When Tubeless Sucks, Bring the Heat
The Continental Gran Prix 500 TL Tubeless tires have been getting amazing reviews, and my tubeless Sector 28s are about to give up the ghost. So, I decided to buy a pair of these and finally install the Bontrager TLR rim strips on my Aeolus 3 Pros.
These are probably the hardest tires I have ever had to put on a wheelset, and so I had to pull out all the stops. Some of those tricks were:
wear gloves for grip
use hand sanitizer to help slide the bead on the rim (it will evaporate)
put the entire tire into the tire's center channel to give yourself more slack
use levers
work away from the valve stem
curse
kick stuff
I just could not get these to work, so I decided one last trick was worth a shot. I put the tires out in the yard in the midday sun while I cut the grass and did some yard work.
The heat was exactly what these bad boys needed, and I got both on with all of the above tricks as well. The heat softened the tires just enough that they went on at last. The fit was so snug that I was actually able to inflate and seat the tires with a track pump alone.
So. while I will get back to you all on whether these tires were worth the money and the effort (and busted up knuckles), I will definitely recommend that you try this tip if you struggle with a tire. Let it warm up a little. It might make all the difference you need.