Has anyone tried the Rabaconda tire changer?

tnman

tnman

Joined
Sep 15, 2007
Messages
34
Location
DFW Area - TX
Bike
2012 ST1300
All of my social media feeds keep blowing up with this device. I have talked to 1 guy who has it and loves it. I always do my own maintenance but take the wheels off to a local shop to swap tires, they are now charging me $45 per tire so I am thinking I need to find a different solution. I usually go through 2 sets of tires per year.
Your thoughts?

us.rabaconda.com

Rabaconda USA

Rabaconda USA
us.rabaconda.com us.rabaconda.com
 
Can't speak to that brand, but I got a No-Mar changer with a hitch mount and it sits behind my lathe neatly tucked away until I need it.

For me, it was the cost, the two trips and time needed to have my tires done, but the real exclamation point was when I rebuilt a '78 CB550 wheel and found that same shop left the old rim strip and two layers of duct tape in the rim when they installed the tire. Couldn't even be bothered to remove the old stuff because, I suppose, power tire changer, no effort needed! Force it on.

I probably have $600 or more into my setup, but figure I'm past breakeven if I were to sell it for $400 now. Maybe better assuming the cost of a tire change is not $35 anymore.
 
I have the No-Mar, with threaded anchors in the garage floor. When needed, it takes about 5 minutes to bolt down. Found mine used for $250, so it’s pain for itself, already.

John
 
I bought the original No Mar Cycle Hill changer in 2009 and upgraded to the Cycle Hill HD changer about five years/250+ tire changes later it was the best parts/tool purchase ever.
The money and time saved are immense.
 
Mellow said:
I have one and like it a lot, being able to pack it up and put away vs taking up permanent space is great.
Click to expand...
Same here. My only complaint is that I didn't buy it sooner. There's no need to bolt anything down either. Just take it out of the bag, assemble the couple pieces it is made of, and you're in business.

Getting your own tire changer is smart. It frees up your time so you're able to do a tire change on your schedule, not the dealer's schedule. Some places have lower labor rates, but here in Puget Sound, it is over $100 a tire unless you buy from Cycle Gear. CG charges $45 a wheel I think. Even in comparison to Cycle Gear, it'll save you money. Sure, $45 a tire seems cheap, but you've done the hard part already by removing the wheels and reinstalling them afterwards. There's an additional savings too in the cost of the tires. Buying a Continental RA4 from CG is $272. Buying the same tire from Dennis Kirk is $237. It adds up.

So you save the cost of the tire changes. Save on the cost of the tires. And you get to do it on your schedule.

The Rabaconda tire changers are like someone took an entirely fresh look at how to change tires and built a tire changing machine without just copying everything that had come before. You can get a Harbor Freight tire machine, but from the little bit I've read it seems like you have to make modifications to get it to work. No modifications here. It just works.

Chris
 
I use an Olmaxmotors tire changer and it works well enough (but I have to use it on the garage floor and bolt it down when I need it, otherwise it’s hanging on a hook on the garage wall). I bought a Mojolever as well and that makes tire removal and installation easier than with the duckhead (so I have the option of one over the other depending on need). The changer I have only goes down to 14” diameter, so my carpenter built me an insert for the machine so I can change the 13” tire on the back of the Silverwing. I like the Rabaconda, but for the price, I can work on the garage floor for the few times I need to swap tires.
 
TH link in the OP does not work directly.
Had to right click and use search to get to their page.
 
RJG1300 said:
TH link in the OP does not work directly.
Had to right click and use search to get to their page.
Click to expand...

Maybe try a different browser?

I'm on an old OS on this particular box. The browser/OS is Safari/Sierra and won't load the page. Pasting the link in the latest ESR of Firefox/Sierra it loads just fine. It also loads fine in Safari/Sonoma. Also works fine in Safari/iOS 26.
 
IF I were doing it over again, I'd give the Rabaconda a go. However, I'm invested in the Cycle Hill with a mojolever. So lately I got inspired by the Rabaconda (and other tire machines) to use a duckhead.... in the interests of science, I bought a kit for like U$32 and but the duckhead it comes with is too "fat", so I have another duckhead coming...... it's in the mail. Cheap experiment, but I can tell you already for tire removal the mojo/NoMar/CycleHill plastic demount tips are quicker and superior to any duckhead IMHO.

www.ebay.com

Tire Changer Duck Head Swing Arm Mod Removal Mounting Tool Fit 16" -25" Tire | eBay

1 X Tire Changer Swing Arm Mod Kits. Designed for practicality, the duck-head tire changer enables quick and secure tire fixation, making tire installation and removal more efficient. By simply applying pressure, the duck head can be easily inserted into the tire bead, significantly increasing...
www.ebay.com
 
Rabaconda is good but for 700+ it worth if you change tires too often. For 2 tires/year it will take like 7 years to make it worth. Yes it'll save you time driving and waiting at the dealership with your tire but I still think it is way overpriced.
A No-Mar with a hitch extention (for not braking yr back on floor) will cost about a third.

Sure, money no object you can buy it and enjoy, but if this was the case for me, I'd get an electric/air shop-like one for over about $1k and could do bikes and cars tires, plus help out my friends for free

Just MO
 
FastST said:
Rabaconda is good but for 700+ it worth if you change tires too often. For 2 tires/year it will take like 7 years to make it worth. Yes it'll save you time driving and waiting at the dealership with your tire but I still think it is way overpriced.
A No-Mar with a hitch extention (for not braking yr back on floor) will cost about a third.

Sure, money no object you can buy it and enjoy, but if this was the case for me, I'd get an electric/air shop-like one for over about $1k and could do bikes and cars tires, plus help out my friends for free

Just MO
Click to expand...
Check the pricing ... maybe 150 ish difference for the classic.

Also, even with a hitch attachment it's a large object to try and store in a garage vs a nice duffel the Rabaconda sits in, well worth the difference in my opinion. In 2 years of ownership I've already changed 9 tires including a couple for some friends.

Definitely have to compare cost/convenience/ROI when looking at all the options.. heck, tire spoons are real cheap.
 
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well you can get one for $420. Still not $740
Yes, the Rabaconda is a step up
 
Another vote for No Mar. I have the older version of the Pro and have been using it for over a decade with zero problems. I often change carbon and other expensive wheels with zero issues or damage. Aptly named.
 
Not trying to turn anyone away from the no-mar - I lost count of how many hundreds of tire changes I did. There were sometimes 4 bikes in my driveway several weekends getting tires changed out. It's a very solid choice and I think towards the end I replaced the breaker bar tip w/extra tip provided but geesh, that was pretty used up.
 
I sort of prefer the air powered machines myself .... ;)
When I looked at the price of the No Mar Pro and all the bits and pieces I was going to want I was not far off the price of an air machine.
And it will do car tires, trailer tires, etc.
Since I fetched it up in my pickup truck I saved the biggest part of the freight.
The problem is now those machines are pushing $3,000 instead $1,300.
Plus I have lots of garage space which is a nice luxury to have these days!
 
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Uncle Phil said:
I sort of prefer the air powered machines myself .... ;)
When I looked at the price of the No Mar Pro and all the bits and pieces I was going to want I was not far off the price of an air machine.
And it will do car tires, trailer tires, etc.
Since I fetched it up in my pickup truck I saved the biggest part of the freight.
The problem is now those machines are pushing $3,000 instead $1,300.
Click to expand...
There're some from about 1300 and up.
Can you use any air compressor for it?
 
FastST said:
There're some from about 1300 and up.
Can you use any air compressor for it?
Click to expand...
I use a little 60 gallon horizontal CH compressor on wheels with my Atlas machine.
Most of the machines have an electric motor that turns the turntable not air.
Air is for the bead breaker and the 'grabbing' hands on the turntable.
So not a lot of air is needed.
Coats and Weaver make them (the Weaver is a better machine than the Atlas IMHO) and Northern Tool I think offers one now.
But the Rabaconda is still a pretty slick piece of kit - especially if you are space constrained!
 
I have a No-Mar also, bought in 2010 or so. It can be a bear on some tires with shallow (or virtually no) drop centers, but it gets the job done. I've been thinking about putting it up for sale locally and buying a Weaver.
 
When we look at ROI, we sometimes overlook opportunities that are there because you have it.

When I bought my F900XR, I traded in the F800GT. Both use the same size tires. I had just recently swapped out tires and still had the old tires in the garage. An hour later, the old tires were back on the F800GT, and I had new tires in the garage for when the F900XR needed a replacement. They didn't care since they were selling it to some wholesaler. But I saved about $350 on the spur of the moment tire swap.

Chris
 
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