Bike tire lever - easy to print

thingiverse

I needed a tool to change a bicycle tire that would hold up under stress. The emac design looks great but is difficult to print because of its complex shape, requiring supports no matter which way you orient the model on the printer bed. To make the most of the layer strength, I wanted to print it sideways. First, I extruded the profile of the shape in OpenSCAD and added holes at the end of the handle for easier assembly. Typically, these levers are printed in pairs so that one can be used while working with the other to secure the tire to the wheel spokes. I chose to print mine using PLA, a material many people would advise against for this type of tool due to its supposed lack of strength, but I've been impressed by its durability in my past projects. It's likely that this will push the limits of PLA's plastic properties, so we'll see how it performs in real-world use. UPDATE [2017-09-08]: Further testing revealed that PLA is surprisingly strong and capable of handling this task without issue. Using a stronger material would be unnecessary overkill. As an added note, I also printed gaarden's tire lever from Thingiverse (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:12362), but prefer my own design due to its larger size and better grip on the tire. Both levers work well, so it ultimately comes down to personal preference.