Posted by Greg Coffin [64.24.135.135] on Tuesday, October 01, 2013 at 09:41:34 :
In Reply to: Split rings posted by Nick [99.100.212.49] on Sunday, September 29, 2013 at 01:14:44 :
The sidewall of the tire has to be pushed away from the ring an inch or two so that the inner lip of the ring can clear the sidewall when you pry it off. If you try to expand the ring with the sidewall sitting against the face of the ring, you will not make any progress. So make sure the sidewall is collapsed away from the ring, and it will come off rather easily. It's not rocket science, and it takes a lot of muscle to get the process started.
From your description, it sounds like these should be pretty easy tires to work on. Once you get one off, it will make a lot more sense to you. They are very simple to work on if you follow some basic safety rules. I wrap a tow chain through each of the 5 hand holes before I inflate the tire. if the ring is well seated in the rim AND the tire sidewall is over the inner lip of the ring before you reinflate, you should have no problems.
I use a pair of Stanley Wonder Bars to break the bead away from the ring. On really stubborn tires I take it to a tire shop for them to break the bead, then do the work myself. Watch a couple youtube videos, and it will make sense. Gordon Maney has also published two good articles on changing split rings, and are well worth reading.