Tubeless rim tape width
#1
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Tubeless rim tape width
Trying to figure out what the best rim tape size would be.
My rims are 21mm internal width and 25mm external.
Thanks,
Bob
My rims are 21mm internal width and 25mm external.
Thanks,
Bob
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Tubeless tape should span the whole width from sidewall to sidewall on the inside. Does your 21mm mean between the beads or the sidewalls?
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21 mm bead to bead might require 23 or even 24mm to account for the curvature of the well.
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#4
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21 is bead to bead.
So the tape should go bead to bead? No gap or 1mm- gap on each side?
I suspect I could take some painters tape to get the width including the curvature or valley in the rim the pull it off to measure the true distance of surface.
So the tape should go bead to bead? No gap or 1mm- gap on each side?
I suspect I could take some painters tape to get the width including the curvature or valley in the rim the pull it off to measure the true distance of surface.
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Adding a millimeter per side -- perhaps a smidge more -- seems like a good rule of thumb. Pacenti recommended 21mm tape for my SL23 and Brevet rims, both with a bead-to-bead width of about 19mm.
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Something like 2-5 mm wider for the tape than the internal width of the rim, depending on the rim. Example (and this is obviously a very wide rim example): For WTB i45 (45mm internal width) rims, WTB recommends their 50mm tape. The extra 5mm of tape width is used for the contour of the rim channel.
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Does everyone do it this way?
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The tight fit of the tires is a feature, not a bug.
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Last edited by ThermionicScott; 07-04-21 at 04:32 PM.
#10
occasional marmot
Yes. It is best for the bead of the tire to compress the tape against the rim. That will create the best seal.
Fwiw I've found that cheap 1" Gorilla Tape from the hardware store to be an excellent width for 19-21mm internal width rims.
Fwiw I've found that cheap 1" Gorilla Tape from the hardware store to be an excellent width for 19-21mm internal width rims.
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The wheels came with I think Stans rim tape, which I tore every time I tried to seat it into the spoke channel. Went to gorilla tape, which like you note was a perfect bead to bead width and super easy for a noob to work with. This spring I pulled the gorilla tape and went with a tape cycocommute recommended. The gorilla tape pretty much came off when I pulled the tire. The new tape goes the full width of the channel but is much thinner and a slicker surface than the gorilla tape, so hopefully no more worries about losing seal on the tape with trailside repairs.
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I was wrong.
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