Sciguy 

Hello all

I'm getting ready to make my first trial into the world of tubeless biking with my set of "tubeless ready" DT Swiss PR1600 Spline wheels. I've the wheels with latex tubes for the past couple of years but have a gravel grinder event coming up that's famous for snake bite pinching and feel that now might be the time to go tubeless. In watching several Youtube videos I've received the impression that the hole makes in the tape rim strip ought to be very tight fitting for the valve stem. The hole that the wheels came with is anything but tight fitting to the stem DT provides. So I'm wondering it it might be prudent to add some tape over the stem whole and puncture that. What say you experienced tubeless folks? Thanks for any informed replies! Hugh

Koyote

The photo doesn't give me a clear view of the problem; are you saying that there is a gap between the rim and the tape at the hole? If so, consider that, when you tighten down the nut on the valve stem, everything will tighten up. In other words, I suggest that you give it a try as-is and see if it works.

himespau 

You do have the nut for the valve stem still, right?

Sciguy 

Yes I do. It includes an o-ring as well.

Sciguy 

The tape at the hole matches the rim hole exactly which is a fair amount larger in diameter than the stem. I agree that when the stem is tightened up there will likely be a decent tight fit but have been influenced by watching several videos that make a big deal about having a tight fit between rim tape hole and stem.

Thanks for the reply,

Hugh

tempocyclist

That looks perfectly fine to me. I would whack that valve in and get cracking.

If you are concerned it's not enough seal, you could always pop a short strip of electrical tape across the valve hole, then punch the valve through that.

Koyote

I used to slice open a little hole, but read somewhere that that can lead to more ripping and hence air leakage. Now I heat up the end of a #2 Phillips screwdriver (with one of those long lighter/wand things) and then melt a hole through the tape.

unterhausen

Stan's valves have a conical seal and would probably fill the hole a lot better than the valve in your picture. Adding tape might make some tires too tight

staehpj1

Looks fine. I'd go with what you have as is especially if that is what DT Swiss provided.

veloz

Looks normal. Finger tighten the nut with no tools.You might need to remove it sometime on the road to insert a tube. TL tires and rims are dependable and it’s unlikely you’ll have any issues.

Canker

The trick if it does leak is to hold the wheel so the valve is at 6 o'clock and bounce it off the ground a bunch to splash sealant onto the valve.

masi61

You say you ran latex tubes for about 2 years. From the photo, it appears that the tape is covering the interior of the rim pretty well. Is there 1 or 2 layers of tape on there now? If it were me, I would probably get rid of the current tape & start with 2 layers of the correct width of DT Swiss tubeless tape. It is very important to force out all air bubbles in the tape by using your finger or a nylon tire lever on the first tape layer & repeat the same very thorough tape application for the second layer.

if there is a void in the tape anywhere other than the valve you might find that the tire leaks a fair amount on the first try. Also, on first try if air is rushing out around the tubeless valve, don’t automatically conclude that the valve is the original source of the leak. Air can leak past the tape & in through a poorly taped spoke hole in the rim extrusion. The air has to exit somewhere out of the rim extrusion - the valve is one spot where lots of air can escape.

chaadster

Absent any damage, the system is designed to work as-is. Try it and see if it does. If it doesn’t, futz with it then.

mstateglfr 

Oh huh. Well that's something I haven't thought of. I've thought about how when I slice a little X in the **** that maybe it could expand eventually, but hadn't thought about how else to do it.
Admittedly I slice the X like a couple times a year so it isn't exactly top of mind.

The small screw driver heated up is an interesting play.

Koyote

Not my idea - I picked it up somewhere on the 'net. But it does give a nice clean hole.

unterhausen

The lbs uses a portable soldering iron. I might repurpose one of my unused soldering irons for this purpose.

It sure looks to me like the inner hole is bigger than normal and will probably seal better with a stan's style valve. Looks like the hole was rather clumsily enlarged. I could be wrong though. And valve stems are expensive.

Koyote

I hope that was an attempt at humor. Fifteen bucks for a pair makes 'em one of the cheapest bits on a bike.

I like the soldering iron idea. Better than holding a lighter under a screwdriver.