Tire change! Here is the tutorial..

[parrothd]

@njcustom well I know who not to go offroading with..lol

[njcustom]

@Count only the left one comes out for a tire change..

[MichaelW]

@njcustom = Tire changing god.

[njcustom]

@MichaelW hahahahaa

[sonny123]

@MichaelW

+1 for changing the tire by hand.
njc needs to change his name to Hercules. ;)

[MichaelW]

I'm not that mechanical so I just hire this gal to do the job. Its a bit more money but worth every penny ;)

[JamesGilbert]

Great tutorial, Thank you.

[njcustom]

@JamesGilbert thanks, glad to help!

[BadWolf]

Nj: could you post a link to what tire works on our Onewheels? Ive tried googling that specific numbers from the tire, and I cant find anything matching it. Even on Vegas homepage, I cant seem to match anything. Then again, I know NOTHING about tires... :D

[sonny123]

@BadWolf

http://www.tsracing.com/store/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Product_ID=5926&CATID=3

[BadWolf]

@sonny123

Thank you!

[c2pid]

Hey njcustom,

Did you just use the tire spoons to break the tire bead? What did you use to seal the bead after you re-install the new tire? If you can, could you post up a video on how you did this. Thanks and great work!

[njcustom]

@c2pid I used 2 spoons. You don't really need sealant.. slime is really a sealant though .. even if you don't use slime you should not really need it.. the tire is sticky enough to hold the seal.. I use wd40 to slide the new tire on.. get the bead of the tire real wet and it will help alot.. sorry I never made a video..

[Roy]

@njcustom have you (or anyone else reading this) had any wheel balance issues?

[njcustom]

@Roy it's not fast enough to notice any balance issues.. I do alot of tire changes on motorcycles and sometimes they don't need it either.. tires now a days are made very well and truly balanced

[Roy]

Thanks NJ, I'm getting what feels like tire imbalance to me but I'm only a couple days into this and I'm thinking it could be a rider induced wobble.
Great tutorial!
Roy (Monmouth County).

[itwire]

@njcustom they should have a certification and make you the east coast tech. I would rather send my board to someone on the east coast rather than ship to cali.

[itwire]

@Roy your probably just learning to ride it. More time on the board I'm sure it will go away.
practice on grass and off road, when you switch back to road it will be much easier.

[D-Wave]

@Roy - I had one side of the tire that wasn't true on my 2nd board - and I'd get horrible wobble at high speeds. FM was awesome - I sent in a video of it and they quickly replaced it.

[Roy]

Thanks guys, I'll give it a few days before I call OW.

[njcustom]

@cocoabeachW1 crossing my fingers for you.. but im pretty sure I know the outcome..

[bensaylor]

@Wisconsin_53122 I just gave this a go and got held up by a few things. 1. Unplugging the larger square plug, I couldn't for the life of me figure out the mechanism where you "push the black button" as @njcustom instructed. The one youtube video about this didn't specify either. In a classic move I gently forced it with pliers and broke the tab. I have a feeling this isn't the end of the world but it was frustrating. The black button interlocks with the white tab, and it's not really a button, honestly I think it's still awkward to push even knowing where it is, but it's directly on top middle after you pull out the white tab. 2. Removing the tire, even with a set of tire spoons and soapy water, is not easy. No caution was mentioned here, and even though I tried to be gentle with it I scuffed the finish on the inside of the rim which could potentially be problematic when the new tire is on. If anyone out there has a video/tutorial on actually removing the tire where you could see the judo kung fu moves needed to pry off the tire without damaging the rim, I'd love to see. @ashewheeler & @njcustom had me convinced this was easy but it's not the easiest thing if you've never popped a racing tire off a rim.

[sonny123]

@bensaylor

It's just easier to take it to a tire shop.
No worries about the tab, mine broke too and works fine.

[carvewell]

@bensaylor it sounds like you are whining. Nobody likes a whinny little banjo plucking sissy. You should check yourself before you wreck yourself. I got shooters on onewheels in the streets son. Haha can't wait to push you off your Onewheel into dog $#*@ when I get home! Love you buddy!

[cmpridy]

Any chance someone could elaborate on removing the tire after breaking the bead?

If the wheel is on its side with the valve stem facing up the bead is broken and the tire will easily smash down towards the floor. The side of the wheel opposite the valve stem side seems to be permanently locked, I got it to slightly separate from the rim by about 1/8" but thats as far as it goes.

From reading the tutorial it seems like the tire should slide off the wheel from the side opposite the valve stem.

Any advice or pictures would be very much appreciated!

[sonny123]

@cmpridy

This tool may help.
I haven't tried it.

http://www.tsracing.com/store/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Product_ID=863&CATID=3

Try a tire shop. They'll use the machine and mount the new tire for you.

[njcustom]

@cmpridy sometimes they can be very stubborn.. try prying around the tire inch by inch with your tire spoon tool.. wd40 will help too..

[cmpridy]

That sounds good, I may just take it down to the tire shop. They said it would only be $10.

The are some light scratches from the tire spoons. Do you guys think I should sand them down with steel wool before I mount the new one or just have them do it all when I go?

[sonny123]

@cmpridy

Nah, I'd leave it.

[cmpridy]

Well, I took it into the tire shop and told me no way they won't touch it. I guess I'll keep at it.

Can anyone answer these questions?

1. Does the bead break on both sides?

2. Does the tire slide down and away from the valve off the rim or the other way around? How it's written in the tutorial is a little confusing.

[sonny123]

@cmpridy

The first tire shop I went to, there were 2 elder guys who didn't want to bother.
The second, was a young guy who just said 10 bucks and gave him $5 tip.
First time he did it, was little hard as it was slipping but did it couple more times with him,
and now it's a piece of cake.

Try a 2 X 4 cut into a square enough to cover the tire and slide down the rim.
Place it on the tire with a flat plywood on top and jump on it.
That may pop it off.

Kinda home made tool similar to the link I posted.

[cmpridy]

Can anyone please let me know of the bead should completely break on BOTH sides of the wheel?

Like I said above, the bead on one side is completely free, and I can slide/smash the tire from that side all the way down towards the other side.

The other side I have separated from the side of the rim but I cannot smash down like I can the first side.

I'm assuming BOTH sides need to be free in order to get it off?

[njcustom]

@cmpridy what are you using to break the bead?

[cmpridy]

@njcustom

So, just to be clear, DOES THE BEAD COMPLETEY BREAK OFF BOTH SIDES OF THE TIRE, is my primary question.

I'm using 18" tire spoons, the first side was no problem (side with the valve).

The other side won't break, which is why I'm asking the question. It is significantly harder.

The tutorial says it comes off only one way but the whole breaking the bead and removal part is leaving me with a lot of questions.

[parrothd]

@cmpridy yes, u need to break the bead on both side, then use the spoons to remove the tire.

[cmpridy]

Thank you!

[parrothd]

@cmpridy checkout YouTube there's tons of how to change a kart tire. Probably easier to take it to a local shop..😀

[cmpridy]

So just an update. After hours of attempting to get the old tire off I gave up in fear of damaging the wheel.

I took it to multiple tire shops (car, atv, and motorcycle) in the Denver area who all refused to work on it. Luckily my last stop was Woodys Wheel Works and they were able to do it. I waited and watched as it took three of them over two hours to get it done, and this is what these guys do.

For those considering doing this I would recommend just sending it in to FM for the extra $100 or whatever it would cost.

[njcustom]

@cmpridy I can literally change the tire in under 10 mins with 2 tire spoons..

[Aaron Broward FL]

@njcustom
Spoonman come together with you hand Chaaange me... PUt the new tire on my one wheel.. Change meee...............................
................................ change me 900sssss

[blankets]

@njcustom I got the tire spoons and they worked! It was much easier to get the bead onto the rim.

New problem though: the tire doesn't seem to want to inflate all the way. I went to a gas station and used their free air to inflate to 20 psi. The bead just won't inflate to the edge of the rim. Should I buy slime and try to inflate again? The wet part of the tire is windex; I thought that would help the tire inflate smoothly...

[sonny123]

@blankets

You need lots of pressure.
Guy at the tire shop had a hard time too.
Then he used another hose with stronger pressure and boy, when that thing popped,
I was like YAY...

[njcustom]

@blankets spray the bead with Wd40 to help it slide on, not windex...Then use alot of air.. I once had to use 60+ psi to get it on.. it might balloon a little but that's OK.. also you will need to remove the valves internals. The air goes in much faster with it out.. you will need the special tool for that.. couple bucks at Walmart or auto part store

[blankets]

@njcustom It's been a few months but I just got around to trying 60+ PSI and you were right, that set the bead nicely! The hard part was actually finding a shop that was willing to inflate the tire to 60 PSI, since most shops actually turned me away. Mr. Tire ended up doing it for free for me. Thanks again.

[njcustom]

@blankets glad it worked out for you..

[CarvingUphillAVL]

Thanks so much for your guidance!

I finally did my first tire at home with metal framed wood clamp to break bead, spoons and soapy water for removal, lube(i used wd40) to install new tire via pinning rim with carpet in vice while using WuTang tiger hand technique, then compressor pump until pops (Make Sure Bead past Valve). Deflate below 20 then inflate to your preference. Remount and Ride.
Thanks again for tutorial!

[groovyruvy]

Wishing I had the skills (and patience) to do my own tire change!

[CarvingUphillAVL]

@groovyruvy It takes less time than sending it back to OW.

[lieutenantglorp]

I'm about to upgrade to Hoosier. I read somewhere else another tip for not damaging the rim while using the tire spoons is to use a piece of leather between the spoons and the rim. Seems like a good idea.

[isforshooting]

@njcustom

I think a treaded tire would be worth trying in some conditions, such as in Canada or Alaska where packed snow and ice are unavoidable. A treaded tire would definitely provided helpful traction for that, just like snow tires for cars do.

However, I agree that the majority of onewheelers would not really benefit from a treaded tire.

[parrothd]

@isforshooting said in Tire change! Here is the tutorial..:

@njcustom

I think a treaded tire would be worth trying in some conditions, such as in Canada or Alaska where packed snow and ice are unavoidable. A treaded tire would definitely provided helpful traction for that, just like snow tires for cars do.

However, I agree that the majority of onewheelers would not really benefit from a treaded tire.

Lol

[isforshooting]

@isforshooting

100th post FTW!

[craiger123]

@cmpridy

please provide a link or photo of the 15" tire spoons you're using.

[njcustom]

@craiger123 email me I will help you njcustom908@gmail.com

[WheelCity]

@njcustom
I'm having an impossible time getting the Vega wheel off the rim - I have three 11" tire spoons, and I can get the 1st spoon in, but the second one is impossible - I can't even get it in-between the tire and the rim, it's on so tight. I've used dish soap, and I'm scratching the !@#$ out of the rim.

Do I have to put the second spoon really close to the first (like 1 inch?) , and the third one really close to the second, and keep trying?

Thanks!

[skyman88]

@wheelcity

You on Facebook? Jon posted some videos this of him changing tires without any tools.

[WheelCity]

This post is deleted!

[cascadewheeler]

Ya I would like to see that but not joining FB to do it! ;-)

[sonny123]

@cascadewheeler

I did and I was like

[cascadewheeler]

@sonny123 Still not joining! lol

[njcustom]

@cascadewheeler 2 spoons is enough. You have to work around the wheel slowly.. it will break

[sonny123]

@cascadewheeler

I said the same thing for months but then gave in...

[Kazdoom]

So, after reading this and many of the replies I tried this myself.
I haven't ever changed the tire on a Go Kart before but figured it couldn't be all that hard.
It wasn't easy but I did get the tire off and, for the most part, the new one back on.
(and yeah you can tell from the pictures it wasn't pretty but it's holding air perfectly fine.)

Where I'm stuck is getting the bead to seat 100% on one side.
It's totally sealed on 'side a' but 'side b' has a small portion that won't seat.
I tried taking it to a local tire shop (not a Go Kart place but a professional tire shop) they couldn't get it seated either.

The tire is totally holding air too. I'm 1/2 tempted to put it back on and ride it (my thinking is the weight will eventually pressure the tire into place.

Any other thoughts? I tried WD-40. Is there something better to use?

I did see some YouTube videos where guys were using silicon spray... is that a thing?

Just looking for ideas from the experienced.

Cheers,
Kaz

[sonny123]

@kazdoom

Try unbeading it again, move it around, heat up the tire and make another attempt.

[Gwinntanamo]

@kazdoom You may need to pump it up to a much higher pressure than you intend to ride it to get it seated. Also, use a heat gun or something to soften the rubber if necessary.

[poppavein]

Use soapy water for a lube when changing tires.