Cycling · Head-to-head
Pedro's Tire Levers vs SILCA Tire Levers Premio
Which should you buy? Our verdict on both, pulled from our full The Best Bike Tire Levers: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) comparison.
Pedro's are the pair to own: thick, blunt-nosed, hard to break and cheap enough to keep a set in every bag. The SILCA Premio is the upgrade for carbon rims, where a nylon rim shield on a forged alloy body does what plastic cannot and the instructions tell you where the limits are.
Pedro's Tire Levers
Buy itThe thick yellow lever that has survived a generation of tight tires.
- Molded box construction rather than a solid blade, which is what stops a plastic lever folding under load.
- The chisel tip is shaped to slide under a bead, and the deliberately thick body resists twisting out from under the tire.
- Sold as a pair and cheap enough to keep a set in every bag rather than moving one set around.
- Pedro's publishes no weight, no length and no specific material beyond a proprietary plastic blend.
- There is no carbon rim guidance on the product page, which matters on a lever this stiff.
- No secondary function, so it is a lever and nothing else.
SILCA Tire Levers Premio
Buy itA forged alloy lever with a nylon rim shield, built for carbon rims and sold with real instructions.
- Forged alloy construction with a reinforced nylon rim shield puts the stiffness in the body and the soft surface where it touches the rim.
- SILCA publishes the numbers: 105 x 25 x 7mm and 36 grams for two levers plus a neoprene sleeve.
- Covered by SILCA's lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, with hard part function covered for seven years.
- SILCA states they should only be used to remove a tire, never to help install one.
- SILCA also says it does not recommend using tire levers at all with latex inner tubes.
- SILCA tells you to check your wheel maker's own guidelines before using any lever on carbon, so carbon safe is conditional.
Side by side
The 8 criteria below are the ones our full comparison judged every product on, narrowed to these two.
| Pedro's Tire Levers Our pick | SILCA Tire Levers Premio | |
|---|---|---|
| Our verdict | Buy | Buy |
| Best for | Almost everyone, as the pair that lives in the saddle bag and the pair on the bench. | Carbon rim owners who want a lever that will not gouge the bead seat, and who will read the instructions. |
| Price tier | $ · budget | $$ · mid-range |
| Published dimensions | Not published | 105 x 25 x 7mm |
| Published weight | Not published | 36g for two levers and sleeve |
| Stated material | Proprietary plastic blend, molded box construction | Forged alloy with reinforced nylon rim shield |
| Carbon rim guidance | Not published | Carbon safe, with stated conditions of use |
| Levers per pack | Two | Two plus a neoprene sleeve |
| Extra functions | None | Integrated spoke-hook wing |
| Maker's use restrictions | None published | Removal only, and not advised with latex tubes |
| Warranty | Not published | Lifetime on defects, seven years on hard part function |
Which one is right for you?
Pick the Pedro's Tire Levers if
almost everyone, as the pair that lives in the saddle bag and the pair on the bench.
Know before buying: pedro's publishes no weight, no length and no specific material beyond a proprietary plastic blend.
Pick the SILCA Tire Levers Premio if
carbon rim owners who want a lever that will not gouge the bead seat, and who will read the instructions.
Know before buying: sILCA states they should only be used to remove a tire, never to help install one.
The bottom line
Our overall pick is the Pedro's Tire Levers - The thick yellow lever that has survived a generation of tight tires. Choose the SILCA Tire Levers Premio instead if carbon rim owners who want a lever that will not gouge the bead seat, and who will read the instructions.
Want the full picture, including the other options we compared and the popular one we'd skip? Read the complete The Best Bike Tire Levers: 4 Compared (and One to Skip).