GP 5000 TL - fitting problems

Man, I’ve just had this same god damn battle, 700x28s on Fulcrum’s - absolute bitch! Baked those bad boys in the oven which seemed to do the trick only to realise it’s on backwards! Label lines up with the valve though, so almost a win!

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GP5K TLs are pretty awful to mount on any rim that I have tried. I have to think they work better with somebody’s wheels but Michelin Power Road is a very comparable tire that is very easy to install compared to the GP5ks, would actually be able to install a tube road side if needed.

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Today I did this fight with a set of gp5k TL 32s over Hunt aero wide 34mms. They were by far the most resistant set of tires i have ever tried but I finally won by using 2 plastic woodworking clamps at 10 and 2 oclock and a pair of sturdy levers to pry on a bit more till the clamps were 11 and 1ish then just pried it over with the levers. Its a pretty sturdy AL wheel but I was still concerned how much energy was going into it.

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I’ve got the same set up and whilst the 5000TLs seem harder to get over the rim they seem easier to seat and loose less air than other tubeless tyres :thinking:

Soapy water is a frequent recommendation, but I find squirting the liquid soap directly on the tire bead and then spritzing water on it makes it more slippery and easier to get the tires on. I’ve mounted GP5000TLs maybe 5-6 times in the last year and a direct application of soap then adding water has always worked for me. It is a struggle for the first few minutes but will eventually slide on.

Chain Waxing Tutorial

Do a find and replace and change “chain” to “gp5k” and “wax” to “lube”. :rofl:

Just another random data point -

GP5000TL 25s on Hunt aero race wide (19mm internal) alloy rims - under 5 mins a tire but did need levers, and used tire bead jack to finish, which made it quite easy. Done in fairly cool garage, didn’t use heat, soap or any other special tricks. So not anywhere near the hardest but not the easiest I’ve done.

More remarkable was that I didn’t need to resort to an air blast to seat them. A mini camping size compressor seated them with no issues, reaching pressure in about 30 seconds. I’ve never seen that part of the job go so easily! Suggests to me that the factory taping was A+.

Do people really do this with carbon fiber rims?


If this tire is this hard to get on, how do you expect to change a tire on the side of the road?

Never had a need to in 20k+ miles, so no idea :smiley:. It would likely be slightly easier to fit a tube after tire has a few hundred miles on it, but would still be quite a challenge on some rims. I also carry plugs but haven’t ever needed them yet either.

I’ve done it on two different sets of CF rims. But, you absolutely do not want to try to do as shown in the photo. The trick is to position the center lever used for prying right next to the clamp levers and take little bitty bites slowly working the *$%@& GP 5000 TL onto the rim. The pressure needed when right next to the clamping levers if very small. It it feels too difficult move the prying lever closer to the clamping levers. In fact, it is the only way I’ve been able to get them on my rims.

Yep. Exactly why I now run GP 5000 Clinchers. The whole TL process is just too much of a hassle and added expense for the one puncture I get every few thousand miles. Plus, I knew if I ever need to install a tube on the road it probably wasn’t going to happen. Even getting them off the rim is a struggle.

Tire plugs or bust.

You’ve got to grab the middle lever with your teeth while gently sliding the outer levers inwards with your hands?
Throw those instructions in the bin.:rofl:

My n=1. About 15-20min per wheel to tape up, fit and seal with a floor pump. I was able to roll the beads on with my hands much the same as any other tight fitting tyre I’ve wrestled on.
That said, I have much stronger hands than most people. If I didn’t have a beat up set of meat hooks at my disposal there’s no way I’d be able fit/remove one roadside.

They are carbon fiber, not glass.

That said, I agree with @TheOtherOne, I started next to one of the levers, rather than in the middle.

Once installed on the rim, the beads do stretch. I recently swapped out my first worn out tubeless tire, and was able to remove it with just my thumbs.

I’ve mounted a good fwe GP5000TLs and never had much of an issue - mostly mounting them by hand - so thought there were a few people being rather dramatic in this thread…until the last attempt!

I had taken a pair of worn (meaning, looser than new!) GP5000s off a guy’s bike and thought I’d try them on my wheels to see if 28s would go in the frame. As I’m running tubes I just popped off the current tyre and planned to fit the GP5000, inflate it with a tube. If it fitted I’d consider setting it up tubeless.

Fitting it ended up with a similar situation to the pic above with the 3 levers, except the tyre was significantly lower. One thing not mentioned when suggesting putting the third lever closer to the edge is that it’s impossible to get a lever in anywhere other than the area with the most space (the middle) if the bead is super tight. At this stage I should have probably abandoned the experiment, but carried on - not sure why, as once the tyre was on (only broke one lever getting the bead over the rim!) I had already decided I wasn’t even going to try inflating it.

Now the real fun began, getting it off! After about half an hour I was on the verge of trying to cut it off, but a friend turned up and gave it a go, eventually managing to get it off! The tube was destroyed in the process, but I’ll take that.

For reference, the rim on the wheel is an Ambrosio P20 which I’ve found to be a great rim - easy to build, strong and reliable - but which was discontinued ‘for some reason’. I think I’ve found the reason!

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I just received a set of 32x622 and they are small enough to be impossible to thumb on 23mm internal stock alloy wheels. Just a quick check fresh out of box and without any soapy water. Going to set out in the hot sun a couple days. Goal is to mount them on 25mm internal width Bontrager Aeolus Pro 3V carbon wheels.

I’ve since had another go at 28’s (new) on Fulcrum rims and I was determined to use only what I’d have road side. Turns out with grippy cycling gloves I had enough purchase to palm roll them on and was done and dusted in about 10 minutes per wheel. The amount of effort required was considerable though; all those years of choking the chicken set me up for this moment!

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I feel sorry for your chicken. :rofl:

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Watch from 1 minute for the tyre change.
I’ll be sure to ask for a demo with the GP 5000’s when I finally stop at my LBS.

Broke a tire lever trying to change my 28c S Works Turbos on my Ardennes Blacks. Anyone ever run this combo? Getting tires on and off is terrible.

I had already bought my gp5000’s stated to fit them to my mavric allroad rims (been doing much more road than gravel hence the purchase).
Found it impossible even after baking them in the oven etc.
I took them to a local bike shop who fitted them quite quickly however did state they are never coming off at the roadside!
I no longer carry a tube just plugs patches etc. If I really needed to bodge something by the roadside!
Tyres seem awesome so far in terms of grip and performance!