cycle hill tire changer vs. harbor freight

jagueri

Joined
Mar 22, 2008
Messages
52
Location
prairieville,LA
Bike
st1100
STOC #
7602
does anyone have the cycle hill. once you buy h.f plus mojolever,mojo clamps you are looking around $200-$250. the cycle hill is $365 with everything and is made in u.s.a. (better craftmanship, quality, and did i mention it is made in u.s.a.) anyway unless anyone can steer me away i think i am going with cycle hill.:biker:
 
I think there is another thread on this here. I was faced with the same situation and I bought the Cycle Hill. It is a much better unit than the HF & you don't have to modify it to make it work without wrecking your wheels. Don't buy their balancer - go with the Marc Parnes balancer. It is a much better unit.
 
Here are a couple related threads:
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60079
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61536

My opinion: The Cycle Hill and Tire Stripper equipment look very good for the task, providing protection from rim scratches, and are tolerable prices. I haven't decided which to buy yet. The No Mar appears also very good for the task, but the NM is even more expensive than the CH and TS (with no additional benefit for the added cost as far as I can tell). The HF unit is a very good price, but I'd need to change/add to it to avoid rim scratches and so I feel that I might as well get the CH or TS. :shrug1:
 
I own a harbor freight tire changer and I am glad I have a wire feed welder, it's the only way I can repair the cracked welds on the HF unit. I've changed about 18 tires but I use tire irons and rim protectors, the bar that comes with the HR unit will damage your rims.

The HF unit is cheap, in price and quality!
 
I just bought the cycle hill changer. I got the unit with the balancer and accessories. I was not in the mood to modify the HF and my wife said just get the better unit so I don't have to hear you curse up a storm if you are not happy. Its all about the training my friends :D
 
Ryderxxx said:
The HF unit is cheap, in price and quality!
Click to expand...

I am not a professional. Just change my own tires and some for friends. The HF does just what it is designed to. I use a NoMar bar and have had not issues with the quality of the HF for no more than it is used.
 
Most of the tires we do (my 2 sons and lots of friends) are for the dirt and our HF unit has to be nearly in triple figures (tires) and still working fine for $69(sale price). My boys visit the local shops just before a hill climb event and get +80% tires for free out of the dumpster because a lot of guys always put on fresh tires to compete. Having the HF has saved us a LOT of money (free tires) AND brought in gallons of free beer. BTW if you do dirt tires, a couple of black curved 16" tire irons & a Tire Tamer (valve stems and bead locks) are the hot setup along with a short section of old garden hose to keep the bead in the rim valley. With practice, 5 minutes and wham-bam it is done!
 
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I've found the HF changer paired with the NoMar bar, make for a great pair. About $170. NoMar also has some nice "accessories" that work without having to get their changer.

Tom de
 
I've had my HF one for years, changing tires on my XX at a rate of 4-6k miles, or 2-3 tires a season. also add in some changes for friends and my dirt bikes. I don't use the bar (except to break the bead) but just tire irons.

Only alteration I do is 2 pieces of duct tape per grabber at each change. No scratches.

I bought it when it was just $50 total for both the car and bike part.

No welds have broken, no problems, has paid for itself 10 fold by now.

Which welds are breaking?
 
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I too have a HF changer, have changed probably 8-10 ST tires by now, and still as sturdy as new. Also curious what welds have broken, cause none of mine are showing any signs of weakness. :shrug2:
 
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