tyre levers

goods

after snaping one to many tyre levers i need to get some proper ones.
can anyone recommend good ones > can you get metal ones coated in plastic ?
or would you be likely to damage the rim with them ?

running vittoria rubinos and they are breaking my heart

ednwireland

i got some of these
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/park-tools-tl1c-tyre-levers/

they seem to sort most tings (havent tried them on my michelin world tours yet (they are seiously tight on the rims)

Captain Havoc

I recommend the BBB ones, I find them very good.

tomasrojo

I have these:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/park-tools-tl1c-tyre-levers/

Haven't broken yet, though I've broken some other brands. I bring two of them with me and another brand with a thinner business end. I need the other brand to pop the last bit of bead over the rim, as I have gatorskins, which are a little recalcitrant in this regard.

-K2-

I use 2 cheap-as-chips ones I got in Cycleways. Never a problem over 2 years, and I've changed a fair amount of roadside punctures.

gaffmaster

I got these after snapping some plastic ones - haven't had to use them yet thankfully...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=14884

Plastik

Bought these in Cycleways, for the same price as CRC, and gave them a good going over getting a tyre off/on to an Easton Aero wheel. Tough going, they stood up well. Impressed.

enas

I have those:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=10042

and so far they have resisted to a few reluctant tyres. They look really sturdy altogether, and being plastic they are gentle to my rims.

kenmc

Nah, just get a speed lever. Savage.

MadHatter

Agree on the speed lever. Started using one recently, much easier & qucker than tyre levers.

Diarmuid

The Park blue ones are good

AstraMonti

kenmc wrote: »

Nah, just get a speed lever. Savage.

With soft tyres it works great (gp4000s, ultremos etc) but with harder like the Gatorskin it's a freaking nightmare to use!

I am using the Pedros too, I 've bought them from Cycleways 2 years ago, they are great.

doozerie

I find the Park blue ones good too. The Park black ones (wider and flatter than the blue ones) I was not impressed by at all and mangled one of them the first time I tried it on a tight-fitting Gatorskin. I've mangled one of the blue ones too, possibly with the same tyre, but that was an extreme case and it put up a good fight until its sad, misshapen, and sorry end.

NeedMoreGears

I snapped a few plastic ones until I changed the way I was using them.

Initially I used to insert one lever and then try to lift the tyre and lock that single lever on the spoke. This caused two problems. One - the lever snapped very now and again. Two - it made the second lever almost impossible to get in.

I now use two levers to start with about 5cm - 8 cm apart. I partially raise the tyre with first one and insert the second one. I then use the two of them to raise the tyre. I then find I can lock the first lever but generally not the second. Basically I repeat the process with a third lever a further 5 - 8 cm away from the second lever position. This lets me lock the second lever in place. Next I slide the third lever along the rim and the tyre can be removed.

PS - I have the same tyres as the OP

kenmc

AstraMonti wrote: »

With soft tyres it works great (gp4000s, ultremos etc) but with harder like the Gatorskin it's a freaking nightmare to use!

Disagree. Have gators on my commuter and no issue at all. Also used on schwalbe ice spikers on my mtb, with an old-fashioned metal bead, no hassles either. Way easier than with 'normal' levers.

CramCycle

Decent enough ones from a 2 euro shop with a puncture repair kit for, surprisingly, 2 euro. Or Butter knives