Kool Stop Tire Bead Jack, Black

Sooooooo good. Anyone who's wrestled with a wire bead tire (looking at you, Schwalbe Marathons) has suffered: worked-over fingers and thumbs, sore hands, bent and broken tire levers. And sometimes that doesn't even get the tire on. Enter the bead jack: US made, strong, simple, mounts difficult tires in seconds without the hassle of damaging/destroying tubes/wheels. This and Gorilla tire levers: likely all you'll ever need. Bicycle tourists, commuters, you'll probably want one for your bag. Everyone else: 100% worth the space in your tool box.

I don't care how many youtube videos you have watched about putting tight tires on stubborn rims and and how good you think you are at doing this, if you try fitting Goodyear Eagle F1 Tubeless tires on a DT Swiss 1400 ERC rim, you will not be able to get them on without a lever. They are designed to work together, but they are not designed to be assembled without tools. But levers run the risk of pinching, and when you are out and about on your bike, you don't want that risk. Also, I broke a lever trying on a roadside tube replacement, which required me to call someone to come pick me up. If the tire breaks a lever, just imagine trying to get the tire on by hand! This handy tool takes a long, difficult and frustrating job and makes it easy. So much so, that I went ahead and installed my latex tubes, something I have planned to do but didn't want to risk pinching them. It works by pulling the outside of the bead over the rim, just like you would do if you had amazingly strong hands, without inserting anything between the bead and the rim. Better for the rims, better for the bead, better for your tube, and most of all, better for your fingers. Note on weight: This tool and a latex tube together have about the same weight as a butyl tube alone, so there is no increase in my total weight when taking this along in my seat bag. I have never purchased anything for my bicycle that gave me such satisfaction at such a low price. Also, MADE IN U.S.A. and the quality of manufacture shows.

I've installed/reinstalled a lot more tires than I care to remember, some in very difficult situations and at least one that involved a dollar bill to keep the inner tube in the tire while I pedaled 35 miles back to town. A few months ago I bought my first "folder" and replaced both tires on my main road bike. The thing I remember about that episode was that it took two months for my thumbs to stop hurting... and my wife's pleading while I was working for me to stop swearing as the neighbors obviously were listening. What I learned from that experience was that it took strong thumbs--and a fair amount of personal sacrifice--to get those two folders installed. I'd heard about "tire jacks" but snickered that "I don't need no stinkin' tire jack to install no bike tire... I'm a man!" Well, installing those two folders changed my thoughts on this subject and I went looking for a tire jack. There are stories about men not asking directions and driving in circles for hours to find a street address they could have walked to... if they'd asked directions. That's not me! I knew my thumbs would not endure another project like putting on those two folders. I bought the Kool Stop Tire Bead Jack for fifteen bucks. A couple of hours ago I installed two tires--folders--on my backup road bike. Summary: I was done in 45 minutes and I can type! So easy! Fast! Painless (literally and figuratively). Absolutely no risk to the tie. No pinched inner tube. Nice tool, sturdy. Simple instructions. You gotta get one of these! No more numb thumbs, sweating and swearing. Interestingly the packaging said "Made in Holland by Bandrep N.V." but molded into the handle of the tool are these happy words: "Made in USA." This tool is too large to carry on a bike ride but a perfect size to use and then keep in a tool box. I just hope I don't have to pull off a tire on an upcoming bike ride... It would so soooo frustrating thinking about that neat tool in my tool box at home.

I was at my wit’s end - trying to R&R a set of tubes and tires…on my friend’s old Trek 1200 with Matrix wheels, (the original wheels that had been on his bike - hangin’ in his garage for over 10 years). The Trek1200’s were fantastic bicycles - but they had 700x20mm Matrix wheels on the rear, and 700x23mm rims on the front. I needed to replace BOTH - F&R - tires & tubes. The shortened story is this: I went with 700x23 tires on both F&R rims - stuffing butyl 700x20/25 tubes inside. I First broke a set of average (“cheezy”) spoons. So I purchased 2 more sets that were far better - but found that I was still unable to complete the job. I had almost got finished, - but in the process I had unknowingly “pinched” a total of 2 new tubes in my efforts along the way - making the job that much more stressful (and still unsuccessful). Then I saw this tool here on Amazon. After reading the reviews, (and being a bit In desperation) I ordered it. At that point, I had the second new tube installed on the front wheel - and with the first side of the tire bead completely on - only the last 6” of the final bead needed to be seated. THIS TOOL quickly made it possible to pull the tire bead over the rim edge and seat it correctly without damaging (or pinching) the tube. I was so relieved- but also knew that the rear “Matrix” rim was to be more of a challenge - being only spec’d @20mm (vs the 23mm width of the front rim). I had used cable ties to secure the tire to the rim at numerous places around the circumference - to hold the tire bead in its proper prospective & position (folded tires are a PITA sometimes) while I fitted it. On average tire spoons work great - but when things are this tight….. they “alone” are just not going to work. You can’t apply enough “stretch” in the tire runber, at the exact location it’s needed by simply “prying outward”. But this tool allows the “point of stretch” to be limited to the precise place on the rim - such that ALL of the stretch is advantageous to the area/direction needed - AND IS JUST ENOUGH TO place the bead properly - achieving proficient placement within the rim circumference - and just where you need it! As another reviewer put it, “Using this tool does not make this task “easy” - just possible”. That is totally HONEST! Thiis tool has not failed me yet. Changing out wider wheels like MTBs, or hybrids - you might not need anything but standard spoon levers to do the job. But for certain road bikes - particularly those with super skinnys on the rims - this tool is absolutely the champ. And you will be glad you had it in your box when the need arises.

This thing is amazing! Wish I’d had it yesterday before I pinched and put a hole in my tube.

Tubeless folks, you know exactly what a pain changing a tire can be, especially in the field when you are extremely tired and your hands are slick with sweat. Say what you will, but unless you are Mr Olympia, you are going to run into problems with most brands of tubeless tires. This is because the interface between the tire bead and the rim must be extremely tight in order to maintain an airtight seal. This tool makes tire changes a snap. You can get some great leverage with the long handle. Also, it is quite beefy and seems very solid and durable despite its plastic construction--it weighed in at 3.4oz on my food scale. I think the reviewers who are complaining about the plastic construction are not using the tool within the boundaries of its intended use. What I mean is, good technique goes a long way and if you stretch the tire on as you install the second bead around the rim, you will give yourself a lot of extra slack. As a result, you and this tool with have a much easier time popping that last bit of bead on. If it was metal, the same reviewers would probably be on here complaining that it damaged their rims. I would recommend it for regular tires as well, especially for folks with weaker hands, and girly-men like my friend Max.

I purchased this tire bead jack to help me mount some 26" x 2.15 Schwalbe Pick Up Cargo tires. Unfortunately, it was DEFINITELY too small for the job -- it couldn't stay on the rim of the tire while reaching across to grab and seat the other bead. After it didn't work for me, I noticed other reviewers had the same issue with mountain bike tires. After searching a bit more, I found other similar tools in slightly larger sizes that may be a better fit for bigger tires. To be fair, I did find a video of someone using this exact tool successfully -- but they were mounting narrow road tires. So the tool itself seems well-designed and useful in the right situation. Bottom line: If you're working with road tires or narrower tires, this could be a handy addition to your toolkit. For mountain bike or wider tires, you'll want to look for a larger version.

There's nothing worse these days than getting a flat and having to ask someone for help. What if they are infected? Well, worry no more with this tool. It makes it shockingly easy to get your tire re-mounted. I have skinny Gatorskin tires on my road bike, and was afraid of just this event. "Stay away from me, please!" Fortunately, my tool arrived just before my first flat in 2 years. First, I need to vent to you all. I was happily following a faster rider and we passed some slower guy. But he insisted on speeding up and trying to hang with the lead rider himself, leaving me with no space to merge behind him after I had come around him. I was riding in the oncoming side of our local bike path, waiting for him to let me in, and forgot about a notorious bump that is no problem to take in the usual direction but nasty from my present direction. Needless to say, the guy wound up getting dropped as he couldn't even keep up in the end, which is why I'm venting. So there I am back home with a fresh chance to use my new tool and it worked like butter! This was my first time changing the Gatorskins, but it was easy. I repaired the flat and, like often happened, had to change it again the next day as the repair didn't take. This time I tried it without the tool, and it was like butter! What? The tool works fantastically, and it's the only took I keep it in my bag (it unfortunately has to be bigger than what will fit in a saddle pack) because I'm still scared of changing Gatorskins. But I also wonder if I really need it or not. I've only changed them twice, once with and once without, and it was almost the same. Hm...