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Here's a fun subject. My first experience with clinchers was with a J model Harley. Pinched three tubes. When the bike was sold, it still had a flat tire. My most vivid memory was hearing the cords breaking as I tried to pull it on. Second time was a Restored JD. Best memory of that was another pinched tube and lots of chips and gouges all over the fresh paint. Without knowing a few little tricks, it can be a tough job. All of the tires I've put on were Coker. Their sizes are not consistent, so certain ones can be pushed on dry and cold, and others can make two people break out in a sweat using every trick in the book. Never liked being able to push one on cold by hand. The way that I have done the last bunch is by using heat.
The first thing to look for is the groove for the valve stem. If the tire doesn't have one, find the joint in the tire and go directly across. Cut a groove about 2" long to the inside edge of the tire that will allow the valve stem to slide in easily. Remember to put it on the hole for the valve stem when you put the tire on. Next, I put baby powder on everything. Scrub it in and you will feel the tack of the rubber disappear. Next, I heat it with a heat gun. I hang the heat gun from the ceiling and put blocks of wood in the tire to open it up and put that on a lazy Susan. A hot medium coffee is just about right for the time it takes spinning the tire around with the heat gun aimed into the center of the tire. While you're messing with that, make sure you have everything you need closeby, airchuck, pressure guage, a pillow to put the wheel on, tire irons. I make my tire irons out of oak or ash. The stock is about 1-1/4" x 5/16" x 16". I shape one end to a nice rounded tapered end and wrap it with a rag. Once the tire gets so hot you can barely stand touching it, set the groove on the valve stem hole and push the first side on. Put the tube in and screw the valve stem nut down as far as you can by hand. Work the tube in carefully with no air in the tube and keep it flat. Start at the valve stem and work out both sides from the valve stem. Once you get to the point of not being able to roll it on by hand, throw in two irons and start to wiggle the tire around on the side that is fully on. This will take up slack in the tire. You should be able to pull on a little more and do it again. When you get to the end, push the tire away from you and try to push it all in. If you can't, wiggle and use an iron. Once it's on, inflate it to about 5 lbs and wiggle the tire all the way around to let the tube set in. Let all of the air out and wiggle it again. Inflate to about 5 and wiggle. After that I inflate to about 45 lbs to seat the (hopefully still hot) tire into the rim. After it cools, set the pressure to what you want. If it doesn't seat properly, deflate and wiggle the problem spot while slowly adding air. OK, time for some shameless boasting: after the easy hour and a half of preparation, I can put on a new Coker in about four minutes. But then the glory seems to get lost when somebody says; "Yeah, he's the guy that rolled one off at Davenport.'' Anyhow, there's a million different ways to do it and plenty more tricks.
The first thing to look for is the groove for the valve stem. If the tire doesn't have one, find the joint in the tire and go directly across. Cut a groove about 2" long to the inside edge of the tire that will allow the valve stem to slide in easily. Remember to put it on the hole for the valve stem when you put the tire on. Next, I put baby powder on everything. Scrub it in and you will feel the tack of the rubber disappear. Next, I heat it with a heat gun. I hang the heat gun from the ceiling and put blocks of wood in the tire to open it up and put that on a lazy Susan. A hot medium coffee is just about right for the time it takes spinning the tire around with the heat gun aimed into the center of the tire. While you're messing with that, make sure you have everything you need closeby, airchuck, pressure guage, a pillow to put the wheel on, tire irons. I make my tire irons out of oak or ash. The stock is about 1-1/4" x 5/16" x 16". I shape one end to a nice rounded tapered end and wrap it with a rag. Once the tire gets so hot you can barely stand touching it, set the groove on the valve stem hole and push the first side on. Put the tube in and screw the valve stem nut down as far as you can by hand. Work the tube in carefully with no air in the tube and keep it flat. Start at the valve stem and work out both sides from the valve stem. Once you get to the point of not being able to roll it on by hand, throw in two irons and start to wiggle the tire around on the side that is fully on. This will take up slack in the tire. You should be able to pull on a little more and do it again. When you get to the end, push the tire away from you and try to push it all in. If you can't, wiggle and use an iron. Once it's on, inflate it to about 5 lbs and wiggle the tire all the way around to let the tube set in. Let all of the air out and wiggle it again. Inflate to about 5 and wiggle. After that I inflate to about 45 lbs to seat the (hopefully still hot) tire into the rim. After it cools, set the pressure to what you want. If it doesn't seat properly, deflate and wiggle the problem spot while slowly adding air. OK, time for some shameless boasting: after the easy hour and a half of preparation, I can put on a new Coker in about four minutes. But then the glory seems to get lost when somebody says; "Yeah, he's the guy that rolled one off at Davenport.'' Anyhow, there's a million different ways to do it and plenty more tricks.
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