How to Remove a Rubber Tire

A rubber tire is tightly wrapped around the steel rim used for a wheel. If you need to replace the inner tube within the tire or replace the tire while keeping the rim, you will need to remove the tire from the rim. In the case of either auto tires or other vehicles like bicycles, the rubber tire is both flexible yet strong as its inner lip fits inside the wheel rim. It will take effort with the help of a lever tool to pry the tire off the rim.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Jack stand (car tires)
• Lug wrench (car tires)
• Ratchet/crescent wrench (bike tires)
• Air pump
• Tire levers

1. Position the vehicle so the tire and wheel are suspended in the air. For an auto, raise the end with the flat tire on a floor jack or jack stand. For a bicycle, you can just turn it upside down and balance it on the seat and handlebars.

2. Remove the wheel from the vehicle by disconnecting the nuts attaching it to the wheel studs. A car wheel requires a lug wrench, while for a bike tire you can use a ratchet or crescent wrench. For a rear bike wheel, however, you must also take off any brackets holding it to the frame along with the chain.

3. Deflate the tire completely if there is any air in it. Connect the tire's nozzle to an air pump and simply press the pump's connector down on the nozzle without pumping to accelerate the deflation.

4. Insert one or two tire levers between the tire and the rim, making sure the lever ends reach around to the inner side of the tire. Pry the inner lip of the tire edge off the rim, moving the levers across the circumference of the wheel.

5. Grab the lip of the tire you just pried off and pull it away from the rim, so the other tire lip now touches the opposite end of the rim (the rim will stick out of the tire and you can reach into the tire). Reach in and pull the tube out of the tire. Then pull the other lip of the tire off using the tire levers.

Tips & Warnings

• If you want to preserve the tube within the tire, use caution when inserting a a tire lever inside the tire, making sure you don't puncture the tube. This is especially true with bike tires, whose tubes are very thin.

References

• BikeWebSite
• Gary Briggs; General Manager; Murphy's Auto Service, Arlington, TX