

Gilbysan aka - Fat Ninja
 
I was looking at the Rabaconda Street Tire Changer myself. It looks slick. The price is slick too at over $600 out the door. I've been changing my tires in my garage using a bead breaker and tire irons. I think I'll hold off on buying one. There are alternatives if I decide it is too much effort to change them like I'm doing now.

My local dealership wants $76 per wheel to mount and balance tires if on the bike. It's a few bucks cheaper if I bring just the wheels in. But that's if I buy the tires from them. If I buy the tires elsewhere, the price is double that. At those prices, the Rabaconda machine makes sense quickly.

But Cycle Gear will swap out tires for $25 a wheel if I buy tires from them. It would take a lot of tires to pay for itself at that cost. And since I have two sets of wheels, I can leave a set at Cycle Gear while they get around to swapping the tires with no worries about timing.

Chris
 
I'll offer this up as just an FYI that might be possible for others and a way to save some money.

I was reading the other day that alloy wheels such as I have on my BMW and I believe you have on your Concours, are almost always balanced as a result of the process of manufacturing. What my own experience has shown is that is probably true. If I align the "dot" on the sidewall of the tire with the valve stem, my tires and wheels don't need balancing. The most I've ever done over the last four sets of tires, is to use some balancing beads. But like the latest Bridgestone T32s, I have nothing in or on the wheels to balance them.

It may be a thought to keep in mind to save yourself some $$$.

Chris
 
I'll offer this up as just an FYI that might be possible for others and a way to save some money.

I was reading the other day that alloy wheels such as I have on my BMW and I believe you have on your Concours, are almost always balanced as a result of the process of manufacturing. What my own experience has shown is that is probably true. If I align the "dot" on the sidewall of the tire with the valve stem, my tires and wheels don't need balancing. The most I've ever done over the last four sets of tires, is to use some balancing beads. But like the latest Bridgestone T32s, I have nothing in or on the wheels to balance them.

It may be a thought to keep in mind to save yourself some $$$.

Chris
I have checked my bare rims on my 14 with sensors in. They were both heavy on the sensor end. I always have to add weight to balance mine but less in the front.
Static balancing is inexpensive.
 
In case you havenā€™t heard (I hadnā€™t) Cycle gear now owns Revzilla and J&P so theyā€™ll honor the Cycle Gear walk in change price ($25) if you buy from either of those places. Youā€™ll see if on Cycle Gearā€™s site it you look. Iā€™m waiting on the second half of my Revzilla shipment due today and Iā€™ve got to decide if I want to fool with pulling wheels.
 
I have checked my bare rims on my 14 with sensors in. They were both heavy on the sensor end. I always have to add weight to balance mine but less in the front.
Static balancing is inexpensive.
That's what I was getting at. Some people think they MUST balance their tires. It's true for some, but not for others. So if you find your tires don't need to be balanced, then look for someone who might just offer the mounting and save a few $$.

I suspect my wheel would come out heavy at the TPMS sensor, but by putting the yellow dot at that location, it all "balances" out. (Pun intended.)


Several years ago on a different forum, we had a discussion of the "dot". Some tires, like Continentals, don't have one. So one member wrote the company asking about it. The answer was that every tire they made was checked for balance before shipping. If it was out of balance, the tire was scrapped.

Chris
 
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That looks like a slick tire changer but the price is too high for me. I'll stick to my modified harbor freight TC. Agree with comments on static balancing. I don't have any problem paying a shop $25 or $40 bucks to do the change but I do have a problem with all the waiting around.
 
I got lucky with picking up a NoMar complete setup for $200. From a friend.
What got me into changing my own tires was after a local shop charged me $85 to seat a bead. Fixed that issue with a Chuck and a inline valve to pop it on.šŸ‘
 
Cycle Gear in INdy does not do tires when I called recently.
I wonder what happened there? It's been some years since I was in the Louisville store, but they did the last time I checked. Could it be they lack of an employee that knows how to do it?
 
I bought a NoMar several years ago when I built my garage and opened my shop. I was charging $20/tire, on or off the bike. Actually paid for the machine within the first two years; I did a lot of tires. The machine's not perfect, but once you work out a technique that you're comfortable with, changes usually go pretty smooth. Some tires/rims, however, are simply a pure PITA and you may lose your religion for a brief period of time. :mad:

Today, I still use the machine for personal use for tubeless tires, but over time found out tube tires were easier to handle on the (cardboard protected) floor with just three ~10" Motion Pro T6 combo tire levers after breaking the beads using the NoMar.
 
I learned two hints that made changing tires manually (with irons and rim protectors) much easier.

1) Be sure to buy a good quality tire paste to lubricate the beads as you work. The alternatives of Windex or soapy water just donā€™t work as well. The other advantage is that the seal of the tire to the rim is enhanced when the paste dries.

2) Always get the tire nice and warm while keeping the rim as cool as possible. I put my tire in front of my gas fireplace to get it up to just over 100 degrees. The rim was in my garage on a cool day (~55 degrees). Even the rear of my Michelin Pilot 4 GTs went on without much need for extended cursing.

With the gravity balance tool shown on Fred Harmonā€™s excellent videosā€¦ the finished result was perfect. I do not trust other techs to skillfully avoid breaking the TPMS sensors. A broken sensor provides much more hassle than changing your own tires.

That advice and $3 will get you a hot cup of coffee just about anywhere.
 
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