[Bad Boy]

I almost bought the Freight Harbor changer a couple of times. I went to the FH store with my 20% off coupon in hand, then I noticed how much of the display products were broken through out the store, even the tire changer on display had a broken weld on it. Did not do much for my confidence. I would much rather buy American but at $600 plus balancer and compressor it doesn't pencil compared to paying $30 a tire to have it done for me.

Then I saw this and ordered one.
http://www.cyclehill...m/products/home
It is due to arrive in a week.

Anyone have any experience with these? At $365 shipped and made in the good old USA it was not too much more than the FH after on does the mods to make it scratch proof.

I will write a review when I wear out my next set of tires.

This post has been edited by Bad Boy: 02 January 2009 - 02:12 PM

[Rice]

No personal experience, but looks really well made.
Mucho dinero though.
This may be worth it if you are a serious track addict.

[Bad Boy]

Rice, on Jan 2 2009, 11:24 AM, said:

No personal experience, but looks really well made.
Mucho dinero though.
This may be worth it if you are a serious track addict.

At first $365 seemed pricey to me too. After adding up the costs of making the Freight Harbor unit work well, NoMar Bar, Mojo Blocks or fabricating equivalent. Then the Cycle Hill unit also comes with tire lube, hand clamp, and concrete anchors. When I add it all up I am paying about $75 more for the made in USA quality which is a value of mine.

I realize that this is not purely an economic decision to change my own tires. It may take 3-4 years to break even, but I will save in time and not driving around to have it done. I value the Independence and convenience of being able to do it myself. So I think this can be worth it for the non track addict and a completive alternative to the FH changer.

[SkeeBoy]

When are you gonna wear out those tires?
Maybe a trial run review with spare wheel and tire?

[HispanicSlammer]

Hmm HF tire changer $49.99
Motorcycle Attachment $59.99
Mojolever $99.00
MojoBlocks $30.00
------------------------------------------------
My total Investment $238.98

50-60 sets of tires changed since 2003?
45 minutes per set of tires

I dont see how this tool is a better "value" than the HF changer?

[JHKolb]

Don't be put off by the display products at a Harbor Freight store. In most (but not all) cases the labor to assemble the display pieces is none to bright, and they are only set up to see the product not for actual use.

If assembled properly, the stuff HF sells is generally a great deal. The USA made piece looks to be very nice, but the cost just does not support the investment over a HF piece.

[FotoMoto]

"Officially licensed by No-Mar". Hmm, I'd be pretty pissed if I had ponied up for a full No-Mar system.

I can't see why you won't be satisfied with it. I thought they might pad the shipping charges but they're free right now. Nice find.

I have a HF/mojo/no-mar hybrid setup and recently posted a thread on it. I suggested the "yellow thing" @ $36 (ouch!) might be worth it if you do changes by yourself. Currently I used cheap wood wedges that work OK but will eventually order on of those.

[zx5go]

I have a No-Mar tire changer...and no I can probably never justify the price I paid from a purely monetary standpoint but the thing is awesome and makes the job a breeze. The Cycle Hill looks decent but nothing like even the Classic model No-Mar.

[Bad Boy]

HispanicSlammer, on Jan 6 2009, 06:30 AM, said:

Hmm HF tire changer $49.99
Motorcycle Attachment $59.99
Mojolever $99.00
MojoBlocks $30.00
------------------------------------------------
My total Investment $238.98

50-60 sets of tires changed since 2003?
45 minutes per set of tires

I dont see how this tool is a better "value" than the HF changer?

Based purely on dollars and cents I agree the FH is the cheaper way to go. Cycle Hill does throw in some extras that makes up for some of the difference.

For some there is a value for quality, having a unit that works well right out of the box, 5 year warranty, American manufacturing. For some this can be the better value.

I should be changing tires before spring. I will let you know how it works for me.

[vfrrider17]

It looks like a simpler no-mar tire changer. Probably will do good, maybe not as convenient as a no-mar.

I have a classic no-mar and do agree with the HF set-up. People here swear by them, but looking at the build quality and over-all difficultly of changing a tire, the no-mar IMHO, is worth the price

Anyways, with a no mar, I can change a tire in 10 minutes. Can't do that with the HF.

[CrazyInNYC]

So, I hope for you I am wrong...

I walked through the purchase process and the page which asks for my credit card info is not secure. While the word secure is in the web address, it is not https and there is no little lock icon in the browser.

Checkout page:

http://www.cyclehill-tirechanger-secure.co...ge-checkout.asp


Interestingly enough, there own site has a security section which states:


Privacy Policy and Security

Cycle Hill does not sell, rent, share, loan, give away, or otherwise distribute ANY of our customers information in any way shape or form. Period. We hate spam as much as you do. We don't even have a 'newsletter' to sign up for. Your name, email, etc., will never leave our own private server.

When making a purchase, all of your personal information (including credit card information) is transfered with industry standard SSL protection. Look for the "S" in "HTTPS" ( the first characters in any website address ) to see when you are on a secured site. All of our shopping pages are on our Certified secure server.

[Lifttruck]

FotoMoto, on Jan 6 2009, 09:46 AM, said:

"Officially licensed by No-Mar". Hmm, I'd be pretty pissed if I had ponied up for a full No-Mar system.

I have a No-Mar! The price of this machine doesn't bother me a bit. It has some No-Mar designed parts on it but the layout of the changer is not nearly as well thought out or convenient as a No-Mar. I've also owned the Harbor Freight changer and used it many many times. It was worth the price that I paid for it. Just like the No-Mar is worth the price I paid for it.

[CrazyInNYC]

CrazyInNYC, on Jan 6 2009, 07:42 PM, said:

So, I hope for you I am wrong...

I walked through the purchase process and the page which asks for my credit card info is not secure. While the word secure is in the web address, it is not https and there is no little lock icon in the browser.

Checkout page:

http://www.cyclehill-tirechanger-secure.co...ge-checkout.asp


Interestingly enough, there own site has a security section which states:


Privacy Policy and Security

Cycle Hill does not sell, rent, share, loan, give away, or otherwise distribute ANY of our customers information in any way shape or form. Period. We hate spam as much as you do. We don't even have a 'newsletter' to sign up for. Your name, email, etc., will never leave our own private server.

When making a purchase, all of your personal information (including credit card information) is transfered with industry standard SSL protection. Look for the "S" in "HTTPS" ( the first characters in any website address ) to see when you are on a secured site. All of our shopping pages are on our Certified secure server.

So, being the curious type and not liking to spread false info, I called No-Mar's after hours # listed on their site (pretty sure it's the guys house). He said cycle hill is one of their brands and said the site is secure. He said I must have been looking at a page prior to checkout, but I ensured him that I was looking at the place to enter my credit card info and that it was not secure.

He was surprised and said he would have his web guys look into it tomorrow.

Searching further showed an ebay acct for nomar which has sold this cycle hill changer as well as nomar changers.

[CrazyInNYC]

CrazyInNYC, on Jan 6 2009, 08:12 PM, said:

CrazyInNYC, on Jan 6 2009, 07:42 PM, said:

So, I hope for you I am wrong...

I walked through the purchase process and the page which asks for my credit card info is not secure. While the word secure is in the web address, it is not https and there is no little lock icon in the browser.

Checkout page:

http://www.cyclehill-tirechanger-secure.co...ge-checkout.asp


Interestingly enough, there own site has a security section which states:


Privacy Policy and Security

Cycle Hill does not sell, rent, share, loan, give away, or otherwise distribute ANY of our customers information in any way shape or form. Period. We hate spam as much as you do. We don't even have a 'newsletter' to sign up for. Your name, email, etc., will never leave our own private server.

When making a purchase, all of your personal information (including credit card information) is transfered with industry standard SSL protection. Look for the "S" in "HTTPS" ( the first characters in any website address ) to see when you are on a secured site. All of our shopping pages are on our Certified secure server.

So, being the curious type and not liking to spread false info, I called No-Mar's after hours # listed on their site (pretty sure it's the guys house). He said cycle hill is one of their brands and said the site is secure. He said I must have been looking at a page prior to checkout, but I ensured him that I was looking at the place to enter my credit card info and that it was not secure.

He was surprised and said he would have his web guys look into it tomorrow.

Searching further showed an ebay acct for nomar which has sold this cycle hill changer as well as nomar changers.

Hot Damn! You won't get that service from Harbor Freight!!!

Putting my coat on to go home from work and my phone rings. Thinking only my wife would be calling me at work at this hour I answered it w/o looking at the #. Turns out it's the guy from NoMar!!! He talked to his web guy who was making some javascript changes which interfered with the secure processing portion. It's fixed now!

I swear I did not make this up!!!!

[zx5go]

CrazyInNYC, on Jan 6 2009, 07:25 PM, said:

Hot Damn! You won't get that service from Harbor Freight!!!

Putting my coat on to go home from work and my phone rings. Thinking only my wife would be calling me at work at this hour I answered it w/o looking at the #. Turns out it's the guy from NoMar!!! He talked to his web guy who was making some javascript changes which interfered with the secure processing portion. It's fixed now!

I swear I did not make this up!!!!

I believe it. I called and spoke with the folks at No-Mar many times before I purchased. I guess I needed some re-assurance before dropping that kind of money. They walked me through swapping out some items in their package deal so it would work best for changing tires on the VFR (at no cost). I called them after the purchase with a few questions and they were just as friendly (by that I mean they aren't just nice until they have your $$). One other note, their tire lube is awesome and don't be afraid to use it generously.

[vfrrider17]

Thats another thing.

Steve and Sue at No-Mar are friggin awesome. They basically will answer any question, any time, any where. I called them on a Sunday afternoon with a question and they answered it and walked me through the process.

[Bad Boy]

The Cycle Hill changer just arrived late today. I already have it assembled. Just need to borrow brother's rotohammer to mount to floor. Looks good so far.

I figure Cycle Hill simplified the NoMar changer to provide an option to the HF for guys that mount a half dozen tires a year and want some quality at moderate price. If you want more or less quality and price yet then you have the NoMar Classic or HF. Depends what you value.

[Bad Boy]

I changed my first pair of tires on the Cycle Hill changer. Ten year old Metzler ME880 Marathons touring tires from a Honda Pacific Coast in a 40 degree garage. Those are tough tires. It was a bit of a struggle removing the first tire. The second one went easier with improved technique. I then mounted Dunlop K555 touring tires. The base held the rim well once I tightened it up enough and and the NoMar bar did its job. The changer is compact working well without the overhead brace the other changers have. Compact is nice in my little garage. I would expect the VFR tires to change with less effort. The quality of the unit looks what I would expect from made in USA. As an architect I appreciate the smart design and added quality.

[vfrrider17]

I guess welcome to the tire changing club .

The first few times I mounted tires with my no-mar, it was a struggle, by after a few sets, I'm getting better.

One factoid, I have noticed that Pirelli and Metzler tires are the hardest to change. Michelin and others are a lot easier.

But don't be afraid of them, just takes some more time to change them.

[Bad Boy]

vfrrider17, on Jan 21 2009, 01:43 PM, said:

I guess welcome to the tire changing club .

The first few times I mounted tires with my no-mar, it was a struggle, by after a few sets, I'm getting better.

One factoid, I have noticed that Pirelli and Metzler tires are the hardest to change. Michelin and others are a lot easier.

But don't be afraid of them, just takes some more time to change them.

Thanks, I might break even on cost but what I really like is to be able to have tires ready for big trips and not have to drive around. I have 20-30 minute drive to get to a shop and usually have to pick them up later so two trips. I love being self sufficient. At 15K to 20K hard miles a year I go through some tires. I also enjoy helping out my buddies now that I have some equipment.

[vfrrider17]

Bad Boy, on Jan 21 2009, 07:42 PM, said:

Thanks, I might break even on cost but what I really like is to be able to have tires ready for big trips and not have to drive around. I have 20-30 minute drive to get to a shop and usually have to pick them up later so two trips. I love being self sufficient. At 15K to 20K hard miles a year I go through some tires. I also enjoy helping out my buddies now that I have some equipment.

It's great having your own tire changer. No more dealership with the stealerships schedule, change tires any time you want, and you can also make some money doing other riders tires. Dealerships by me now will not change tires unless the tires are bought through the dealership. So I have had a few customers after the dealerships started this rule.

Also, it works on car tires too, well, ones with big side walls.

[marid2apterbilt]

HispanicSlammer, on Jan 6 2009, 09:30 AM, said:

Hmm HF tire changer $49.99
Motorcycle Attachment $59.99
Mojolever $99.00
MojoBlocks $30.00
------------------------------------------------
My total Investment $238.98

50-60 sets of tires changed since 2003?
45 minutes per set of tires

I dont see how this tool is a better "value" than the HF changer?

+1
Add 85.00 for the Marc Parnes Balancer and its still agreat deal.

Some one here also stated that the Nomar is easier and faster to use..
That is up for debate by the user, Personnaly I can dismount and mount a new tire in minutes from breaking the bead to seating the new one and balancing.
I dont even have mine mounted, I just drag it to the middle of the garage and get the job done..

Also +1 on the wooden block trick... small 1"x1" pieces placed between the bead and lip of the rim top and bottom make it a real sinch to mount a tire "Even Pirelli and Michilin's"

[vfrrider17]

I'm sensing were going to have a full-blown, HF Vs. No-mar Tire changer thread soon.

[superfunkomatic]

Just bought the Jr. Pro Ultimate model from No Mar today. Can't wait until it arrives to test it out.
Calgary folk, you can come by and test it out if you need to change your tires - just bring the requisite beer

[u20overboy]

No matter what you use nothing like mounting tires in the garage at your own convience. don't forget to put them in the sun for awhile if you can to soften them up

[Kanadian Ken]

superfunkomatic, on 29 March 2010 - 12:52 PM, said:

Just bought the Jr. Pro Ultimate model from No Mar today. Can't wait until it arrives to test it out.
Calgary folk, you can come by and test it out if you need to change your tires - just bring the requisite beer

You won't be disappointed!! top notch quality. Only problem I've had is explaining to my wife why I haven't changed 100's of friends tires for that $10 a piece I told her about to help offset the cost..... oh well - its awesome to have it available when I want it.