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Tire change mid trip in CO.


slowbird

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So I'm planning a trip over towards Colorado and then up towards Yellowstone and Glacier.

I will most likely have squared off my tires by the time I get to CO from Toronto Canada. I was thinking of getting my tires swapped in CO.

Google searches shows Apex Sports in Colorado Springs has good reviews and may be able to accommodate a normal tire change.
https://apexsportsinc.com/
 

Can anyone local to CO recommend them, or anywhere else that is trusted where I can get some tires ordered and swapped? Will most likely be around Friday September 1st when I arrive.


Much thanks! Looking forward to visiting this beautiful state amongst others

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Hmm, if you starting on newish tires it seems a might pessimistic to think you'll need new ones that soon. According to Streets & Trips, Toronto:Colorado Springs is ~2500 km. That's about half the distance of my typical summer rides and I've never needed to change mid-trip due to squaring off the rear. Knock on wood, I've been fortunate never to have had a flat.

 

If you do stop at Colorado Springs you mustn't miss the opportunity to ride up Pikes Peak - wx permitting. It is only 100 km round trip.

 

Not sure how you plan to get to Yellowstone/Glacier but US-24 west from Colorado Springs to Buena Vista has some really nice high plateau views, especially towards the west. More importantly, it also gets you close to Co-82 and Independance Pass.

 

Depending again on wx, and on your route, consider riding over Beartooth Pass, just northeast of Yellowstone.

 

I wrote about my Colorado trip here: Colorado 2015

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Yes the long tour tire dilemma! Change the tire before the tour or hope for a fast change somewhere mid tour?  I just went through this on a long tour to Montana from San Diego. 

 

Whatever you do ........make sure you bring wheel change tools so you do not pay the exorbitant fees for pulling the wheel off the bike.  Tire shop folks typically make no differentiation between and conventional and SSA tire mounting setups.  And since they know they have got you they charge accordingly!

 

A couple of other thoughts about the process:

  • Have you ever run that tire before to really know how many miles you have left? It is a real bummer to have chord showing 500 miles before your well planned and theoretically scripted stop!!
  • Are you certain you will be in Colorado Springs on a day certain.  I have never had a tour go exactly according to plan to include a tire fiasco. If it slips to the weekend you could be Dead in the Water for a few days. Think Labor Day Holiday in the USA!
  • Some tire shops require that the tire comes from them not some less expensive Internet outlet
  • Generally it is faster to get the tire changed if you bring the wheel in (see note about bringing the right tools to do that)

 

Based on my experience I would change the tire before the tour and keep the old one as a spare.  But I have a tire changer at home!!

 

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I live in Colorado Springs, and Apex does good work.  They aren't the cheapest around, and I think they charge 25/tire for mount/balance.  I would have no qualms using them for quick service... just may want to call ahead a few days and book a time.

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As an aside, let me know if you want a tour of some of the good twistys.  Might be able to sweet talk Hispanic Slammer in to tagging along if you're around through Sunday.

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On 8/11/2017 at 3:24 PM, Lorne said:

Hmm, if you starting on newish tires it seems a might pessimistic to think you'll need new ones that soon. According to Streets & Trips, Toronto:Colorado Springs is ~2500 km. That's about half the distance of my typical summer rides and I've never needed to change mid-trip due to squaring off the rear. Knock on wood, I've been fortunate never to have had a flat.

 

If you do stop at Colorado Springs you mustn't miss the opportunity to ride up Pikes Peak - wx permitting. It is only 100 km round trip.

 

Not sure how you plan to get to Yellowstone/Glacier but US-24 west from Colorado Springs to Buena Vista has some really nice high plateau views, especially towards the west. More importantly, it also gets you close to Co-82 and Independance Pass.

 

Depending again on wx, and on your route, consider riding over Beartooth Pass, just northeast of Yellowstone.

 

 

 Hmmm. I don't know if I would say they are new-ish. They have plenty of tread left but they are beginning to look like they are starting to square off. They are PR3's and the date code shows they are from 2014. They were on the bike when I bought it last year and that was about 7,000kms ago. So they'll probably have about 10,000kms on them when I get to Colorado area.

Pikes Peak I forgot about so I'll add it to my list, thanks! Beartooth is one of the reasons I wanna head over that way to be perfectly honest. That, Independance Pass and Going to the Sun road further north are all in my sights.

Should I skip Eisenhower tunnel?

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On 8/11/2017 at 3:30 PM, BonusVFR said:

Yes the long tour tire dilemma! Change the tire before the tour or hope for a fast change somewhere mid tour?  I just went through this on a long tour to Montana from San Diego. 

 

Whatever you do ........make sure you bring wheel change tools so you do not pay the exorbitant fees for pulling the wheel off the bike.  Tire shop folks typically make no differentiation between and conventional and SSA tire mounting setups.  And since they know they have got you they charge accordingly!

 

A couple of other thoughts about the process:

  • Have you ever run that tire before to really know how many miles you have left? It is a real bummer to have chord showing 500 miles before your well planned and theoretically scripted stop!!
  • Are you certain you will be in Colorado Springs on a day certain.  I have never had a tour go exactly according to plan to include a tire fiasco. If it slips to the weekend you could be Dead in the Water for a few days. Think Labor Day Holiday in the USA!
  • Some tire shops require that the tire comes from them not some less expensive Internet outlet
  • Generally it is faster to get the tire changed if you bring the wheel in (see note about bringing the right tools to do that)

 

Based on my experience I would change the tire before the tour and keep the old one as a spare.  But I have a tire changer at home!!

 

ehhhh I don't know about removing the wheels for them. The front is gonna be all up to them anyways, and the rear wheel still needs the exhaust removed from the collector to get at the rear wheel. Since they have the bike in the shop to pull the front, can't really pull the rear for them.

I have never run the PR3's before so I have no idea how long they'll last. My thoughts about replacing the tires mid-trip is precautionary.
 

On 8/12/2017 at 3:39 PM, Yokel said:

I live in Colorado Springs, and Apex does good work.  They aren't the cheapest around, and I think they charge 25/tire for mount/balance.  I would have no qualms using them for quick service... just may want to call ahead a few days and book a time.

 

 Thanks for that! I appreciate it.

 

On 8/12/2017 at 3:41 PM, Yokel said:

As an aside, let me know if you want a tour of some of the good twistys.  Might be able to sweet talk Hispanic Slammer in to tagging along if you're around through Sunday.

 

 I'm still planning my trip and the route so I'll let you know. Thanks! :)

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2 hours ago, slowbird said:

 

 Should I skip Eisenhower tunnel?

 

I have no first hand experience with Eisenhower Tunnel 'cause we took US40 north over Berthaud Pass instead.

 

I have mostly used Pilot Power over the past few years, but in 2015 I tried Pilot Road 4 and got close to double the life: 16K km vs 8-9K km on the same bike and similar rides.

 

Near Yellowstone NP and Beartooth Pass is Wyo.296 - Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. It is another great motorcycling road and pairing it with Beartooth makes a lot of sense, if time & wx permit. Btw, if you were planning on staying nearby, Antler's Lodge in Cooke City has some lovely rustic cabins.

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4 minutes ago, Lorne said:

 

I have no first hand experience with Eisenhower Tunnel 'cause we took US40 north over Berthaud Pass instead.

 

I have mostly used Pilot Power over the past few years, but in 2015 I tried Pilot Road 4 and got close to double the life: 16K km vs 8-9K km on the same bike and similar rides.

 

Near Yellowstone NP and Beartooth Pass is Wyo.296 - Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. It is another great motorcycling road and pairing it with Beartooth makes a lot of sense, if time & wx permit. Btw, if you were planning on staying nearby, Antler's Lodge in Cooke City has some lovely rustic cabins.

 

Awesome! Sounds good. Thanks for that :)

 

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If I were you, I'd simply just mount a brand new set of sport touring tires before you set off -- you should make it home with rubber to spare!

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5 hours ago, slowbird said:

 

 Hmmm. I don't know if I would say they are new-ish. They have plenty of tread left but they are beginning to look like they are starting to square off. They are PR3's and the date code shows they are from 2014. They were on the bike when I bought it last year and that was about 7,000kms ago. So they'll probably have about 10,000kms on them when I get to Colorado area.

Pikes Peak I forgot about so I'll add it to my list, thanks! Beartooth is one of the reasons I wanna head over that way to be perfectly honest. That, Independance Pass and Going to the Sun road further north are all in my sights.

Should I skip Eisenhower tunnel?

 

I'm also in the "leave with new tires" camp.  I rode from Oregon to Pikes Peak on a new set of PR3's and returned home with tread to spare. 

 

On Pike's Peak be mindful of the park police.  The speed limit is pretty low, and the urge to turn it up on all those bends can be high, so ride accordingly.  Also, PP is a toll road - I think it was $12 when I went up it in 2012. 

 

And a +1 on Beartooth Pass.  The run from Red Lodge to Cooke City over the summit is epic, but can be choked with Harleys, which seem to move more slowly than the glaciers.  I try to pass respectfully, but it was such a parade I began taking them down 10 to 20 at a time.  I just gave them a nice wave as I went by.   There is gas in Cooke City - but there was a large line waiting to fill up - so many bikes in the summer. 

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Thanks for all the tips!

 

I was told Beartooth going east was a must. More so than going westbound.

The main reason I don't want to mount fresh rubber before I leave home is that I have about 3,200kms of just straight freeway slabbing till I get to any sort of decent roads. A waste of fresh rubber

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19 hours ago, slowbird said:

I was told Beartooth going east was a must. More so than going westbound.

 

Beartooth Pass has three very different personalities; the western (Yellowstone side) switchbacks are like something out of the Alps, up top there's a few miles that make you feel on top of the world, and the east similar to many Rocky Mountain passes. Beautiful scenery in either direction.

 

That said I agree that riding eastbound is more fun. Here is a cock-eyed video form my ride back in 2011:

Beartooth Pass 2011

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22 minutes ago, Lorne said:

 

Beartooth Pass has three very different personalities; the western (Yellowstone side) switchbacks are like something out of the Alps, up top there's a few miles that make you feel on top of the world, and the east similar to many Rocky Mountain passes. Beautiful scenery in either direction.

 

That said I agree that riding eastbound is more fun. Here is a cock-eyed video form my ride back in 2011:

Beartooth Pass 2011

 

 What a great vid. Thanks for sharing that. Really gets the juices flowing.

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So I ended up hitting Apex for a tire change.
They were pretty great people.
I wish they had the Metzler Roadtec 01's but they didn't. (Parts guy never even heard of them)
I "settled" for the PR4's but they're great and I'm not complaining.

Colorado Springs is nice. You folks that live there are very lucky

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