I decided, very recently, to buy myself some new wheels. It had been at least a week since my last cycling-related purchase and, after all, you can't take it with you.
The wheels I'd been using were not up to gravel-bike scratch with their 21mm internal rim width and so, to complete my life – at least for another week – what I clearly needed was something a bit wider.
Eking together a relatively modest pot of cash I shelled out on a set of hand-built hoops featuring a DT Swiss GR531 rim and Bitex hubs with a 24mm width.
I rather liked the nod in the direction of the fabled steel tubing of my youth (531), and the fact that they were hand-built and, especially (another old-school nod here), the anodised hubs, which I specified in blue to match my bike.
What I wasn't quite so ready for was what can only be described as an all-out wrestling match to fit the tyres I had ready.
I've always found Panaracer's GravelKings to be docile and well-behaved in this scenario. They always slip onto the rim with almost suspicious ease – and I've fitted them to different wheels of different widths. This time however, they'd grown fangs.
Despite employing every trick in the book, by the time I'd finally managed to drag the final bit of bead kicking and screaming over the edge of the rim, I was a broken man. My back hurt, my abdominals were screaming (the most conclusive proof I've had in years that they actually exist) and my hands… well, let's just say I wasn't going to be giving anyone the thumbs-up for a while.
Luckily, I know from experience that the GravelKings (in this case the X1 model in 45mm) are great at what they do, because I have absolutely no intention of changing them any time soon.
Tyre fitment, and the associated sore thumbs, inner tube nicks from wayward tyre levers and general frustration is all part of being a bike rider, at least on occasion.
And there's never a time that its grim spectre hovers nearby with more foreboding than in the cold winter months.
You can leave home with all the inner tubes, repair patches and tyres plugs you like, but if you're unlucky enough to be running certain tyre/rim combos, there is always going to be a faint possibility that you could be found, perhaps only a handful of miles from home, weeping into your Silca tool roll as the strength in your freezing hands begins to fade along with the last of the light.
If you've been riding for a number of years, chances are you've experienced this kind of joy. Tyres and tyre tech are improving though, to the point where the optimistic among us might even see, in the mind's eye, a post-puncture reality.
But while the puncture fairy isn't dead yet, there are certainly steps you can take to make to reduce the chances that you won't be joining the ranks of riders spending a week unable to open jars and the like.
First off, consider going tubeless. It mightn't be for everyone, but if you run anything upward of 32mm, it's worth looking into. Changing tyres can be a bit messy, but for most of us (especially me, now) that isn't going to happen often. And one of the best bits is that unless you suffer a fairly catastrophic tear, you don't need to remove the tyre to fix a puncture. Most of them you'll barely know about; others can be readily and quickly plugged.
If you're not running tubeless, self-sealing slime tubes can still be an option, They might be a bit heavier but this mightn't bother you so much during winter when not having to stop and wrestle with your filthy wheels takes priority over that final few per cent of speed and sprightliness. On the other hand, plenty of other riders have converted to TPU tubes for extra puncture proofing.
Ultimately, though, some of us (and if it turns out to be you, please accept my deepest sympathies) will end up on our knees on a muddy verge, fighting with a tight tyre this winter.
With that in mind, a couple of things:
1) Keep your bike as clean as you can. If it's already filthy when you head out, it'll probably be even filthier by the time you're in the gutter, all thoughts of cleanliness abandoned, decorating your expensive winter jacket with all manner of road grime as you get to know your rear wheel far more intimately than you'd like.
2) Leave the valve section till last when getting the tyre on. When things get super-tight, this will allow you to create a little extra wiggle room by going round the rest of the tyre and pinching it into the central channel of the rim bed. In theory, this should mean you can manhandle the rest of the tyre on to the rim.
3) 'In theory' is all well and good, of course. You may need to resort to the use of tyre levers. Some will insist this means you'll instantly and inevitably slash your tube and have to walk home in floods of tears and abject failure, covered in oil, mud and grime. It doesn't.
You do have to go very easy though. And you also need strong tyre levers – otherwise they'll simply snap and everyone will laugh. Strong, but not metal. If you own metal tyre levers please take them to your local recycling centre now and ensure you see them melted down with your own eyes.
4) If you're an inner tube aficionado, do make sure you carry two spares. That way, if you do end up slashing the first one via reckless use of a tyre lever, you can do what you should have done all along – give the whole thing to the person present with the strongest thumbs and eat a cereal bar while they deal with it.
Good luck out there this winter!
