TireIron BeadBrakR®
The BestRest TireIron BeadBrakR (TIBB) is a levering device that incorporates a trio of tire irons into the mechanism that's used to remove the rubber tire from the metal rim. When the bead is free you disassemble the device and use those same tire irons to remove the tire from the rim. What could be more simple, more efficient, more utilitarian?
Titanium Option! The TIBB is also available with high-tech lightweight titanium tire irons. These are the same TIBB- compatible "Tar Arns" manufactured and sold by our friends at Aerostich. Same price, too. (Please note that Aero's old style titanium irons won't work with the TIBB because they don't have the proper holes) Scroll down for more information.
More News! We've updated the design of one of the components, the LockBar. This new accessory allows you to use the TIBB as a sidewall levering device, for those time when you want to pull out the inner tube or fit a new valve stem. Scroll down to the very bottom of this page for photos of the new part. Or click this link to view the special page for the NEW LockBar. As of July 2009, the NEW Lock-Bar is now included with ALL BeadBrakR kits ordered from our web site, at no extra cost.
To order a TireIron BeadBrakR, click here. To learn more, scroll down.
One old bead breaking trick was to use the side stand from a buddy’s bike. They’d extend their sidestand, tip their bike onto the flat tire (which was lying on the ground) and their sidestand would compress the tire sidewall and hopefully break the bead. Unfortunately this often led to bent side stands, or it didn’t always work, and what if you were riding alone and there was no one to help? Again, start walking.
That’s why riders have carried a variety of “Rube Goldberg” bead breaking devices. They included large C-clamps, or specially modified oversized pliers, or wedges, or hammers, or heavy steel jaws, or screw jacks, and a myriad other devices which were OK for garage work, but most were way too big or too heavy to take on the road. In addition to these tools, the rider still had to carry a full set of tire irons to remove the tire once the bead was free.
We asked ourselves, "Why not combine bead breaking components into one unit? Why not make the tire irons part of the bead breaking device itself? Why not make a compact, collapsible, purpose-built device that’s designed for the solo adventure rider?" So we went to the drawing board and made a better mouse trap! The design had to be small, lightweight, sturdy, multi-functional, and it had to be something you could easily carry on your bike. It took almost two years before we came up with the answer…
Compact, lightweight, and easy to assemble using quick release ring pins, the entire kit fits in your hand and rolls up nicely in the storage pouch.
To understand how it works, the left tire iron fits vertically upward through the spokes. The tire rests on the lower horizontal tire iron, with the hub to the left. The line drawing at right shows the cross section of the tire. Scroll down to see step-by-step photos of the BeadBrakR in action.
Brilliantly simple but amazingly effective, downward force at the end of the lever forces the plunger onto the tire sidewall, breaking the bead. (Note - the term "breaking the bead" does not imply that the tire sidewall is damaged, this is just a common term)
The BeadBrakR can be used anytime, ANYWHERE to change a tire, fix a flat, or perform other tire repairs. Here's a photo of Bruce McKelvey, who was mounting fresh tires in Copper Creek, Alaska, on his way to the Arctic Circle. The front porch of his cabin provided a handy work bench. Photo by Bill Thrush. Bruce used Dyna Beads to balance the tires.
We added small plywood blocks that keep the BeadBrakR from contacting and scratching the rim. For working on soft surfaces we added a plywood “sand foot” to spread the load. We added a safety lanyard so you could string the assembly pins and blocks together and keep track of them. Then we laminated the instruction sheet and included a set of tire mounting/demounting tips. We also added a set of plastic rim protectors, a bottle of specially formulated BeadGoop tire mounting lubricant, a valve stem multi-tool, and a Cordura storage pouch that's big enough for your own collection of tire patches & plugs.
We've tested the BeadBrakR on big bore BMW R1150GS and R1200GS and other brands of motorcycle tires and it works like a champ. KTM riders may have to work a bit harder during the bead breaking process due to the double-locking rim design, especially when using stiff-walled tires such as the
The BestRest TireIron BeadBrakR is covered under Patent 7,631,681 and is proudly made in the
European customers can now purchase the BeadBrakR from our UK distributor, Metal Mule. 
Australian customers can now purchase the BeadBrakR from our AU distributor, Adventure Moto.
For more photos of the BeadBrakR in action visit our SmugMug site: BeadBrakR In Action
To order a TireIron BeadBrakR, click here. To learn more, scroll down.
To see how it works, scroll down on this page.
For a FULL series of photos and tire changing tips, click here
1. Remove the tire from the motorcycle and place it on a smooth flat surface.
2. Unpack the contents of the BeadBrakR pouch and lay out your tools.
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3. Use the Valve Stem Multi-tool to deflate the tire and remove the valve core.
4. Assemble the BeadBrakR using the quick release pins. The laminated instruction sheet makes assembly quick and easy. After you've done it once the second time is easy.
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5. Remove the pin that connects the Lever from the vertical tire iron and set the Lever aside.
6. Lift the wheel and lower it down onto the vertical tire iron, finding a wide spot between the spokes. The plywood "sand foot" keeps the device pointing upright and prevents the end of the tire iron from sinking into soft surfaces.
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7. Note how the vertical tire iron sticks up thru the spokes, between the rim and the hub.
8. Plywood blocks prevent the BeadBrakR from scratching the rim.
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9. Pull the BeadBrakR tight up against the inside of the rim, then push the Lock Bar tight up against the tire. This system keeps the BeadBrakR from moving in relation to the tire.
10. Reattach the Lever to the upper end of the vertical tire iron.
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11. Position the Lever so it's about 20 degrees above horizontal, and adjust the Plunger so its about 1/2" from the rim, on the sidewall of the tire.
12. Align your body so your're facing the wheel, then kneel so the sandfoot is between your knees. Use both hands on the end of the tire iron. Your arms will stabilize the BeadBrakR and prevent it from twisting to the side.
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13. Take a firm grip on the end of the tire iron and SLOWLY press down. As you do this the Plunger will depress the bead. To get the best leverage you may need to make minor adjustments with the position of the Lever and Plunger. If the BeadBrakR doesn't break the bead on the first attempt make an adjustment and try again. You'll find the "sweet spot" that works best for your tire and rim.
14. You'll see the end of the Plunger depressing the bead, and in seconds it'll break free from the rim.
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Once you've broken the bead at one spot, you can often step on the tire and "walk around the rim" and the rest of the bead will break free. If it won't, then reposition the BeadBrakR a short distance around the rim and repeat the above process until the bead is free.
Turn the tire over and repeat the process on the other side. It's really that easy!
When you're done breaking the bead, disassemble the BeadBrakR. Slip the blue rim protectors over the edges of your rims and use the tire irons to lever the tire off the rim. We've provide helpful instructions on how to do that process.
If you have a rim with attached rotors you'd need to make sure they're not in contact with the ground when you're breaking the bead. You could that with a couple wood blocks under the tire at 2 o'clock and 10 o'clock, with the BB positioned at 6 o'clock.
The BeadBrakR is about 1" thick when it's in contact with the rim, so if the offset of your rotors (from the rim) is 1" or less you may not need to put a block under the BB itself - each tire/wheel is different.
We've put a lot of thought into bead breaking in the field, trying to imagine worst case scenarios. If wood blocks aren't handy to block up the tire to avoid contact with the rotors, you can use a couple sticks, pannier lids, etc, to elevate the rim, or you can even scoop a shallow impression in the ground to make room for the rotors. Both methods work. Also, due to the geometry and physics of the lever, as you press down on the end of the tire lever, the opposite side of the wheel tends to want to raise up off the ground a bit. This upward angle results in a desirable side effect - the outer edge of the rotor is no longer in contact with the ground, therefore it won't be damaged.
To order a TireIron BeadBrakR, click here. To learn more, scroll down.
January '09. We've had a lot of experience when it comes to changing tires, repairing tubes, and replacing valve stems. One particularly difficult task is holding the sidewall open (away from the rim), while we fitted a new tube or installed a new valve stem. What we needed was some type of levering device that we could hook on the sidewall of the tire, and lift the sidewall away from the rim so we had room for our fingers.
We discovered that if we made a few minor modifications to the current LockBar design, we could convert the TireIron BeadBrakR into a sidewall levering tool. The old design is shown at left, the new design at right.
Once assembled on the end of the Lever, the new LockBar acts as a lever and hooks under the sidewall so you can pry the sidewall away from the rim. And here you see the sidewall has been opened so we can work inside the tire carcass.
This new LockBar is available for an additional $10.00 for those who have the original BeadBrakR with the standard lock-bar. It is now included with the BeadBrakR as of July 2009.
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