Pedro’s Tire Levers Review

Pedro’s tire levers have been available to cyclists since 1989, and remain a favorite to this day. I’ll walk you through their details, along with my firsthand experience, to help you decide if they’re right for you.

About Pedro’s Bike Tire Levers

Pedro’s tire levers are molded from a refined composite plastic formula that resists breakage and bending, with a chisel tip at one end and a thicker overall shape that makes it easy to insert beneath the bead and also prevents slipping.

When you’re done, they’re shaped so that each pair snaps together for easy storage. In fact, the company advertises it’s this bold shape that makes it “one of the strongest levers available” and capable of “remove the tightest of tires.”

Combining these benefits with their $5 per-pair price tag and lifetime warranty, Pedro’s might seem like a no-brainer if you’re in the market for a pair of bike levers. But, is there anything about this brand that will deliver equal—or even better—value than competing tire levers?

By combining my firsthand experience with third-party details and insight into the competition, I’ll help you find some answers.

Let’s kick things off by taking a closer look at the tire levers’ functionality.

How Do Pedro’s Tire Levers Work?

Available in bright yellow, pink, orange, and green colors for easy spotting on the trail or in the shop, Pedro’s tire levers feature dual spoke hooks at one end, which the company advertises “make removal of even the tightest tires a simple task.”

To use them, simply deflate your tire and inner tube (if applicable), unseat the bead by hand, and then insert the chisel tip of Pedro’s lever underneath the bead and push down to lift the bead upward. From there, slide forward along your rim to remove the remainder of the bead, and repeat the process on the opposite side.

Where to the hooks come into play? If sliding along your rim isn’t successful, you can push the lever’s opposite end all the way to your wheel and slide a spoke into the slot, which locks it into place with the bead still raised.

Then, you can insert a second lever a few inches farther down your rim to fully unseat the bead.

Pro tip: If you still experience difficulty, the Removal Guide on Pedro’s website recommends applying their super-slippery Bike Lust frame polish to the inner rim surfaces using a rag. You can even spray or pour it directly only your bead if you encounter a tire that’s especially stuck.

Combined with the right technique, Pedro’s says their bombproof levers will be the last ones you buy. And if you do happen to break them, they’re backed by a lifetime warranty against breakage, malfunction, or defect, so the company will repair or replace them at their discretion. Simply call 800-346-0004 to start the process.

My Experience Using Pedro’s Tire Levers

I’m not sure exactly how many times I’ve pried a tire’s beads, slid along rims, or locked my Pedro’s levers onto spokes over the years, but it’s a lot. Like, a whole lot.

Because changing tires is dirty work, they’ve become stained with chain grease and other debris. And with on their soft, proprietary plastic, they’ve endured countless scratches, scuffs, and tiny notches.

However, despite all of the use to which they’ve been subjected, there’s no noticeable degradation. They’re perfectly functional.

From a functionality perspective, I’ve found my Pedro’s levers are easy to maneuver and work with, even when wet (sweating, raining, etc.), feature a good hand feel, and the spoke holes snap easily and firmly into place.

When finished, they stow away discreetly, whether in my Topeak Aero Wedge pack or Camelbak Skyline LR 10.

Finally, Pedro’s levers are inexpensive and available at most bike shops, so I’ve found they’re quick and easy to pick up if I need an extra pair, even if I’m traveling and far away from my usual LBS.

How Do Pedro’s Compare to Other Bike Tire Levers?

You might think that a bike tire lever is just that—there’s little-to-no difference between designs and materials. However, a quick online search will reveal this isn’t the case. How do they stack up?

Here are some of Pedro’s closest competitors on Amazon, along with how their core criteria compare:

The bottom line is that buying a set of tire levers is probably one of the least complicated bike-related purchases you’ll encounter. Still, there are some differences between models that could be meaningful, depending on which factors you place the most emphasis.

For example, price-wise, Pedro’s and Park Tool’s levers are the least expensive in the table above, whereas Dr. Roc’s and SILCA are the highest priced by a wide margin.

However, SILCA is also optimized for carbon rims, which are even more expensive to replace if you damage them when changing a tire, and they also come from a company with an ultra-premium reputation. And Dr. Roc’s is the only spoon-shaped option in the table above.

Along these same lines, although Pedro’s features a proprietary polymer blend, Gorilla Force levers are the only models offered in a self-lubricating plastic.

On the other hand, SILCA and Pedro’s levers only include two per set, whereas Park Tool, Schwalbe, Diamondback, and Gorilla Force levers come with three. Although these come with higher prices overall, this could decrease their cost-per-lever below Pedro’s.

Let’s pull all of these details together and wrap up.

Bottom Line: Should You Buy a Pair of Pedro’s Tire Levers?

Considering that Pedro’s has been in business since 1989 and their levers come with an almost wholly positive online reputation among cyclists (as evidenced by their ratings), along with a low price, quality construction, and my stellar firsthand experience, I’d say you can’t go wrong with them.

However, if you have high-end carbon rims, you might want to go with a similarly high-end option like SILCA. Or, if you have a habit of breaking levers, models with steel cores could deliver the added beefiness you need.

Just keep in mind that you could alter your budget and/or increase your carrying weight as a result—if these are important factors to you.

>> Keep rolling: Park Tool PCS-10 Review