I recently bought a Costco INTENSE gravel bike. After riding it all summer, it suffered an irreparable sidewall puncture. It was impossible for me to disconnect the bead from the wheel’s rim using tried and true methods.
For the record, I was battling with WTB STi23 wheels and Venture tires.
I finally figured out a way to do it by combining and adding to a variety of suggestions I found on the internet. It worked great, with no pain or frustration.
Painless and foolproof (hopefully) way to release a difficult bead of a tubeless tire from the rim
Materials:
–a tarp or towel, to protect the wheel and also catch any liquid sealant that might drip out,
–a pair of short boards (a 4×4 and a 2×2, or similar, works well), to set the wheel on, to protect the rotor and gears, and to give extra room for pushing the bead down and off,
–a small board to press against the tire (something like 5/8″ plywood, a few inches wide by about ten inches long, works great – the plywood is nice and stiff without being too thick for Step 4 below, if needed),
–(optional) some soapy water and a brush to apply it.
Step 1 (optional):
Brush some soapy water along the edge of the rim for a few inches at the point you intend to pop the bead off. I suggest picking spots at roughly 3:00 and 9:00 from the valve, for initially breaking the bead on one side at 3:00, and the other side at 9:00. You could try to first squeeze the tire bead back a bit at those spots, so the soapy water can get in there a bit. But I don’t know how much this step really matters anyway.
Step 2:
Arrange the wheel over the boards on the tarp in front of you, with the target removal point (3:00 or 9:00) closest to you. Position the small board on the tire, with the short side up against the rim.
Step 3:
Carefully step down on the small board, keeping the edge of the board up against the rim. You might need to bend down and use your hand to help keep the board snug up to the rim as you step down on it. Keeping it close to the rim is essential for pushing the bead off. This step might be sufficient to pop the bead off. You might want to try this step a few times. If it still hasn’t released, continue to step 4. If it did release, skip to step 5 (note: if it released at this step, you should now be able to push the bead off pretty easily around the rest of the rim, but leave it on for now to make it easier to release it from the other side of the rim first.)
Step 4:
If the bead didn’t release in Step 3, then carefully step on the small board again, making sure the board is snug up against the rim. Now bend down and grasp the top of the wheel and pull it toward you. Ideally, the edge of the rim will slide over the top of the edge of the board, inherently applying even more pressure and leverage to release the bead. This SHOULD work!
Step 5:
Before pushing the bead off the rest of one side of the rim, repeat the above steps to get a release point on the other side. For the second side, work on a point directly opposite the first point (e.g. 9:00 vs 3:00). Once you’ve got a point released on each side, you should be able to easily push the rest of the bead off the rim. To remove the tire from the rim completely (if desired), be sure to pinch the beads of both sides of the tire down into the lowest point of the rim most of the way around, making it much easier to push the tire over the rim on the opposite edge.
About the Author
Frank has been an avid cyclist for more than 25 years, first on mountain bikes in the hills above Silicon Valley, then moving over to road bikes, on which he’s done a number of century rides as well as cycling vacations in the Tetons and the Pyrenees. In early 2024 he got his first gravel bike and says he’s not looking back.
