masi61

So yesterday I championed on through a pop up thunderstorm with such heavy rainfall that the roads had significant (temporary) flooding that I had to ride through.

My rims are Mavic Open Pro and I previously experienced this where the water flows right in through the spoke ferrules and gets into the rim extrusion interior a bit. I dismounted the tire and I’ve got the wheel mounted in my Park truing stand while I contemplate my next move.

The cotton canvas Velox rim tape is definitely soaked. Would it be sufficient to just let the Velox air dry then remount the tire - or - should I remove the Velox in order to better dry out the rim internals?

I think I know my answer (remove the Velox to air dry the rim better and thus avoid more serious corrosion issues down the line). I’m just curious what others do here.

BTW: I have moved away from Velox rim tape on my other bike, using the thinner, slicker tubeless type rim tape (1 or 2 layers). It seems to give a bit more interior volume to allow latex inner tubes to possibly be more cushiony (might be my imagination though). The tubeless rim tape also seems to allow tighter fitting tires such as Challenge Criterium open tubulars to be more easily mounted.

Iride01 

Aluminum rims, brass nipples, Stainless steel spokes, fairly clean and uncontaminated water, I don't worry about it. Even with my old steel rims I never worried about it. Just brushed the corrosion off when I got the next flat and was on my way. If you feel compelled to check on it, that's okay, but for most of my riding, I'd rather flat than take the time. If this was several rides before a big important ride then maybe check it.

If you've been cleaning your rims and spokes with certain cleaners or maybe certain petroleum products, they may get down into the rim and loosen the adhesive on the spoke tape and after that water from rain and flooded roads likely continues the process of fully loosening it so it slips and exposes the tube to the spokes or spoke holes.

Happened to me once. although I can't be for certain, But the adhesive on my rim tape let go in several spots. And I thought it looked as if it started letting loose around the spokes first in the areas where it came off. So the fairly aggressive crud, grease cutting and supposedly environmental friendly soap I'd used to clean the grime from the spokes and rim were suspect.

Crankycrank

Been using the exact same rim and tape for decades. It's fine, no need to worry about drying the tape. Velox is actually more breathable than any other non-cotton tape. Most any decent quality rim and wheel build will be fine in the wet and needs no special care although your velox tape won't stay nice and white forever.

ctak

Velox is good stuff. Leaving the tire/tube installed post ride (assuming the bike is stored in a dry place) may actually help avoid tape shrinkage. On another note, I'm using tubeless compatible Hunt wheels (with tubes) on one of my road bikes and the layered stock plastic rim tape led to interior mold growth due to its lack of breathability. Switched to Velox and the problem went away. I'm in Seattle so it gets pretty wet here...

pdlamb

That's a lot of trouble. As noted, you shouldn't have any problems with brass nipple, stainless spokes, and aluminum rim. If you're worried, go find a 2-3 mile downhill and ride your brakes as you go down. It's fun to listen to the steam escape through the spoke holes.

It might be worth applying a bit of oil to the nipples. Not even a drop of oil per spoke; use a toothpick and get three-four spokes with a single drop of oil.

sch

As per pdlamb: real problem is residual water in the rim that can't escape through any openings, unless you leave it out in
the sun with spoke holes uncovered for several days. I like pd's suggestion of heating the rim on a long downhill, though
where you would find such in Ohio....

79pmooney

I've paid zero attention to the Velox wet or dry issues on my bikes - ever. I've ridden many wheels through puddles far deeper than the rims. In fact nearly to the bottom bracket. Get home, maybe rinse the bike, hang it on its hook and forget about it. That tape hasn't bitten me yet. Adhesive doesn't seem to care. Maybe I won't be able to pull it off and use it on the next rim in a few years. Oh well.

The worst thing that will happen if you do nothing is that it will keep you up at night. But that's only if you let it.