A new bike tire is difficult for popping and it does not pop out by simply installing the tire onto the rim, even if the rim is dry tire will not pop by doing many tricks on a new tire. the rubber of new tires is hard and stiff and new tires are folded in shape and flat which usually cause difficulty in inflating and popping. popping means like you pump any tire with a compressor and pumps and suddenly you will hear an empty noise coming from the inner region of the tire sometimes a single tire pops 2 to 3 times which means that the tire is seating on the rim properly without any risk and the tire is ready for riding purpose.
But sometimes the tire will never pop even if pumping hard or even after using soapy water or after cleaning the rim the tire just doesn’t pop the reason for that can be many but when you are seating fresh new tires each step matters alot in its seating procedure like the amount of sealant or the proper way to apply rim tape.
- Sealant
- Rim tape
- Width of rim tape
- Specific rim tape for specific rims
- The sidewalls of the tire are not seating correctly on the rim bead
- Lubing of the tire bead
- Hand pump and compressor for pop
- Soapy water mixture for pop
- Broken tire or rim bead
- Psi pressure for the pop
- Check the wobble of the tire after installation
Sealant quality and quantity may affect the sealing process :
Quantity and quality of sealant matter a lot for the better popping of the tire on the rim, actually it means that first, you have to check the amount you have added to the tire and then read information for the given sealant about how much the recommended amount of the sealant for tubeless tires. mostly the quantity of sealant confuses, many riders add sealant in low quantities which does not work for the tire.
So if the new tire is not popping correctly add an increased amount of sealant it will work better. quality of sealant means that some sealants are cheap and these do not work for wider tires, especially for aggressive trails which also do not work for the tire for popping, always use good quality sealant for your tire and also change and replace the old sealant of tire by putting a new after a month or after 3 to 4 rides.
improper wrapping of Rim Tape can be responsible for tires not popping :
Wrapping a rim tape is necessary for mounting a new or older tire, without rim tape tire doe not inflates and leaks all the air through the spokes and holes within an hour. if the rim tape is old then replace it with a new one, while wrapping stretch the end of the tape, and with your palm press the tape on the rim bed so that it would sit and stick thoroughly on its surface. the popping of the tire totally depends on the wrapping of the rim tape.
Width of rim tape matters:
it is the main mistake that almost everyone do while choosing rim tape without knowing the width of the central line of the rim, in many cases width of the rim tape is not reachable to the left and right sides of the rim and it is thinner than the rim surface, as a result, it starts air leakage from the spokes and does not hold air within the tire.
Mountain bikers have wider widths which need wider rim tapes as compared to the narrow rims and narrow tapes, wider rim tape does not leak air from the tire, and with the correct width of rim and rim tape, you can hear the popping sound of the tire while inflating it.
Specific rim tapes for specific rims:
There is a big difference between carbon wheels and aluminum wheels, and also there is a big difference between rim tapes of both different materials of rims. some rim tapes would not stick and perform excellently on the carbon wheels because these are made for aluminum rims and some are made for carbon rims which do not work better and perform better on aluminum wheels.
Always buy specific rim tapes by inspecting the material of the rim of your bike for popping.
The sidewalls of the tire are not seating correctly on the rim bead:
Sidewalls of new bike tires mostly leak air and do not inflate properly on the rim surface, it is because of the rim width that it does not reach the sidewalls of the rim beads and deflates the tire. there are specific rim tapes that have a specific width range according to the width of the rim, always buy larger width rim tapes so that the side walls of the rim would cover thoroughly for the long term and for aggressive and rough terrains.
Lubing of the tire bead?
The tire beads or tire edges of both sides are hard and stiff and are not round in shape, because when tires are shipped these are not round in shape, now you have to wet the rubber of the tire bead and make it silky so that it would sit properly on the rim bead.
You can use thick or thin lube of any kind and the purpose of lube is to change the shape and direction of the tire bead for better performance. lube both sides of the tire beads for holding the air within the tire, and you will hear popping noise.
Hand pump and air compressor for popping:
There is a pressure difference between the floor pump and an air compressor when inflating a bike tire, air pressure of a hand pump is slow and the tire slowly inflates because the human body is pushing the pump with its hands, on the other hand, an air compressor is a machine which works on the basis of electricity and inflates the tire much quicker with high psi pressure as compared to the hand pump.
inflation of a new tire requires an air compressor pump through which the tire easily pops 2 to 3 times and good popping results would be given due to high pressure as compared to the hand/floor pump.
Soapy water mixture for pop:
Sometimes the air leaks through the sides of the tire which is known as a bead of a tire and when you are constantly inflating the tire and it not popping because of the air leakage and the leakage is very slow without any noise even you would hear the leaking air sound, in this case, mix some soap within the water and pour this mixture on the rim beads on both sides of the tire, you will notice at some point within the mixture small bubbles are blowing up which is the sign of the air leakage.
Further, inspect the tire in the same place from the inward direction and make the tire airproof so that it will pop during inflation.
Broken tire or rim bead :
Sometimes the rim bead or the edges of the tire are torn even a simple invisible line would stop the popping because this torn rim bead would not sit properly on the rim through which air leakage occurs and if the tire is not seated properly on the rim bead the tire does not inflates and you will not hear popping sound.
the proper pressure for the pop :
The tire is fully new with different in shape, its dimensions do not exactly match the rim and it does not seat well on the rim you have to inflate the tire with a high psi pressure in the range of 40-50psi, a sudden and high air pressure with compressor pump would cause popping of the tire and it will adopt round shape same as that of the rim, low psi pressure of 20psi to 30psi is not recommended for popping.
Check the wobble of the tire after installation:
You can easily hear the noise of popping and examine the pop when inflating a tubeless tire because it is an external tire while inflating the tube tires, it is hard to hear the pop noise due to its internal mounting. now everything is done install the wheel onto the frame and rotate the wheel and inspect the wheel to check if it’s not wobbling
Sometimes some places of the tubeless tire do not pop up and remain flat with the rim, it is easily measured by rotating the tire, if any place is up or down and any sidewall place is pinched inward or directed outward then the tire wobble and you will easily notice wobbling within the wheel, it means the tire is still not mounted better, then you have to repeat the same process further.
Do not lubricate tire beads to seat it :
The only precaution you should keep in mind when you are trying to pop/seat your tires is that never lubricate them with oil or grease the tire may pop but you will put yourself at risk because the tire will blow out on the spot if it doesn’t it will do later on
You can use iso-propyl alcohol (your regular window cleaner) to use it as a lubricant but do not use products like wd40 or other things because there are many types of rubber out there so they may or may not react with the tire rubber but its always best not to take risks
Conclusion:
Some tires release popping and some do not. you can pump your tire and examine the tire from both sides, if it’s not leaking side and does not make any popping noise then it is also good. popping is not necessary for the tires, sometimes they will pop and release a big sound that you can clearly hear sometimes not both situations are normal for a tire, you just need to check the air leakage of the tire thoroughly.