New kit - Rabaconda Street tyre changer

[JTL]

I've been changing my own tyres (and for friends) for a few years with my Sealey kit.  It can involve a fair bit of sweat, swearing and the occasional trapped fingers.  I decided to splash out on a Rabaconda changer.  Very easy to set-up and use, minimal effort compared to the Sealey kit.  I'm well pleased with it - definitely recommended!



Out with old:








On with the new!

[Mareng1]

Very interesting!

But, at €490+  I'll have to stick with the Sealey.   My only issue with the Sealey - is getting the tyres OFF.   The tool for getting the hot, new rubber on - works far easier than getting the second bead off the wheel.

But - as you say, a fair bit of puffing and panting involved with the Sealey.

[Antares]

Originally Posted by Mareng1

Very interesting!

But, at €490+  I'll have to stick with the Sealey.   My only issue with the Sealey - is getting the tyres OFF.   The tool for getting the hot, new rubber on - works far easier than getting the second bead off the wheel.

But - as you say, a fair bit of puffing and panting involved with the Sealey.

The Rabaconda looks good... for about 200 quid... For that sort of money you're getting into simpler powered tyre changing machine territory, why not just get one of those and make a small side business of it?

[capt cf]

Funny you posted this today.  I just ordered one last night.  I have been doing them on a mat in my garage with levers and colourful language for years so we'll see how this goes.  I won't get it until Sept or so according to Rabaconda so hopefully I can avoid getting a flat between now and then.

[JTL]

Originally Posted by Antares

The Rabaconda looks good... for about 200 quid... For that sort of money you're getting into simpler powered tyre changing machine territory, why not just get one of those and make a small side business of it?

I've seen a couple of cheap Chinese semi auto changers on eBay - I wouldn't use them on my lawn mower.

For UK based ones I looked at https://automotechservices.co.uk/products/as-24sa-semi-automatic-tyre-changer/
£740 + £80 for the motorcycle adapter.   I don't have the space unfortunately.

[Antares]

Originally Posted by JTL

I've seen a couple of cheap Chinese semi auto changers on eBay - I wouldn't use them on my lawn mower.

For UK based ones I looked at https://automotechservices.co.uk/products/as-24sa-semi-automatic-tyre-changer/
£740 + £80 for the motorcycle adapter.   I don't have the space unfortunately.

I wouldn't either, instead I'd buy a namebrand, used for 400 quid ready to go with some quick maintenance.

I understand the space concern, i just think 490 euro for what Rabaconda do..... Let's just say they have some insane margin on that product...

[JTL]

Originally Posted by Mareng1

My only issue with the Sealey - is getting the tyres OFF.   The tool for getting the hot, new rubber on - works far easier than getting the second bead off the wheel.

Yes!  I never did work out why the second bead was such hard work to get off

[bazzer]

I have a the old Rabaconda I use for putting tyres with mousses on my Enduro bike, great bit of kit. I bought mine second hand as its a pricey bit of kit.

I use a Max2H changer for road tyres and on the whole that works really well.

[capt cf]

Did my first tire change with the Rabaconda today so figured I'd add another data point.  Overall, it was a massive upgrade from a mat and levers.  I did the rear first (road 5 to road 6) and it took about 15 minutes to dismount the old tire and install the new one (not counting removal/install from the bike, cleaning the rim and balancing, etc.).  Granted, I was going slow since I had never used it and had to reference the manual and how to video throughout the procedure as well as take a few pics.  Both the installed tires and the new ones were garage temp (65F/18C) so I was a little worried that would be a problem since I usually leave them out in the sun for a while before doing them, but took a chance and it ended up not being an issue.  I wanted to post a few pics since another forum member asked me via PM if I thought it would be suitable for CF wheels.  First off, as a fellow Rabaconda owner, what's your opinion?  I have never had CF wheels and have had a lot of adv and dual sport bikes and you get to a point on those where you don't even worry about rim scratches since they are so banged up from rocks anyhow.  Point being, I think my tolerance for a minor nick here and there is much higher than most.

I think my opinion having done one set is that "it depends on your skill level and how careful you are".  I think you might be able to do it without causing damage if you were super careful, but do you guys that have had CF wheels think the "duck head" (that's what they call the black plastic bit that interfaces with the wheel and tire directly) would mar the finish on them?  I had a buddy that had Rotobox on his Panigale and they had a super high gloss finish.  I don't think I'd want anything rubbing against them but maybe they are more durable than they look?

I don't think the bead breaker would be a problem since it clears the rim easily enough if you adjust it right:







Here's one of the "duck head" and how the channel on the duck head fits snugly around the rim of the wheel:



The one gotcha I found was the initial bead step where you use the duck head as a fulcrum for the lever so you aren't levering on the wheel.  The dude in the video (https://vimeo.com/736441197?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&_kx=tAQ587zF4HMuBuftyoPVgnj5brxv5B2A1bLTbSETF4w%3D.WCZ2rg) shows using the metal side of the tire iron which is how I would normally do it too since it has that nice hook/lip on it to grab the bead.  However, the plastic tire iron covers that Rabaconda supplies only go on the straight side which is workable, but not as optimal.











Ok, so far so good, but what I found is that as soon as you start to use the ratchet to run the duck head around the bead that first movement causes the lever to slip off the duck head.  No big deal, it is no longer needed since the duck head is doing the work at this point and the lever can harmlessly fall to the floor, but it could, IMO, easily make contact with the wheel at this point and scratch.  I tried to capture it in the below image just as I started to turn it.  You can see in the circle that the lever is sliding off the duck head as the duck head moves around the bead.  You can also see this at 6:30 in the Rabaconda video linked above.  I actually think I can hear the iron slap the side of the rim as soon as he makes that first stroke with the operating handle and the duck head moves (6:33).



This is where I could see a possible problem with CF wheels is if you don't really watch it at this stage that lever could slap against the edge of the rim as soon as it clears the duck head on it's way around the wheel.




EDIT:  forgot to comment on the front.  I found the front to be slightly harder than the rear, which is kind of what I expected.  Guessing that one might have been 15 or so minutes as well, but as it was my second tire it should have been faster than the first.  With it getting cold pretty soon I dunno if I'll have time to wear out another tire before next year so I will prob forget how to use it and be back to square one next season.

[capt cf]

Looks like they came up with using heat shrink tubing on the ends of the tire irons to mitigate this.  Not sure how long it will hold up, but it's cheap and easy enough to do every time you change tires if you wanted to...

https://www.facebook.com/Rabaconda/videos/589018771585896/