Nrg-Saver

NRG-SAVER

EVALUATION

TIRED BEAD BLASTER

"USE THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB," goes the old admonition. When it comes to changing tires or fixing flats, though, most riders throw that old chestnut right out the window, along with their patience. In desperation, they’ll grab almost anything, from screwdrivers to ice picks, items guaranteed to wreak havoc on tires, tubes and rims. There is an alternative to those implements of destruction, though: the NRG-Saver, imported by Lazer Helmets (31 139 Via Colinas, Suite 302, Westlake Village, CA 91362).

Basically, tire/tube repair or replacement presents some significant hurdles: breaking the bead, and pushing it back over the rim, without puncturing the tube or damaging the rim or tire. Lazer’s NRG-Saver addresses those problems with a sixpiece tool kit, consisting of a Teflon hook pinned to a steel bar, two differently sized, movable Teflon jaws that attach to the bar with a thumbscrew, and two tire irons with Teflon coatings; one iron is used as an extension for the steel bar. And in theory, the hook and jaw can be used both to squeeze the tire’s bead from the rim, and to push it back over the rim. The irons are used the same as any others.

But in practice, the NRG-Saver has more limitations than the deeds to Justice William Rehnquist’s houses. Out of 10 tire/wheel combinations we tackled with the Saver, it broke the bead on only three: two tube-type dirt tires and one tubeless street tire, on rim widths of 2.5 inches or less. And the dirt tires’ beads broke so easily that the task could have been accomplished simply by laying the wheel down and standing on the tire. The other seven—tubeless street tires on rims ranging from 2.5 to 3.5 inches in width—each stopped the NRG-Saver cold, even after lengthy prodding and prying, in part because the hook bottomed out on the rim before either jaw could break the bead. In fact, a spokesman for Lazer admitted that the tool's usefulness is limited on rims of 3.5 inches and more in width, as well as on tubeless tires (because they tend to grip the rim more tenaciously than tube-types), and even on certain wheels with large hubs, such as those on some shaftdrive bikes (because the tool won't fit between hub and rim).

What the NRG-Saver does best is lever the tire’s bead back over the rim. and prevent scratching. The Teflon jaws won’t damage the wheels, and nothing intrudes inside the tire to puncture a tube. Still, the operation makes for slow going, and it’s not that much easier than using a good pair of tire irons. Plus, the coatings on the Saver’s irons add bulk that

makes it a struggle to insert them between tire and rim.

Overall, then, the NRG-Saver doesn’t. Its built-in shortcomings largely limit its usefulness to dirt tires—which aren't that difficult to work with using regular tire irons— and to tube-type street tires on relatively narrow rims. Plus, it's expensive, at $49.95, plus $5 shipping. So unless your bike’s tires and rims fit its specifications, the right tool for the job isn't the NRG-Saver. 0