Andrew Shadow
Site Supporter
I am toying with the idea of purchasing a manual tire changer. The reason is not high volume- I typically will change tires maybe two times per riding season. Nor is it the actual cost of having the tires changed- I have a shop close enough to me who does it with a professional touch less machine and a fancy do-dah electronic balancer for $15.00 per wheel if removed from the bike. Push comes to shove I could easily do without one but what would be the fun in that?
The main reasons for a tire changer are;
- for my convenience.
- the fact that I typically throw away as much as 25% of my tires because the timing of the next trip never works out with the requirement for new tires. I need new tires to be able to go on the trip even though the current ones aren?t finished yet. If I had my own machine I could much more easily reinstall the old ones later on and finish them off.
- and most importantly I found 10 square feet in the garage with nothing in it and we all know that there needs to be something there that I can admire when it is winter.
I can afford the price of a No-Mar if I had to but I am really struggling to justify it.
Given that at the current price I pay for changing tires it would take me 50 tire changes to recoup the cost of a No-Mar I am finding it hard to justify their price- I won?t live that long.
In view of the above what I really want to know is if the Harbor Freight is really a viable solution or is it a total piece of crap? Bear in mind that I have never seen one in person.
I ask this because I have researched it and have read everything from;
- they work great.
- they work great if you modify them a little.
- they work great if you modify them a lot.
- they work O.K. if you modify them a lot.
- parts on them bend (bead breaker) and have to have reinforcement steel welded to them.
- they crack/break at the joints and have to be welded and reinforced.
- don?t buy one if you don?t have a welder due to the above.
- they are a waste of money- save your money and put it towards a better machine.
- people buy them to save money and end up getting rid of them because they are junk only to buy a No-Mar in the end anyway.
- the tire Gods will curse me with perpetual slow leaks for the rest of my natural life and in to eternity if I don?t go No-Mar.
The more I read (including here) the more contradictory it becomes. So I would appreciate hearing what the real deal is.
- how much would I need to spend in addition to the purchase price to make this a viable tire changer that won?t scratch my wheels and won?t break my knuckles?
- are they worth that money or will I spend enough extra to modify/enhance them to the point where I am near the price of a No-Mar anyway?
- or, are they a piece of crap and I should put this money towards a No-Mar at the outset? (or rum-punch!)
I would appreciate hearing from people who have and use them.
Thanks.
The main reasons for a tire changer are;
- for my convenience.
- the fact that I typically throw away as much as 25% of my tires because the timing of the next trip never works out with the requirement for new tires. I need new tires to be able to go on the trip even though the current ones aren?t finished yet. If I had my own machine I could much more easily reinstall the old ones later on and finish them off.
- and most importantly I found 10 square feet in the garage with nothing in it and we all know that there needs to be something there that I can admire when it is winter.
I can afford the price of a No-Mar if I had to but I am really struggling to justify it.
Given that at the current price I pay for changing tires it would take me 50 tire changes to recoup the cost of a No-Mar I am finding it hard to justify their price- I won?t live that long.
In view of the above what I really want to know is if the Harbor Freight is really a viable solution or is it a total piece of crap? Bear in mind that I have never seen one in person.
I ask this because I have researched it and have read everything from;
- they work great.
- they work great if you modify them a little.
- they work great if you modify them a lot.
- they work O.K. if you modify them a lot.
- parts on them bend (bead breaker) and have to have reinforcement steel welded to them.
- they crack/break at the joints and have to be welded and reinforced.
- don?t buy one if you don?t have a welder due to the above.
- they are a waste of money- save your money and put it towards a better machine.
- people buy them to save money and end up getting rid of them because they are junk only to buy a No-Mar in the end anyway.
- the tire Gods will curse me with perpetual slow leaks for the rest of my natural life and in to eternity if I don?t go No-Mar.
The more I read (including here) the more contradictory it becomes. So I would appreciate hearing what the real deal is.
- how much would I need to spend in addition to the purchase price to make this a viable tire changer that won?t scratch my wheels and won?t break my knuckles?
- are they worth that money or will I spend enough extra to modify/enhance them to the point where I am near the price of a No-Mar anyway?
- or, are they a piece of crap and I should put this money towards a No-Mar at the outset? (or rum-punch!)
I would appreciate hearing from people who have and use them.
Thanks.
Last edited: