Dave, thanks for the tip about over-inflating the bike tube - I didn't try that before, only had it fairly soft. I can see that, together with lubrication, it might make it go a lot better. About having a piece of string or tape around the tube to help extract it, doesn't that enable air to leak out past the string? Also a question about using water: aren't you likely to get water inside the tyre if you use it to test before the bead has seated (bubbling stopped), and isn't that undesirable (especially with steel rims)?
Andrew

