How to install e*thirteen tires

Written By: Chris Costello (and one other contributor)

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

00:15:00

Step 1 Inspect and verify proper valve and tape install

Before installing your tire, double check that your tubeless tape and valve are installed properly. The vast majority of issues installing tubeless tires come from either tape or valve issues.
Tape:
The rim tape width should run from the base of one bead hook to the base of the other bead hook.
Tape should be totally flat with no bubbles, tears or large exposed sections of the rim well showing.
Closely inspect the tape around the valve hole to ensure there are no tears at this location which might jeopardize sealing.
Valve:
The valve should be snugged down just enough to show some distortion in the rubber grommets or orings. If the valves you are using have directional rubber gaskets, ensure they are aligned correctly with the direction
Do not over-tighten the valve as this can create gaps in critical sealing locations or in severe cases damage a rim.

We will begin by fully seating one side of the tire onto the rim.
Lay the wheel on a workbench or round garbage can and lay the tire on top of it.
Before starting to seat the bead, ensure that logos on the tire are lined up with the valve stem location or matching logos on the rim.
With both hands start seating the bead lower bead onto the the rim. Start at the logo/valve hole and seat the bead into the rim with your thumb on both hands and in opposite directions until they meet at the opposite side of the wheel.
Once seated, verify that logos are still aligned and then flip the wheel over to install the second bead.

Starting opposite of the valve, begin seating the second bead in the rim. Similar to the technique seating the first bead, each hand will work the bead in the opposite direction until they meet back at the valve.
Many new tubeless valves, including our e*thirteen Quick Fill Plasma Valves allow for sealant injection after the tire is fully seated. If you do not have valves which allow for sealant injection, adding sealant will need to be done when the second bead is ~80% seated.
Seat the final section of bead and inspect both sides of the wheel to ensure the tire is fully seated.
If you are having trouble seating the final section of the tire, check to ensure the tire beads are sitting in the center and deepest part of the rim well. This allows the final section of bead to be pushed over the rim easier.
The use of tire levers to seat the final section of bead is discuraged since this often can damage the rim tape if extreme care is not taken.

Remove the sealant port from your e*thirteen Quick Fill Plasma Valves and inject the recommended amount of sealant for your tire size
Begin inflating the tire. As the first bead pops into place against the rim bead hook, take a moment to inspect the bead/rim interface to ensure the bead is not slipping above the rim.
Once both beads are fully seated, inflate the tire to the max PSI shown on the sidewall of the tire. Shake, spin and rotate the wheel to aid with the sealant dispersal. This should be done for 2-3 minutes.
Install the wheel on your bike and check the tire pressure. If the pressure has dropped, inflate back to max PSI and go ride the bike around for 10 minutes.
It is normal for new tires to show some light seeping of sealant from the sidewall during initial inflation. This is the sealant doing its job and filling any porous holes in the tire casing.
Reduce tire to preferred tire pressure and make sure to recheck the pressure before your first ride (and every ride!)

Conclusion

Thanks for reading, now get out there and ride!

Member since: 12/07/2012

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