# Tire levers?



## Hoban (Oct 14, 2012)

My little blue park levers met their match yesterday, and would like a more robust set. The wire bead Nevegal was a bastard to get off my Sunringle wheel. 

Longer, and made of aluminum I'm thinking. I like the look of the crank brothers tool. 

Any recommendations?


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## reptilezs (Aug 20, 2007)

pedros are the heat. good technique helps a lot. break the bead and push it into the drop center of the rim


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## sslikesnake (Jan 12, 2011)

REI's Novara levers are surprisingly robust. And cheap, which is key when it comes to tire levers. 

I've broken the blue park ones, as well (with proper technique). Will never get them again.


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## cloud_2901 (Nov 28, 2012)

I just use my motorbike tyre levers.

WAY easier. Just gotta be gentle.


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## brokenparts (Jan 1, 2013)

I got to find a nice set of metal levers... I always snap the plastic ones.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Well...nicest steel core I've use is PDW's coated 3wrencho. It's expensive at ~$15USD each.

Park makes good steel levers that aren't too expensive for a pair. They do need a bit of care to use without damaging rims, but are otherwise no different from a [long] plastic lever.

Minoura makes forged aluminum levers that come in a three pack that aren't bad at all.

All that said, however, the best bang for your buck will be Pedro's plastic levers. With good technique, you will not break them, and they come with a lifetime warranty. I've never found a tire they didn't remove.


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## tednugent (Apr 16, 2009)

Crank Brothers speedier lever is nice.

They are now my favorite lever for mounting stubborn tubeless tires


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## Ratt (Dec 22, 2003)

reptilezs said:


> pedros are the heat. good technique helps a lot. break the bead and push it into the drop center of the rim


Another vote for petros. probaby have busted a dozen levers over the years especially on UST tires but these petros milk crates have been going strong for a long time. They are plastic and wide so i never feel like i could damage the rim or tire with them.


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## customfab (Jun 8, 2008)

Park does some steel cored plastic covered tire levers. I think Leyzene might as well. 

I like the pedros ones as well. But they still break from time to time. Or get lost.


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## thomllama (Oct 3, 2007)

reptilezs said:


> pedros are the heat. good technique helps a lot. break the bead and push it into the drop center of the rim





Ratt said:


> Another vote for petros. probaby have busted a dozen levers over the years especially on UST tires but these petros milk crates have been going strong for a long time. They are plastic and wide so i never feel like i could damage the rim or tire with them.


me too.. been thru a few diff ones and finally got them as a freebee add on back in like 2006 or 7 and have gone and gotten another set ..one set in the box, one in the van. Use them pretty regular and take WAY more than the Parks ever had!! I do use the shorter yellow ones.. been more than enough for any tire they have ever gone against


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## pjq6 (Jul 25, 2011)

*Quick Stick*

I've always liked Quick Sticks. I've never had to worry about pinching a tube.


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## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

+1 for Quick Stick. Been using them for 15 years and never met a tire that it couldn't handle.


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## zebrahum (Jun 29, 2005)

Pedros' are my favorite. They're strong enough for any tire without being able to cause damage like a metal lever can. If you're using dual ply wire bead DH tires, you might have a case for metal levers; for everyone else those Pedros' levers are where it's at.


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## mattnmtns (Sep 16, 2010)

The Jensonusa house brand are pretty good too. Seems more durable than the parks. Seems like a good value @ $2.99 for 3. Had mine about 6 months, been using them a good amount changing tires seem to be holding strong.


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## sasquatch rides a SS (Dec 27, 2010)

My vote is for Pedro's. The plastic coated, steel core'd Park ones aren't so great. I've used a couple pair and the plastic always chips off after a few tight beads and you're just left with the steel core. I won't use the blue plastic Park levers because they're garbage.


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## vincavinz (May 12, 2012)

I've had great luck with Avenir metal-reinforced levers.


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

I've got an old pair (10+ years old I guess) of the park blue ones and without a doubt they are stronger than the new park blue ones.


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## MJS95 (Jan 8, 2013)

*Park TL-5*

I have had plenty of plastic tire levers break on me, so I went with the Park TL-5 set. They are absolutely fantastic and will remove any tire without fuss. However, they can scratch the finish of the rim. I was going to start a new topic about this because I searched and found nothing but then discovered that members with less than five posts may not start a topic. Anywho, does anyone have any way of preventing rim damage with these levers? I am thinking of coating them in plastidip, which hopefully should solve the problem. Any thoughts?


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Plastidip works fine, but so will good technique. I use other levers in combination with the large steel Park levers, as they don't have hooks (which makes not scratching the rim very hard).


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## MJS95 (Jan 8, 2013)

wschruba said:


> Plastidip works fine, but so will good technique. I use other levers in combination with the large steel Park levers, as they don't have hooks (which makes not scratching the rim very hard).


Thanks! Admittedly my technique probably could be better!


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## Hoban (Oct 14, 2012)

Got a couple of the small plastic Pedro ones. Seems much better, but I also haven't tried to take off that damn Nevegal either.  IT seems these Sunringle rims are a little taller than others I've had.


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## pastajet (May 26, 2006)

Prestacycle’s Prestalevers - only lever I have never broken


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## mtnbikej (Sep 6, 2001)

I got a pair of generic green levers from Performance several years back.....only set of levers I have not broken.....and I have used a lot of them over the years working in a shop.


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## Birdman (Dec 31, 2003)

Well, since nobody mentioned these...

Specialized Prybaby levers. I've got several sets, thin & strong, but hard to find. Caveat - I' have broken 1 of them.

JMJ


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## breckenridge (Jul 14, 2012)

+another for the Quik Stik. That's all we used at the shop I wrenched at for 8 years. They don't pinch and last forever. Long-ish for good leverage too.


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## pastajet (May 26, 2006)

breckenridge said:


> +another for the Quik Stik. That's all we used at the shop I wrenched at for 8 years. They don't pinch and last forever. Long-ish for good leverage too.


I didn't break mine, but on an ugly tough UST beaded tire they bent on me. They did give me a new set and they have worked fine since then. Outside of the Prestalevers, they are my go-to tire lever.


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## rickcin (Jul 16, 2010)

Sunlite Steel tire levers? You can view them on Amazon.


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## rdtindsm (Feb 14, 2013)

My experience is limited, but liked Quick Stick. But plastic levers tend to be too thick to go under the bead for my taste. Think I've bent alloy levers too.

Don't remember why I made it, other than that the corner of the blade was broken. May have been for a motorcycle. But I mode lever from a screwdriver that was probably 12" inches long. Rounded the corners, ground a hook near the end.


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