Working at ENVE Composites, Johnny Hintze knows a thing or two about wheels and cycling in general. On the side, he started Snēk Cycling as an outlet for his ideas about products currently missing from the market. With the recent growth in tubeless tires, he discovered a need in the market for a tool that can safely remove a tubeless tire from the wheelset without damaging it and one that can help you fix flats on the fly.
With tubeless systems, the quickest way to fix and prevent a flat is to install tire sealant. The easiest way to do that is through the valve stem, but valve cores need to be removed in order to do so. Most of the time when you are out on the bike, you don’t have a valve core remover with you — just a traditional tire lever, which is a bit useless in the situation.
Enter the Lifeboat Tire Lever — an all in one tool that can not only help you change a tire, but can also remove a valve core and open that bottle of beer you enjoy at the end of your ride.
The tire lever is composed of a plastic outer and reinforced with a metal interior. This ensures it will both last long but never damage your rim. Built into the tire lever are two valve holes so you can easily remove the core to add sealant to any tubeless system. Located at opposite ends, the holes are oriented 90 degrees of each other for when wheel spokes hinder full rotation.
Finally, the opposite end to the tire lever scoop is an old fashioned bottle opener. No more opening beers with your dirty bike pedals.
Snek is running a Kickstarter campaign to take pre-orders on the Lifeboat Tire Lever. You can get a set for $20 or a single lever for $10. Expected delivery is in October. Snek says lever is designed to be unbreakable and is guaranteed for life. If the lever ever does break, they will happily replace it.