Review: Atlas TC411 Tire Changer

[StuartV666]

Greetings all,

Since I stopped by, I figured I'd try posting something useful for a change.

I just got a tire changing machine and a bike lift and I thought I'd share the info on them.

I got them both from http://www.GregSmithEquipment.com.

I got the Atlas TC411 tire changer. 2 friends and I actually split it. It was $1277, with shipping, including the motorcycle adapters. I've used it to change 6 tires so far, including 3 with tubes, and it kicks butt! Definitely money well spent. The way it works, no metal ever touches the rim. Just the 4 clamping jaws, which have plastic covers on them. It requires 110V electricity and compressed air. The turntable part is electric, and the clamping jaws and bead breaker are pneumatic. It came complete with everything needed to change a tire except for actual tire lube (RUGlyde from Napa is good). It even came with one tire iron and a tub and brush for the tire lube. I uncrated it, put it together, plugged it into electricity and air, and it was ready to go. It took about an hour from getting the crate off the trailer to being ready to change a tire.

The motorcycle adapters aren't even needed, if you're changing sportbike tires. I only got them so I could use the machine to change my dirtbike front tire. Without the adapters, the machine will do up to a 20" rim, but my dirtbike front is 21". With the adapters, you can do up to a 23" rim. If you don't need the adapters, you can knock about $150 off the price of the changer.

I had been looking for a Coats 220 manual tire changer for a long time, but the cheapest I could find a new one for was something like $860 w/shipping. I think the extra $400 is well worth it.

I also looked at the No-mar. I even talked to somebody who sorta has one. He actually has the Coats 220 with the No-mar adapter. He dipped his Coats demount bar end in Plasti-kote and uses that. The No-mar demount bar looks like it would be really funky to use and the guy I know that has one confirmed that. And the No-mar stand looks flimsy compared to the Coats. For a manual changer, the 220 with the No-mar adapter looks like the ultimate. But by the time you buy all that, you could have bought the Atlas.

And, unlike the Coats or the No-mar, the Atlas is heavy enough that you don't even need to bolt it down. You never put any torque on the Atlas - it does it itself, so even if it was as light as the others, you probably still wouldn't need to bolt it down. OTOH, the Coats and No-mar, being manual, mean you have to torque on the demount bar against the vertical bar above the hub, so they have to be secured to something or they'll turn over.

The only other alternative that was comparably priced was a similar machine from HarborFreight. It is made by Central Machinery and is the same price as the Atlas. But, the CM one needs 220V current, and it does not have plastic protectors for the clamping jaws. I also don't think it can do rims bigger than 20". Plus, HF didn't seem to know much about them when I called, so I did not have much confidence in being able to get parts easily, if it ever broke. OTOH, Greg Smith (I talked to the man, himself) knows the Atlas well, and keeps parts for it in stock.

Anyway, if you're like me and tired of paying local guys $50 - $70 to change a set of tires, when you bring them the wheels already off the bike, and you are not all about showing what a stud you are with a set of spoons, then you might want to get some guys to go in on it and think about one of these.

We're charging our friends $10/wheel to mount and balance for them, and we've already got a decent chunk in the kitty towards paying ourselves back for buying it.

Oh, and I also got the Pro-cycle lift (an additional $640, including shipping), and it is SO much nicer to work on my bike now than just having the bike on a set of stands. No more laying on the floor to change the oil! I pulled my wheels and changed my tires and the only time I ever even had to bend over was to operate the bead breaker. Sweet!

[Jeff]

I dunno...  I don't have a no-mar, but I've used one and they're pretty effective.  Just as easy as a coats style clamp.

The weight thing, yeah, you'd have to bolt it down or use a base, but in a trailer, 75# is a hell of a lot better than 300#.

[wolf44]

I actually just used a nomar for the first time last weekend.  Changed 4 tires with it.  After the first one and getting used to the bar, the no mar is a snap.  They've also just come out with an adapter to go from a 2" trailer hitch an then it attaches to the no mar.  that way you can change tires at the track with no electricity(well as long as someone else has air there).  And let me tell you too, the no mar is not flimsy.  Steve builds a very quality product and it is not flimsy.