Doing the same process I do with other tubeless setups which have worked fine for me in the past.
Tried putting a tube in to seat then taking one side off, putting in the valve and but still no luck. They just won’t seat and catch no matter what I do.
I’ve resorted to keeping them tubed for now but really would like to get them set up properly.
Anyone got any super secret gravelking sk tips that might help?
by __inhalesatan
18 Comments
Have you tried searing them with sealant inside?
are you using an air compressor?
I struggled with these also. What ended up working was manually lifting the tire bead up onto the bead seat for maybe half of the wheel’s circumference. At that point, I guess it had enough seal for the compressor to pop it.
It was a bit labor-intensive, but once I got them seated and rode them a few times, re-mounting was way easier.
Have you tried spraying the beads with soapy water? That’s what ended up finally getting my Gravelkings on.
You are not really telling us what is going on. Like, *why* are they not seating.
Another layer of tubeless tape will probably do the trick.
Try removing the valve cores from your tubeless stems. It’ll allow more air volume to get in, which usually helps – once the bead snaps into place, you can try to quickly screw the cores back in.
However, I’m guessing that tire/rim combination is a tight fit. The tire will likely stay on the bead even if fully deflated.
Running tube’s for a couple days to ‘stretch’ the tires out might help too!
Every time I setup a GK tire, I end up doing ALL the recommended tips and tricks to seat it; not just one or 2. I only have a blast pump; no compressor. A compressor will easily solve this problem.
– Seat the beads first with a tube at max pressure and leave it overnight so it stretches
– Make sure the beads are at the middle of the rim before inflation
– Spray spray soapy water all around the beads and rim
– Coat the inside of the tire with a bit of sealant
I got one GK SS seated with a floor pump (I almost threw up), doing the second with a compressor was 1000x easier. I tried to make sure the tire was as close to the correct final seating location as possible while pumping it and that seemed to help. The first one never made the traditional pop sound when it seated, I think it ended up seating in sections but eventually it was fully seated. I was worried about how fast they lost air but one I added sealant they were great, I only lose ~5psi/week.
The gravelking lineup is trash, I have no idea why people keep recommending them.
For your case get compressed air cartridge and use it to seat the tire. If that doesn’t work throw them in the trash and get a set from literally any other manufacturer.
I did mine with the core out no lube or sealant. Air compressor with the duster end no pin valve just blasting straight air in. They snapped up and held air before I added sealant. YMMVG. Good luck.
If you don’t have access to an air compressor or air canister, then I have had luck by wrapping a strap (small ratchet or tie down strap) around the perimeter and tightening it. This forces the tyre to spread and usually does enough to allow the bread to grab with just a track pump.
If they’re not going up easily, then your fit isn’t right,
Add more tape, or less. They should be difficult to get onto the rim.
Not sure what brand they are but I’ve def had to over pressure Trek/Bontrager tires to get them to seat. As well as using a ratchet strap
Try double taping the rim. That’s what worked for me in the end.
i have GK SKs on SEIDO and MAVIC rims. they seated using a track pump. idk why they wont seat for you. have your tried max pressure – 60 psi or a bit more?
Are you inflating with a regular pump or do you have a compressor or pump with an air chamber? My pump has an air chamber I can fill up to 200PSI and I use that to seat my tires. With this the tires will seat, but it might take 2 or 3 tries, so my pain point is mounting the tire. But once it’s on I know it’ll seat eventually.
I had to do some work on my spokes today and retaped it for the first time. I was able to seat my tire (Gravelking SS) using the air chamber but without removing the valve core. I still had to remove the core later on to add my sealant but I was happy that things were sealed enough that I could seat the tire even with reduced air flow.
Secret is air compressor my friend.
Get a schwalbe tire booster.
No compressor needed and you can take it with you everywhere