We don't normally muck around with changing tyres ourselves, after all, that’s why we have Tech Editor Mat Boyd and his hydraulic tyre fitting machine.
But he’s all the way up the freeway an hour north of Sydney so we decided to give ourselves some independence and get our own.
Naturally, we went with the Ballard’s Tyre Changer with Bead Breaker from MX Store, it’s not hydraulic but it’s the next best thing and a lot cheaper. The tyre changer comes in a box of pieces but it’s made up of four main bits, top and bottom rings, crossbar and bead breaker. It’s easy enough to assemble and, once together, feels very well built.
He might have a moustache, but GB knows how to build a quality piece of equipment. This particular product is the result of years of development, working with top enduro riders such as Stefan Merriman and they have thought of everything. The feet have holes so you can peg the thing to the ground in your pit area at an enduro and there’s a little tab which you lever against to release and install the rim lock(s).
The pièce de résistance is the double-pivot on the bead-breaker bar. It makes it easier and faster to work your way around a tyre breaking the bead.
Once the bead is broken the rest is up to you and your tyre levers but the beauty of the Ballard’s Tyre Changer is that it holds the wheel in place.
For $130 it’s a piece of equipment worthy of your garage. Even if you’re not the type to change your own tyres this thing might convert you. Olly Malone
Details
BILL $129.95
BROWSER mxstore.com.au
BLOWER 1300 871 290
