“Tyre levers are history,” proclaims the British team behind the Smart Lever, a tyre lever that looks like a cross between a kitchen implement and a Transformer.
The idea is to use technology in place of muscle strength to make it easier to remove and fit tyres.
With the Smart Lever priced at £22.50 / $29.50 / €26.50 and the optional Bead Lever adding £12.50 / $16.50 / €14.95, it's expensive compared to a traditional tyre lever.
However, there are an awful lot more parts and increased functionality, and it’s made in the UK.
The Smart Lever is the main component and you have the option of adding the Bead Lever, which is designed to help break the tyre bead away from the rim.
There's a chunky, high-quality feel to the construction, with the polished metal parts feeling sturdy without being heavy, and the plastic pieces are tactile and well-formed.
It’s not the most ergonomic tool to use, however.
Tyre Lever and Bead Lever performance
The Smart Lever certainly takes some getting used to, because there are so many more swivelling, pivoting and clamping gadgets compared to the simple plastic blades most cyclists will be used to.
However, this tool is cleverly designed, offering a number of mechanical advantages.
Tyre removal
Tyre removal is a similar process to a traditional plastic tyre lever; push the paddle-shaped piece beneath the bead, and lever the tyre up and over the rim.
The clever part is that the metal handle can rotate 90 degrees to help with sliding the tyre bead around the rim and off.
The hinge on the Smart Lever’s spooned side (used for removal) is functional, enabling you to lever the tyre more easily over the edge of the rim than with a traditional tyre lever. It amazed me how much difference the addition of a simple pivot in the right place made to tyre removal.
Tyre fitting
Fitting is where the Smart Lever sets itself apart from traditional tyre levers; slide the flat horn-shaped piece under the tyre bead, then hook the nifty roller onto the tyre bead.
This should enable the easy fitting of even the tightest road bike tyres. It also leaves you with more processing power and space to check your inner tube is sat snugly inside the tyre and not pinched.
Even tight, tubeless mountain bike tyres were dispatched quickly.
Our experiments revealed that the slippery plastic compound the Smart Lever’s contact points are made from slides easily over the rim, which eases fitting and removal. Even though the main body is made of metal, it should be safe for use on carbon fibre rims without damage thanks to these plastic sliders.
There’s even a Presta valve-core remover built into the stainless steel body of the Bead Lever.
Breaking bead
You can also purchase the additional Bead Lever, which bolts on to the Smart Lever. It’s designed as a clever bead breaker to help pop tyres off the bead bed and into the well of the rim, ready for removal.
You simply bolt the Bead Lever onto the Smart Lever so that the spooned portion lines up with the plastic end of the Bead Lever.
To use it, loosen the clamp in the centre of the Smart Lever and pop the plastic claws over the tyre. Then tighten down the clamp and use the Bead Lever to pull the tyre and rim beads apart.
Unfortunately, in use, the Bead Lever didn’t appear to want to grip the tyre to pull it away from the rim. The lever would just slide across the sidewall without getting proper purchase.
Even tightening the wingnut up to the point of leaving imprints in my skin didn’t yield any effect on breaking the bead.
The inventor of the Smart Lever and Bead Lever, Mark Searles, got in touch with us to say: "We now include a socket screw and Allen key with Bead Lever (in addition to the wing screw) as these have proved surprisingly quick and easy to use and make fully tightening the clamp much easier for some customers."
Once you get used to how each of the tools unpacks and deploys, they are straightforward to use, but it will take a bit of study. There are some informative YouTube videos and written instructions with photos from multiple angles to help you reach this point.
Smart Lever and Bead Lever bottom line
It looks nothing like a traditional tyre lever, but the Smart Lever offers genuine performance benefits for removing and fitting tyres.
It's a clever gadget that harnesses a great design to make an otherwise frustrating job as quick and easy as possible.
However, it's an expensive alternative to tyre levers and the Bead Lever isn't without its issues.
Product
| Price | A$28.00, €14.95, £22.50, $16.50 |
