Rim tape shifts
07-04-18, 02:56 PM
#1
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Rim tape shifts
I just got a flat, and found that the puncture was from a spoke hole. I had installed Zefal rim tape that was the proper size for the wheel well. In other words, it lay flat in the well and butted against both walls of the rim. Yet the tape had shifted over time and had climbed up the walls up to 3 or 4 mm in places. So clearly, I need more learnin’ about installing rim tape! What makes the tape shift, and how can I install it so that it stays where it is supposed to be?
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Keeping Seattle’s bike shops in business since 1978
Keeping Seattle’s bike shops in business since 1978
07-04-18, 03:11 PM
#2
Banned
my Mavic ex 721 rim extrusion, has a channel in it and the rim, tape snaps into that channel... 
fused loop plastic tape ..
I use the hole in velox cotton tape, put my screwdriver through it and the valve stem rim hole ..
then pull the tape around the rim , with a tension like cotton bar tape..
reusing it the adhesive is not as sticky..
....
fused loop plastic tape ..
I use the hole in velox cotton tape, put my screwdriver through it and the valve stem rim hole ..
then pull the tape around the rim , with a tension like cotton bar tape..
reusing it the adhesive is not as sticky..
....
07-04-18, 07:23 PM
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Velox cotton tape had been my go-to solution for any rim strips for years (decades?), but several of the new tire/rim combination that are tight to begin with are next to impossible with Velox. I then tried Vittoria high pressure and Zipp rim strips but I also had issues with them moving out of place, and then one started to fray and actually punctured a tube. I've since switched over to Kapton tape and haven't had an issue since. I usually use 2 wraps per rim, and get about 7 rims out of a roll of tape.
07-04-18, 08:08 PM
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Even though it was centered properly when applied, a tight bead could cause mounting the tire to move the tape. I switched to Kapton tape as well, mainly because the 35mm Compass tires I mounted were so tight using Velox tape that I didn't think I could fix a flat at the side of the road. The Kapton tape did make a difference for me.
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07-04-18, 08:09 PM
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Velox cotton tape had been my go-to solution for any rim strips for years (decades?), but several of the new tire/rim combination that are tight to begin with are next to impossible with Velox. I then tried Vittoria high pressure and Zipp rim strips but I also had issues with them moving out of place, and then one started to fray and actually punctured a tube. I've since switched over to Kapton tape and haven't had an issue since. I usually use 2 wraps per rim, and get about 7 rims out of a roll of tape.
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07-04-18, 08:10 PM
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07-05-18, 08:24 AM
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Even though it was centered properly when applied, a tight bead could cause mounting the tire to move the tape. I switched to Kapton tape as well, mainly because the 35mm Compass tires I mounted were so tight using Velox tape that I didn't think I could fix a flat at the side of the road. The Kapton tape did make a difference for me.
07-05-18, 09:51 AM
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Even though it was centered properly when applied, a tight bead could cause mounting the tire to move the tape. I switched to Kapton tape as well, mainly because the 35mm Compass tires I mounted were so tight using Velox tape that I didn't think I could fix a flat at the side of the road. The Kapton tape did make a difference for me.
(FWIW the tires were Swift 27x1-3/8 Sand Canyon. Nice tires, similar to Paselas for 700c rims.)
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Keeping Seattle’s bike shops in business since 1978
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Last edited by Aubergine; 07-05-18 at 09:55 AM.
07-05-18, 10:44 AM
#9
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try applying some rubber cement on the rim well , and let it dry,
so giving the tape something to stick to.. rather than slick metal..
talc it a bit , like is done to tires and tubes..
..
so giving the tape something to stick to.. rather than slick metal..
talc it a bit , like is done to tires and tubes..
..
07-05-18, 03:00 PM
#10
Calamari Marionette Ph.D
It depends on the rim. I have Compass tires on two of my bikes, with two different rims, velox tape, and my installs were tool free.
07-05-18, 03:32 PM
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07-05-18, 03:42 PM
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Hair dryer or heat gun applied equally to the tape and rim makes the glue on the tape stick.
07-05-18, 04:04 PM
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you have my sympathies
07-06-18, 08:04 AM
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I know that they say to let the old rim tape, like Velox run up to the bottom of the bead seat, but I go much narrower and don't even let it get out of the spoke channel. I always figured if I cover the spoke nipples by a milimeter or two that's all I need.
It has been hard to find the narrow Velox at the retailers both online and local I use, so last time I found some narrow Zefal locally and it's been great so far. Hope it last the 20 plus years the Velox did for me.
When that 20 year old Velox failed, it too was pushed out of the spoke channel uncovering a couple spoke nipples. I've wondered if it was due to a brief period I had of wanting the bike to look really nice and cleaning it. I suspect the cleaners or solvents I may have cleaned the spokes and wheels with seeped down the spoke holes and loosened the tapes adhesive.
It has been hard to find the narrow Velox at the retailers both online and local I use, so last time I found some narrow Zefal locally and it's been great so far. Hope it last the 20 plus years the Velox did for me.
When that 20 year old Velox failed, it too was pushed out of the spoke channel uncovering a couple spoke nipples. I've wondered if it was due to a brief period I had of wanting the bike to look really nice and cleaning it. I suspect the cleaners or solvents I may have cleaned the spokes and wheels with seeped down the spoke holes and loosened the tapes adhesive.
07-06-18, 10:05 AM
#15
Banned
many mysteries , unseen, under an installed tire, your guess is more local than one coming in over the internet..
had to cure a mystery on my rear Brompton wheel ,
it uses a fused loop plastic tape , on a single wall rim.
removed the tape , created one from a rubber rim tape,
shortened, joined at stem hole with duct tape.
put the plastic loop tape over it ,
and it has been fine.. since then..
spoke head may have been the issue..
..
had to cure a mystery on my rear Brompton wheel ,
it uses a fused loop plastic tape , on a single wall rim.
removed the tape , created one from a rubber rim tape,
shortened, joined at stem hole with duct tape.
put the plastic loop tape over it ,
and it has been fine.. since then..
spoke head may have been the issue..
..
