Tool Time

Tool Time

Changing tires and fixing flats are two jobs rarely found on anyone’s list of Favorite Things to Do. Flat repairs can be especially aggravating

when they have to be performed in the middle of an enduro or fun trail ride. Using their first-hand experience with such matters, the off-road riders at Motion Pro (www.

motionpro.com;

650/594-9600) have come up with a little tool called the Bead Buddy

that eases the task. When levering the bead of a tire over the rim, it’s normally necessary to leave one tire iron wedged between bead and rim at the point where the prying first began. You then have to hold that iron in place with your other hand or a knee so the bead can’t creep back up over the rim while you work your way around the tire with the other iron. But not if you use a Bead Buddy (part No. 08-0388). Once you get the first bit of bead pried over the rim, clamp the tool to the edge of the rim at that point with its plastic thumb screw; the Bead Buddy then prevents the tire’s bead from slipping back up over the rim, freeing your other hand (or your knee) while you lever the rest of the tire over the rim. The Bead Buddy is tiny enough to fit into any off-road toolkit, weighs practically nothing,

costs just $10.50 and removes a little bit of the hassle from -one of dirtbiking’s least enjoyable chores. -Paul Dean