I have had my new ride now for about 4 or 5 months now and there is something seriously wrong here. On the bike I have a set of Campagnolo Proton wheels and every time I try to remove the tire from the rim (due to flats) it's like giving birth. I thought at first it was due to the tires being new but man it is still just as hard to do as when I first bought it.

It has gotten to the point where I would rather call someone to pick me up when I get a flat then take 30 minutes to change it on the road.

Does anyone else have tis problem with Campy wheels or is my luck really that bad?

The better question to ask is does anyone have a solution to this problem?

Welcome to the Bleeding Thumbs and Blistered Palms club. I recently had a double flat on the road with new Pro Races on Protons. I got the tires on again purely through adrenelin--what else was I going to do? Weeks later at home I found a bad slice in a tire and decided to change it and I could barely get it off. It took me days to get the new tire on. No adreneline, I guess, sitting in the garage. Some have suggested that Vittorias are easier; others suggest the use of the tire iron, even if it risks damaging the tube. One thing that helped on the road was removing my gloves for a better grip on that wretched tire.

When my Zondas were brand-new, I had also bought 3 new Vred Fortezzas. They were somewhat of a beotch to get two of them mounted, then I took one off and wanted to mount the third one just to make sure it was good. No way. No matter what I did, it wouldn't go, and I broke one of my fave tire irons and 2 Park's trying. I sent that tire back as it was probably a "bad" one.

But I've heard somewhere that many of Campy's rims are a tad oversized, not sure why that is.

What tire are you using? I'm riding Eurus with Michelin Axail Pro Lights, the older version which I still have about 1 years supply left. They are difficult to put on when new although once they been on and ridden, they stretch enough that it's not really a problem. Same goes for the Veloflex Pave on my other wheelset. What seem to help is I talc the tubes.

I have had my new ride now for about 4 or 5 months now and there is something seriously wrong here. On the bike I have a set of Campagnolo Proton wheels and every time I try to remove the tire from the rim (due to flats) it's like giving birth. I thought at first it was due to the tires being new but man it is still just as hard to do as when I first bought it.

It has gotten to the point where I would rather call someone to pick me up when I get a flat then take 30 minutes to change it on the road.

Does anyone else have tis problem with Campy wheels or is my luck really that bad?

The better question to ask is does anyone have a solution to this problem?

I'm going to concur with juanmoretime. It is probably your tire choice. I use both Veloflex Pave and Vittoria Rubino Pro on my Eurus and there is really no problem getting them on and off.
I also do not recommend using a wire bead with campy rim. You might as well try to squeeze a chunk of coal into a diamond with your bare hands.
I've also found that three tire levers can help too. Use two about 4-6 inches apart with the third one in the middle and work it back and forth a bit to get it started, then you are one your way. As for putting them back on, try using your tire lever for the last 8 inches, slowly moving it forward while pushing the bead in behind it.

What tire are you using? I'm riding Eurus with Michelin Axail Pro Lights, the older version which I still have about 1 years supply left. They are difficult to put on when new although once they been on and ridden, they stretch enough that it's not really a problem. Same goes for the Veloflex Pave on my other wheelset. What seem to help is I talc the tubes.

You're probably asking Aron what he's using, but just for the record, right now I'm using 25c, all-black, folding Fortezzas (couldn't find any original gumwall versions at a decent price :( ). It could be the Fortezza's being a tad shorter in circumference, but I didn't have much of a problem getting new Campos on my CX rims (WTB Speedmasters), and the Campos have the exact same casing and Kevlar beads as 'tezzas and Tri-Comps, just wider of course.

Part of it is definitely the particular tire you're mounting - some have usually been worse than others. Maybe the Vred's are that way.(?) I used to encounter the same thing when mounting Mich Sprints and some Geax' on MTB wheels, for example. Other MTB tires like Panaracer, IRC, Kenda, & Specialized I never had mounting probs with.

But really though, I read somewhere that certain roadie rims/wheels are just mfg'ed a bit larger for whatever reason. I can't remember now where I saw it, but I'm pretty sure it was referring to Campy wheels/rims, and/or other wheels/rims that are mfg'ed by the same maker's of Campy's rims. (Caveat: I don't know if Campy does mfg their own rims, or outsources them)

At any rate, I'm in no hurry to change rubber, tubes, or rim strips on these wheels, I can tell ya that!

Mounting Continental GP 4 Seasons on the Eurus rim is a little more difficult than other rims. I haven't tried any other tire on these wheels yet.

A common theme seems to be "Michelin" in many of the above posts, which matches my experiences as well. I did some work the other night pulling off old tires and swapping new ones and replacing a pinched tube (came that way from the factory on a new wheelset for my training bike-- grrr!). All the Continentals, including a cheaper Gatorskin wire-bead came off and mounted up easy. The only "hard" tire- the Pro Race of course, which matches my past experience with them. In fact, I have gave up on the brand for just this reason (along with the too high rate of sidewall cuts and flats). My training bike's OEM wheelset came with Pro Races, so I got to enjoy thumb-wrestling French style again. As a plus, they were mounted on some sweet American Classic 350's, so I had that going for me.

;)