Hey guys. Just purchased a set of Tufo Thundero’s for my gravel bike. I run the ridenow TPU tubes with metal valves, but I’m having trouble getting these mounted correctly apparently.
Everything appears to be seated correctly, but both the front and rear tires have a “bump” right at the valve. Am I messing something up with the TPU tube? Or is the rest of the tire just not actually seated? I’ve tried soapy water but have been too afraid to overinflate in case that’s not the issue. At 35psi currently.
Any help appreciated. Thanks!
What am I doing wrong here? Bump in new tires…
byu/Produce-Imaginary inbikewrench
by Produce-Imaginary
19 Comments
You’re correct in your assessment. The only part seated is the raised portion. Try deflating, pull up on the sidewall by grabbing over the tread with your hand and rolling up with your palm. Re inflate. I’d go to whatever the tires can handle as max psi
Could be the tire itself. maybe try breaking the tire down from the rim and add some soap or lube around the bend then air it up again and see what happens.
Some rim/tube/tire combos can be tricky to fully seat by the valve. I’ve found you have to deflate it and really work the bead down around the valve sometimes
Try lubing the tyre beads and inside rim with a small paint brush loaded with slimy soap water and inflate the tyres to the max. This works every time for me.
Typically when I see the tire riding high in the rim, at the valve location, it’s due to the valve retaining ring being tightened up before inflating the tire. Try loosening that threaded ring until you see a gap of three or four threads, deflate the tire, then push the valve up into the rim. Then try inflating and see if that fixes the ‘hump’. If it doesn’t, then use soapy water in a spray bottle and squirt it all around the rim with little pressure in the tire, and walk your thumbs around the bead (both sides) to let that slick soap in. Now inflate the tire, it should slip up onto the rim. I doubt it’s that, but it’s useful to know this will get tight fitting tires seated properly.
Add some Windex if you’re running tubes. If tubeless, just run some sealant around the inside of the rim. Helps it snap into place.
You’re gonna love those tires
Take the wheel off the bike. Inflate it so it’s tight but not at max. Bounce the wheel and tire a few times. It should pop into place. Add more pressure, try again if it didn’t work.
Soapy water and more pressure. She’ll pop and it will be scary.
I’ve had this issue with cheaper TPU tubes. Why not tubeless?
Lower the pressure to about half the psi and go for a careful ride, if the tire is not seated properly this will push it into place.
Let the air out of the tire unscrew the valve stem collar a bit then push the valve stem up bit.
Deflate the tire and put soapy water all around the bead. Make sure you get it in there. Pump vigorously to max psi and the tire should seat properly. If it doesn’t fully seat first try, deflate and try again.
You should hear loud pops. This is normal, and good.
Let the air out and then push the stem up so the tire can seat properly in the rim.
Pump those suckers up until the bead snaps into place. Sometimes it takes max pressure (or more).
PUMP UP THE JAM
aka insert as much air as the tyre can take (check sides for max pressure), even do a bit more than that (no worries, as long as you don‘t sit on it, it‘s perfectly fine). Let sit for 20 minutes. Reduce pressure. There you go
Been there, done that a thousand times…
35 aint nothing put tha bih at 80psi
Emply all air and loose the valve screw (10 mm) and then fill agin. Then tighten the valve screw.
Can confirm, slimy soap on the bead is the move. One thing I’d add: pull the valve core out and inflate without it first. Way more air volume per second, and it’s usually the difference between the tire popping right on and cursing at it for 20 minutes. Drop the core back in once it’s seated, then add sealant.
Btw: I’m working on an app called Gear AI to help riders diagnose their bike, and make repairs. It’s out on the App Store if anyone wants to check it out and give some feedback.❤️