Hey guys, This is my first bike, i am framiliar with changing mountain bike tires. I have about 850 milies on my green machine and i have read about changing the back tire about 1300-1500 miles. I see that the replacement tires are like 60$ I just bought a jack/ stand. What tools are required to change a tire on this bike? I have all the normal mechanics tools, is there any special tools for changing the tire? I figure i am just as able as anyone to change it so why pay for it, so id like to get the necessary tools to do it my self. I have ordered the service manuals for this bike so i make sure i do everything right. Any links with the tools, or just basic info on changing the tire would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hey EMS, congrats on the bike. If you can change a bicycle tire, this is basically the same. A little harder to get tire off and on rim, but same idea. You will want to get some long tire irons to give you leverage. I bought moose tire irons from Dennis Kirk $30: http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/produc...d=11906&mmyId=

I also have a set of spoons for my mountain bike. They are short and plastic, when I changed my tires I used the long spoons for leverage and used the short bicycle ones for a place holder. You may want to wait and order these from the same company you get your tires from, just to save on shipping.



BTW: WAY TO GO STEELERS!!

 

Those look like the same tire irons I got. I've also changed plenty of mountain bike tires before doing the tires on my KLX. Procedure is the same, but as sullydirt says, just takes a little more effort. You might want to get a little baby powder to help keep the tube pinching, but that's a pretty standard technique with mtn bike tires as well. The rear wheel went smooth, but when I got to the front, I found I needed to use a little soap on the edge of the rim and around 40 PSI to get the tire to seat solid. After that, back it down to the standard 22 PSI.

While you are in there changing the tires, it's a good time to actually put some grease on the axles. As Marty said, there must be a great grease shortage at the factory.