cliby

OK, its a generic performance mod.................
anyway, With a fair number of bikes, cars, add in a few track days and I finally got sick of paying for shops to do my tire changes and over charge for tires at same time. Its not cheap, but I figure between myself and a couple good friends with bikes, it will pay for itself pretty quickly. I can now shop for the best price and do the work myself. I know there are cheaper changers but I thnk this is the best out there.

The company is first rate - extremely helpful, free shipping in just a couple days. Everything fits as it should. Really nice family business. If you aren't familiar with this changer take a look: nomartirechanger.com

I just have to drill the floor to mount securely and then can start learning how to use it. I already have two sets tires I need to order and mount up.

Truckinduc

I use one at work. Quality product. Hopefully you do alot of the same size wheels. Setting the blocks is the only real time consuming part.

Did you order the spoons or balancer?

cliby

the road bikes are all 17 inch rims and that will be the most common ones. I did order the balancer and bars. I have a car I'd like to start tracking and figured this would work for that as well.

j shizzy wizzy

you can NEVER have too many tools.

reaper

Hotbrakes and myself bought the Harbor Freight tire changer with motorcycle accessories and the cost was about $90. We have changed alot of tires since buying the changer and it has more than paid for itself with our use. Using the liquid rubber to coat the parts that come in contact with the rims is a very good idea. The one thing we should have purchased at the time was the No-Mar tool, which we have now and has eliminated any and all scratches to the rim.

Plus I have a thread showing how to make an inexpensive tire balancer that may cost you $10 to make.

It is ridiculous the shop prices to mount tires. The shops can do it quicker but you have the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

chickenstrip

I've been wondering how many people change their own tires. I used to live on the West Coast where the riding culture is large enough that there is actually competition for business and the mounting prices are reasonable. In fact they were free where I used to buy my tires.

But here on the East Coast I think that the custom is to charge hourly for mounting/balancing [eyes popping from sockets, jaw dropped], and list for tires - correct me if I'm wrong. This leads to a major expenditure.

lazn

NoMar is a family business of Greg - Hawkrider our favorite supermod.

(His brother owns it IIRC)

cliby

you are right about greg's connection - and they way they handle this business you can see it must be a family tradition of just doing excellent work.

as for prices, I have some reasonable independent shops here but was either charged 25-35 per wheel with good tire prices or my own, or cheap mounting but really bad tire prices bought from the shop. That was with me doing the labor of just bringing in the wheels. Either way, on average I can save at least 70 per set doing it myself, and probably more since I can shop for the cheapest tire prices and do it at my own convenience and not bang them up in the process.

I agree with j shizzy on the tool comment - as opposed to performance mods, I can't think of a tool I've bought that i regret spending the money on - I still have some from 30 years ago.

Hotbrakes

Definitely a nice tool to have. Almost wish Reaper and I had sprung for the NoMar changer but now that I have the bar the HF unit isn't so bad. My garage is beginning to look like a race shop though with a few sets of new tires sitting on a rack waiting for their chance to eat some pavement. And the time spent doing it myself is probably faster than driving to a shop, dropping off the wheels, or just waiting for them to mount the new overpriced tires they sell.

altosuperhawk

My neighbor and I split the cost of a NoMar Pro model a couple of years ago. It's well thought out and nicely crafted with great customer service as a bonus. Being surrounded by chip'n'seal roads it gets a real work out on all our bikes. It's all a matter of technique and lotsa RuGlyde lubricant on the beads and rims.

cliby

I have some tires and plan to start learning on it this weekend. Any tips for those using this?

altosuperhawk

Let your new tires sit out on a blacktop driveway in the sun for a couple of hours. While they're warming up you can pull the wheels off, break down the old tires, clean the bead area and the rest of each wheel, clean the pistons on your brake calipers, clean the swingarm and shock area, and clean the front fender and fork legs. Bring one new tire in and generously lube the beads on the tire, the edges of the rim, and even the drop center. You should be able to slam the first bead down over the rim if it's warm enough and well lubed. Then just follow the NoMar video.

reaper

Or if you want a work out, take the old tires off and put the new "cold" tires on. For those that have not experienced it, it is a lot of fun!

cliby

thanks guys. I could let them sit a long time on the driveway in minnesota in april - it might not help. It was 50 degrees and rainy this morning!
Kept them in the house over nite. These were 120/60 front and 160/60 rear for a honda cbrF2 wheelset I'm putting on my 1100F. But i followed the videos and they came off easy as could be. Going on took me awhile to get the hang of it, and I wasn't using enough lube the first time. Second time much easier - no real drama at all. All together only takes about 2-3 minutes for off and on. Amazing machine really.
I have some wider tires to do next.

badboyrr

I have a NoMar t/c too,.....it rocks! I went to Road Atlanta last year, NoMar was there giving demostrations. They even gave me 5 free tips and a handle! I love those guys!

yruyur

damn there is a harbor freight tire changer on craigslist for 40 bucks.. tempting thats almost how much i paid to get a single tire mounted.

steve.g