I previously reviewed the TyreKey – a complete rethink on the humble tyre lever.
For those of you who didn’t read that review, the TyreKey is a great bit of kit. When see that it looks like, you will instantly understand where it got the name from: it looks a bit like an oversized key. The photo above show both TyreKeys side by side. If you look closely, you will see the one on the right has a narrower opening.
Grabber
The TyreKey has a unique hook, which grabs the tyre and pulls it over the rim. The grabbing hook is cleverly designed to hook the bead of the tyre, and not to pinch the inner tube, while the tyre lever part acts like a handle, allowing you to easily exert more pressure.
The TyreKey worked very well on my main bike, with 700c x 38 Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres, but I had trouble with it on my road bike. The issue was that my road bike has narrower rims, and the large TyreKey I tested would slip over the rim, instead of using it as a base to leverage against.
Now here I need to explain a bit: I have Maddux R3.0 rims on my road bike, with Michelin Power Endurance rims. Those same tyres were simple to fit on all the rims I had before, but any tyre is a nightmare to fit onto the Maddux rims. So much so that for a long time I stopped riding outside on my road bike. I genuinely believed that, if I punctured, I wouldn’t be able to swap inner tubes by the roadside!
New narrow design
This kit review is for a new and narrower TyreKey, specifically designed for narrower rims. And the verdict? Simple: I can take my road bike out on the roads again! For the first time in a long time I’m confident that I’d be able to change an inner tube by the roadside.
Yes, that is simply down to the TyreKey. As a tyre lever, it works really well to get tyres off the rim. It’s basically a large, strong tyre lever, and as I now have two, getting the tyre off those very tight rims is straightforward.
The biggest challenge used to be getting the tyre back onto the rim. The last time I only managed to so by breaking several standard tyre levers. Make no mistake – it’s still not easy with those wheels, but with the new, narrower TyreKey, I can get the tyre back on in half the time, and with half the hassle.
Verdict
The TyreKey is a great bit of kit, and is now an indispensable part of my toolkit. If you ever struggled fitting tight tyres, this is the solution you’re looking for! Get yours at Tyrekey.com.