Although first and foremost a tyre manufacturer, it does make sense that Schwalbe would also have a keen interest in tyre levers too. The very wide shape of the levers means you’re moving much more of the tyre in one go, making it a bit more efficient to pop the bead over the rim. There’s also a pretty neat spoke hook which, despite its minimalistic looks, can also handle flatten, bladed spokes. My halfords levers go with the bike everywhere. While im at home though I have a crankbrothers Speedier Lever and a BBB cycling BTL-78 'easy tire tool' which i think is direct copy of a park-tool tyre tool. These are the only ones that I have not (yet!) managed to snap, so for the very tight combinations like Gatorskins and Mavic X517 that I use on my commuting bike they are essential.

The tyre glider is an easy tool to use. As soon as you have the pinch point, any tyre will go on using your body weight. As described in the video. Deffo helps my mood when I've got to change tyres! These stiff resin levers feel sturdy, with their relatively deep section and wide tip, and come with a lifetime warranty. Extra caution should be taken when using metal levers because these may scratch or mark your wheels. What can I use instead of tyre levers? This model, though, do the job perfectly well. The tip has the right curvature and width to slide under the tyre and the lever itself is stiff enough to effectively pop the tyre up over the rim. Although quite cheap, they do this job better than both the Schwalbe and the SKS levers. The angled tip can cut into the bead slightly, making sliding the lever around the rim more difficult.With all the tyres and wheelsets we have in on test, we’ve used these levers on a huge variety of hooked, hookless rims with clincher and tubeless tyres. They coped with every other tyre I tried, too, even one I expected to be difficult, the 16-inch (38-305) Schwalbe Marathon Racers on the BTwin Ultra Compact 1 Second Light. These actually turned out to be a relatively loose fit and the only reason I mention them is to wonder if Decathlon chose this size rather than the 35-349 16-inch that Brompton uses because they make for easier tyre changes. While strong thumbs can be enough to pull the tyre’s bead over the rim, certain rim and tyre combinations will turn you red in the face, so we’d always advise having a set of tyre levers to hand.

Assuming you're happy with your tyre/rim combo, the next thing to consider is the material of your rims. Carbon rims need to be treated with a bit of extra care compared to alloy wheels, so it's definitely not a good idea to scratch or gouge them. To avoid this, we'd recommend avoiding the use of metal tyre levers if you can, on carbon rims especially. Metal tyre levers are largely a thing of the past, although thermonuclear like the Park Tool TL-5s are still sometimes the only way to remove really, really tight tyres. But nowadays, there are lots of tough plastic options that should remove all but the most stubborn tyres. Park Tool’s plastic TL-4.2s have a wide tip with a precise edge that makes it easy to initially lift the tyre off the rim. But fitting them.......They should have fitting these with hands as part of the Worlds Strongest Man Contest.

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He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.Ive used metal levers and i wouldnt do this again due to possibly damaging the rims either physically or cosmetically - GP5000's were almost nigh on impossible to get on. Upgraded to be stronger, smoother and more versatile according to Park Tool, the TL-1.2 features a new material and redesigned tip for easier entry - Park Tool also says these will work on stubborn tubeless rim/tyre combos, and the design should lift the tyre away from the rim hassle-free. There's also a spoke hook for when multiple levers are needed. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed