Segway Tire Dismount

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Breaking the Bead

Use Your Hands

Remove the valve core from the tire valve and allow all the air to escape. Lay the tire and wheel flat, outside face down, on a clean surface that won't scratch the tire or wheel.

Now push the sidewall of the tire away from the wheel rim with your hands. Work back and forth across a section about 12" long. At first, you might think you're not getting anywhere, but just keep pushing the tire with your hands. Make it easier by using your body weight to bear down on the sidewall right next to the wheel rim.

Having Trouble

If you have trouble breaking the bead as described above, here are several suggestions you can try:

Push down on the sidewall right next to the rim with something fairly small and smooth, like the end of a plastic tire lever or the round end of a smooth tool handle.
Place the sidewalls of the tire in the jaws of a bench vise covered with a rag. Ensure the vise jaws do not touch the wheel rim. Gently squeeze the sidewalls towards each other to pull the bead away from the rim. Do not crush the tire sidewalls all the way together . . . this will likely damage the casing.
Use a tire lever to carefully pry the bead down and away from the rim.

Do not use a hammer or a rubber mallet to strike the tire while attempting to break the bead. This can damage the tire casing, or worse yet, the wheel! However you proceed, remember that the tire bead must form an air tight seal against the wheel rim. If you damage the wheel rim or tire bead with a rough object or excessive force, they may no longer be useful.

Continue

Allow several minutes to break the bead . . . don't rush this part. Once the 12" section you are working on is free, you'll be able to easily push the rest of the tire bead away from the rim by working all the way around the wheel.

The next step is to flip the wheel over and break the bead on the other side using the same technique described above. With that complete, you're ready to apply some soapy water.