[bwringer]

Windex use a great lube too, I've been using it for years.

I've always used Ruglyde, which is made specifically for tire changing. It's around $20.00 for a gallon at places like NAPA. On a per ounce basis, it's about the same price as Windex.

Windex and dish detergent are very corrosive. If there's a little nick or scratch in the powder coat, these can cause a surprising amount of corrosion in the aluminum. I see this a lot on vintage bikes; you can often still smell the Windex or dish detergent, and the inside surfaces of the wheels are crumbly and look like they've been chewed by badgers.

Just use a real, live tire mounting lubricant, not whatever slippery stuff you have lying around. Ru-Glyde is cheap, easy to find, safe, and very effective. It's a simple soap solution (NOT a detergent) with anti-corrosion additives.

The widespread resistance to using tire mounting lube has always been very puzzling to me. No one would dump, say, cooking oil into their engine, yet thousands of motorcyclists are absolutely dedicated to using anything but tire mounting lube when mounting tires.

If you're trapped in a cabin in the woods or something, a weak solution of Murphy's Oil Soap or saddle soap is probably a decent substitute if you absolutely must raid the cabinet under the sink.



Another point: use rim protectors (plastic pieces from a milk jug or shampoo bottle are the best and free). Metal tire levers are not compatible with your powder coated alloy wheels. Even if you don't care about the appearance, the coating is important for protecting the wheels.


Anyway, glad OP got it figured out. You have to learn about the drop center issue through experience, I guess. But like all other mechanical things, it's very important to STOP before applying excess force and damaging things. If a tire won't go on, you can't force it; stop and figure out what the problem is.

I just mounted tires on two of my bikes this weekend using tire irons. It's near freezing in my garage, but other than keeping the new tires in the house until I needed them, I didn't bother with heating the tires. Just take smaller bites and they'll go off and on just fine, even very stiff tires. In the summer I put new tires in the sun while removing the wheels, and it does make things a little easier, but it's not essential.

 

[bwringer]

This will last you for the rest of your life!!!
View attachment 313750
Ru-Glyde Tire Mounting and Rubber Lubricant, Bottle, 1 gal (amazon.com)

It's been about 22-23 years since I started changing my own tires, and I started my second bottle of Ru-Glyde about four years back.

Then again, I've changed a LOT of OPT (Other People's Tires) and I never skimp on the lube. If you only change your own tires, then yeah, a gallon very well could be a lifetime supply.

I keep Ru-Glyde in a spray bottle, and spray it onto a little cotton "mop" for tire mounting lube for application to the bead. I also squirt it into the gap when breaking beads so it'll run down inside and make removal easier. Just dry the inside of the wheel with paper towels before adding the tire so as not to trap too much moisture.

Oh, and on my KLR (tube tires, so dealing with a puncture is a far more elaborate undertaking) I carry a teensy-weensy lil' bottle of Ru-Glyde and another with talc tucked into the spare tubes bag. These take up only a tiny space, yet make the roadside tire-'rasslin experience downright posh, as long as you can arrange to have your flat in a place with a little shade.