Have conti gp5k 32 on the above wheels that came OEM with a new bike, now have them on my commuter. Can wrestle them on with a tire lifter thing at home, but got a flat yesterday and couldn’t push the tyre over the rim after switching my tube. These were not the tubeless ready versions, just normals.
Obviously not a sustainable situation. What other brands of tyre can others recommend that have the same quality as the conti but may be easier to push on by hand? Have tried Vitoria and it was worse, don’t really feel like getting new wheels, I guess I need to try a few tyre options. Also, anyone have experience sending back opened tires if they don’t fit via an online store?
Panaracer tires tend to be on the looser side in general.
Are you sure you have the right technique? How do you put the tire on? With the right technique you can usually mount most of the road tires (even tubeless) pretty easily with just a hand.
Regarding the last question, it depends on your local laws. In Czechia an online store is obliged to accept a return of unused good 14 days past purchase. Lot of shops allow more.
Thanks mate. My current technique is to try and push the last bit of the tyre over the rim slowly from each side until my thumbs bleed, giving up and then walking for 40 minutes with the bike over my shoulder to the nearest bike shop 
Same tyre different rims on the other bike they pop straight on.
I think I’ll find a bike shop generous enough to let me try out a few over the break and hope I don’t get any more flats.
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I don’t know if this technique is widely known or has any hidden drawbacks, but I figured it out in desperation recently when dealing with a tight tire.
- Get the bead as far onto the rim as you reasonably can with your bare hands.
- Using a sturdy, high-quality tire lever (I like Pedro’s), slip it in vertically between the bead and rim at the furthest point that’s already on the rim.
- Keeping the lever perpendicular to the rim, slide it toward the unmounted bit of bead to roll the bead on.
Obviously if you’re fitting a tube, you need to avoid pinching it, but that’s always the case.
There is a portable lever/tire jack product called a Tyrekey that may also be useful. It makes a good lever by itself. The jack part is too small for fatter tires, but it does work.
Ah right. Good tips thanks! I will try that next time. It’s a lot of the tyre to pop on, even with both beads in the centre channel so I have trouble sliding it and holding the other side. I haven’t seen that tyrekey thing. Might be a bit big for the saddlebag. There’s a bead locker thing from cushcore that might free up a hand to help with your technique.