Ive removed (and installed) Conti 4 seasons, GP5000s and Schwalbe Durano Plus (all folding bead) on 31mm and 55mm hoops with the halfords levers and while they might have ended up flying 50 meters away from me in a random direction a few times. They are still in one peice which now makes me worry about the brittleness of the plastic as they start to further age. It will be an end of an era when one of these breaks... 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.

Tyre Levers | road.cc Review: Schwalbe Tyre Levers | road.cc

Anyway, you don't have to take my word for how good these levers are. When we talk about tyre levers, these Schwalbe levers frequently pop up as a firm favourite of our readers. Chain reaction Cycles and CRC are trading names of Wiggle Ltd (In Administration) registered in the United Kingdom at 1000 Lakeside, Suite 310, Third Floor N E Wing, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO6 3EN, The tyre lever, though seemingly one of the simplest and most basic of cycling tools, is one commonly used by almost every cyclist, and unfortunately, one often responsible for unnecessary frustration. Really, what is more fun than flatting far away from home, being thrilled you lugged that spare tube and pump, and then having your tire levers snap in two? The unique (or at least unusual) feature of Schwalbe's tyre levers is a hook in the lever body that you use to pin the tyre bead in place as you install it. ( Birzman also makes levers with this feature, but they're a tenner for three.) 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.Kil0ran agreed: 'They're only let down by poor instructions which lead to people using them wrong. Originally designed to help fit Marathons they work brilliantly for tight tubeless tyres. Only lever which enabled me to get some GP5000 tubeless tyres on my rims.' Value 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. It certainly helped fit my go-to stupidly-tight tyre and rim combination of SRAM S60 aero wheels and Giant P-SL2 tyres – both are over a decade old, thankfully long discontinued, and from the era when tyre/rim compatibility was the Wild West. The rims don't have a very deep well, and the tyres are more than a little undersized. 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. Thetyre lever, though seemingly one of the simplest and most basic of cycling tools, is one commonly used by almost every cyclist, and unfortunately, one often responsible for unnecessary frustration. Really, what is more fun than flatting far away from home, being thrilled you lugged that spare tube and pump, and then having your tire levers snap in two?

Pedros Tyre Levers | road.cc Review: Pedros Tyre Levers | road.cc

Of your plastic options, some are harder and less flexible and occasionally brittle. It is possible to snap them, but you have to try pretty hard to do that. I’m tempted to dismiss the lurid colour schemes as little more than clever marketing but objectively, these professional grade levers are easy to spot hiding in toolbox but our green test pair weren’t the easiest to find on a grass verge. Beefy reinforced plastic construction is designed with a chisel tip to lift even the tightest beads while the pronounced bodies prevent them slipping out at the crucial moment. The spoke hook uses a similar principle to the Schwalbe levers, but being a bit further down the handle, it means you can use it with slightly deeper rims – although still not as deep as a more traditional lever with the hooks on the end. Interestingly, on shallow rims, the Schwalbe’s position is slightly easier to use, even if it can’t cope with rims as deep as the Leverman can. 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.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. Schwalbe's tyre levers have a small but clever extra wrinkle that makes it easier to mount some tyres, and they're tough enough for the tightest tyre/rim combinations. They're among the best tyre levers you can buy, and they're short for easy portability. Next to consider are any extra features the tyre levers. Some are designed to hook onto your spokes, helping to keep the lever in place while you get onto the next portion of the tyre. Others have integrated valve core tighteners or clip neatly together for easier organising. John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.