Mobile tyre fitting companies around london/southeast

[halfabusa]

Anyone know of any mobile tyre fitting companies which would come up to your house and change your bike tyres around London / South East area?

[halfabusa]

found these guys: http://www.rubber-ranch.co.uk/index.html

Anyone had experience with them?

[halfabusa]

well... i did some shopping around...

This mobile fitting guy sounded decent over the phone. He can come to my house and fit bridgestone hoops for £214 front/rear but he also mentioned he can do continentals for £185 the pair.

Other alternatives are:

local suzuki dealer Aye Gee quotes me £230 for the pair of bridgestones (ouch!) but they close early during weekdays, so won't be done till weekend.

chasbikes in central london quoted £142 for the bridgestones pair but then i can't ride it all the way there. They can however come pick the bike up, get it to their shop and fit for £190 in total.

However, that woudl mean i'd need to pick the bike up from them, which is another tube journey + walking with all my bike kit.

I'm leaning towards the home fitting guy and continentals.

Anyone has experience with continental tyres? Are they any good?

[poldark]

Although I used some Contis on my old Burger 400 I didn't keep it very long after that, sure I've seen reference to possible shorter lifespan. Perhaps paying a little extra for the Bridgestone would be worthwhile.

I take it you cant get Michelin Pilot Sports, these were great on the B650?

[halfabusa]

I was told that these are unusual sizes (120/70-14 and 150/70-14) so i only were given the bridgestone and continental brands as options. I think i'll stick with what i know best and get the bridgestones. Thanks for your input, i was suspecting the same (life span of contis) so i think a bit extra premium is beneficial in the long term.

[halfabusa]

I decided to go with this mobile fitter. He sounds very professional on the phone and on his website says he's been in the business since 1998. The biggest plus is that he'll come to my doorstep and do it there so i won't have to drag the poor bike on flat tyre anywhere else.

I'll get bridgestones from him, which will cost £214 fitted, which is still cheaper than aye gee (booo) but somewhat more than getting it done at chasbikes. However, it's the most convenient way for me.

He also agreed to jiggle his schedule a bit and do it tomorrow although initially he was full tomorrow.

I'll report back once it's done to review his service.

[slipperyeel]

Hi Halfabusa

It might sound hard work but you could buy and fit them yourself... You'll need tyre levers, rim protectors and a way of balancing after fitting (ok, 60-70 quid for the jig to do this). True, it also means a little investment now but you'll have the kit forever after...

Just a thought!

[halfabusa]

Hi Slipperyeel, that would be unnecessary as there are many places that would swap the tyres on the rims for a few quid, and unless i need a tyre change done every 6 months or so i don't see any reason to invest in any equipment.

To be honest, if the rear tyre wasn't so badly damaged and held some air, i would have gone to the central london guys to get the both changed and i think £142 for both fitted is very reasonable for a couple of bridgestones.

[mr2tastypieces]

The last few times I've needed tyres I've ordered them online then taken them to a local car place to have them fitted. I got a
150/70-14 Michelin City Grip rear from Oponeo.co.uk for around £50 delivered a couple of months ago and paid the tyre guy a tenner to fit. The only drawback is that car tyre machines aren't suitable for balancing scooter wheels but I've not noticed any ill effects. It's the second time I've done that with the Tmax and I did it twice with my Burgman 400, though it's only been rear tyres, an unbalanced front is probably a different story.

[halfabusa]

nice site! i could try that in the future if i need to change tyres, obviously i'd need to be able to ride the bike to the changing place first so wouldn't work with a flat tyre situation like now.

Looking there, the prices for my sizes seem to be (for bridgestone) 58 front and 72 rear, totalling 130. So the quote from chasbikes of 142 inc fitting was very competitive indeed!