Some tires are tighter than others on a rim, and can be a real bear to remove.

Imagine your rim cross section as shown below. See how it’s concave, with the spoke bed at a lower depth than the rim bead, where the tire sits?

Next time you have a flat or otherwise need to remove a stubborn tire, before busting out the mega tire levers simply push both beads of the tire to the center of the rim the entire way around. The bead then sits on a section of the rim that is a few mm smaller in diameter than the rim bead surface, giving you some slack on one side to pop it off easier.

Got some other tire tips, or a given stuck tire horror story? Let’s hear it.