Interesting article, well done. As you note, whether it's worthwhile depends on where you are.
First of all, I do nearly all maintenance on my bike myself, I think it adds a whole dimension to bike ownership. That said, swapping tyres is the only thing I gladly leave to the pro's.
Over here we have specialists who will swap and balance tyres for 10 euro per tyre, and they will do it on the spot. My record is 15 minutes for front and rear combined (I hadn't even finished my coffee!).
Your rims do have quite a few nicks and scratches on them.
I think you are probably more likely to get those when changing the tyres yourself. The pro tyre-lifters don't put as much pressure on the rims, instead they compress the tyre so it comes off by itself without having to pry.
My 2 cents.
First of all, I do nearly all maintenance on my bike myself, I think it adds a whole dimension to bike ownership. That said, swapping tyres is the only thing I gladly leave to the pro's.
Over here we have specialists who will swap and balance tyres for 10 euro per tyre, and they will do it on the spot. My record is 15 minutes for front and rear combined (I hadn't even finished my coffee!).
Your rims do have quite a few nicks and scratches on them.
I think you are probably more likely to get those when changing the tyres yourself. The pro tyre-lifters don't put as much pressure on the rims, instead they compress the tyre so it comes off by itself without having to pry.
My 2 cents.