Tire Tools

By Allan Edmonds

After my experience of a couple weeks ago with four flats with bad tubes (and my blistered right thumb) I was primed to be thinking of alternative tire tools. Although I've never had much problem getting a tire off using two standard tire tools, my hands and wrists just aren't strong enough to muscle a road bike tire all the way on without tools more than one time in ten. (I've always succeeded well enough with the larger tires on my commuter hybrid.)

So I perked up when we got email from new BBC member Jim Walls about an invention of his from some years ago that he is now actively marketing, called the COBRA TOOL. Here's a picture:

Jim wrote,

"I am a new member to the BBC. I am also the inventor of the Cobra Tire Tool. This is a new tool that I introduced to the cycling world at last year's Hilly Hundred. I designed the tool over 13 years ago but just recently started producing it for sale.

The tool is totally homegrown as I designed it here in Bloomington and contracted with a manufacturer just south of town to produce the tool.

I am trying to get the word out locally and would like to offer the Cobra Tire Tool to the BBC members at a discount. "

The information on the Cobra Tool highlights its use in removing a tire. (That's the part that's never given me much trouble, although others may differ.) If you've struggled with tire removal this might be just the thing for you. Check it out! They don't say much about using it to put a tough tire back on the rim. What they do show seems to involve using the Cobra Tool by hand just like any other tire tool to pop the last hard bit back onto the rim.

Here's a review of the Cobra Tire Tool by Jim Langley at RoadBikeRider.com, entitled "Cool Tool for Tire Removal".

And here's a link to Jim's web site at cobratiretool.com  where you can view a video of the use of the Cobra.

Good luck to Jim marketing his neat invention. If you've struggled getting tires on or off, you might like to give it a try.

Jim is offering the Cobra at a discount to club members. He writes "I would like to offer the tool to BBC members for $4.75 ea. including sales tax. Members can contact me direct on my email for questions or to make a purchase. Shipping and handling may be additional depending on quantity and destination. All orders that are hand delivered will be for free!" Contact him jimwalls@cobratiretool.com.

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For my own purposes the best I've found for remounting a road bike tire has been the VAR tool. You can read about it at this blog posting . It has two parts that together can be used like ordinary tire levers for removing a tire. The creative part is how you take the main"wishbone" piece, straddle the tire, and pop the last, hard bit onto the rim. The VAR tool is reputed to be hard to find. But a web search should turn up something. I bought mine several years ago at a local shop. The funny thing was that in a pinch I always seem to forget just how to use it. I'm hoping that this latest study of the two alternative bike tire tools will help me remember how to use the VAR next time I need it.

P.S. While working on this post I discovered a You Tube video that shows a technique for working a tight tire onto a rim by bare hands, by pushing the done parts so the bead is deep in the rim well, giving just a bit more slack on the diametrically opposite side of the tire. The demonstrator uses string or toe straps to hold the done parts deep in the rim. It looks pretty good for working at home, but not like something I could pull off out on a ride.