Problem solving during today's DIY project
I decided to replace my primo tires with the kik mako solids today. Oh, boy what a treat! I vaguely remember them being a pain in the ass, but we all know memory can be sketchy sometimes. They turned out to be a royal pain in the ass! Nor did I remember how I got them on the last time.
A little background... When you put solids against the tire rim, you wonder to yourself, "Did they ship the right size?" They look a good inch or so shorter. Yes, they did ship the correct size. They will stretch. Oh, but wait... They're not like other tires that stretch easily. We're talking solid rubber with parallel strings running through the inside providing reinforcement. You can have three people pulling on it without it really budging or so it seems.
Of course, there is a special tool to assist with this endeavor which obviously I did not have available to me. So, I spent the first hour or so trying to use brute force. Lets just say that wasn't happening even with calling upon my dad for assistance. My dad who is generally an all-around DIY guy and often pretty ingenious even said, "This is futile. Maybe we should just put the primo back on, order the tool, and do it in a few weeks."
There was an issue about giving up that point. I haven't run inflatable tires on my regular chair since 2000. So all the equipment for re-inflating that tire was still in storage. Which meant one of two things... Trying to hunt for the equipment in boxes among boxes in storage or going out and purchasing replacements. Neither seemed like fun. Did I mention I can have stubborn streaks when I run into challenges?
***
"I will get this done!"
***
I told Dad to leave me alone for a bit to ponder over the situation. I think he thought I was deluding myself into thinking I could do it without the specialized tool. Fortunately, it didn't take long for me to realize there was a solution at hand.
All I needed was string.
The solution was to use the string to help gain extra leverage and perform stretching of the tire. The goal was also to have the string aid the tape in maintaining any progress. So it was like having mini levers on the tire stretching it into place. Once the leverage and stretching was set on the tire, all it took was using normal tire changing levers to gradually pull the tire over the rim and into place. The first tire took close to an hour as I experimented with my solution. The second tire took around twenty minutes. I'm sure if I did it a third time with the system I could get it down to ten minutes per tire or less. It turned out to be surprisingly efficient without requiring much physical effort. Who knows it may end up being easier than using the tool.
My dad admitted that the solution turned out to be pretty slick by his standards. :)
Mission accomplished. I have two solid tires on the new chair. I can travel, work, go clubbing, etc without concern of flats once again. :)
A little background... When you put solids against the tire rim, you wonder to yourself, "Did they ship the right size?" They look a good inch or so shorter. Yes, they did ship the correct size. They will stretch. Oh, but wait... They're not like other tires that stretch easily. We're talking solid rubber with parallel strings running through the inside providing reinforcement. You can have three people pulling on it without it really budging or so it seems.
Of course, there is a special tool to assist with this endeavor which obviously I did not have available to me. So, I spent the first hour or so trying to use brute force. Lets just say that wasn't happening even with calling upon my dad for assistance. My dad who is generally an all-around DIY guy and often pretty ingenious even said, "This is futile. Maybe we should just put the primo back on, order the tool, and do it in a few weeks."
There was an issue about giving up that point. I haven't run inflatable tires on my regular chair since 2000. So all the equipment for re-inflating that tire was still in storage. Which meant one of two things... Trying to hunt for the equipment in boxes among boxes in storage or going out and purchasing replacements. Neither seemed like fun. Did I mention I can have stubborn streaks when I run into challenges?
***
"I will get this done!"
***
I told Dad to leave me alone for a bit to ponder over the situation. I think he thought I was deluding myself into thinking I could do it without the specialized tool. Fortunately, it didn't take long for me to realize there was a solution at hand.
All I needed was string.
The solution was to use the string to help gain extra leverage and perform stretching of the tire. The goal was also to have the string aid the tape in maintaining any progress. So it was like having mini levers on the tire stretching it into place. Once the leverage and stretching was set on the tire, all it took was using normal tire changing levers to gradually pull the tire over the rim and into place. The first tire took close to an hour as I experimented with my solution. The second tire took around twenty minutes. I'm sure if I did it a third time with the system I could get it down to ten minutes per tire or less. It turned out to be surprisingly efficient without requiring much physical effort. Who knows it may end up being easier than using the tool.
My dad admitted that the solution turned out to be pretty slick by his standards. :)
Mission accomplished. I have two solid tires on the new chair. I can travel, work, go clubbing, etc without concern of flats once again. :)