Telkwa

Good morning!

I'm looking at the Trek/Bontrager website that describes their tubeless rim strips. Under "Product details", the #5 detail states: "White strip is recommended for carbon rims".

Does anyone know what physical properties differentiates the white strips from the black strips? Seems to me there must be something significant, otherwise why bother making two versions of the same thing?

I'm asking because a coupla years ago the local Trek shop sold me the white strips. At that time the salesperson didn't mention anything about white vs. black. Recently I gave up on t/l and pulled the strips out, damaging them during removal. Now I'm thinking about maybe giving the rim strips another try. For my own peace of mind, I'd like to understand what differentiates the white carbon strips from the black strips.

jimc101

Look at the specs the sizing specifically, black are for MTB in sizes 26", 27.5/650b and 29er, white are for road 700c, any other differences are pretty much irrelevant as if you are trying to fit say a black one on a road rim, it isn't going to fit to start with

Telkwa

The salesman at the Trek store knew I had a 29" dirt bike, not road. So now I have more questions than answers - did the salesperson screw up? What difference does it make? The rim strips went on my rims and seemed to fit OK to me but it was my first experience with t/l and hard plastic rim strips.

Oh, OK, now I understand what you wrote about the white vs. black at the Trek website. If I click on "White" the 700c sizes come up. Click on "Black" and it's all mtn bike.

This just keeps getting weirder. I found the cardboard packaging from the rim strips. The strips I bought say "700c - 21mm" Rimstrip Bontrager Aeolus XXX Part # W548391. The strips he handed me for my wife's Powerfly say "27.5 - 19mm" TLR Strip Bontrager MTB 27.5" Part # W439432. All 4 strips were white. Since I didn't know WTH I was doing I asked several times if he was sure these were the right ones.

My rims are 622X22 and hers are 584X22. I'm guessing here, but I think the strips shoulda been 29" X 22.5mm for my 622X22 rims and 27.5" X 22.5mm for her 584 X 22mm rims.

biker128pedal

I’d just use rim tape. I’ve removed tape to replace a broken spoke and the reapplied the tape. The only Bontrager plastic strip I removed I tore up in the process. Yes tried to push it up through the valve hole. But the plastic strip does have the advantage of being easier to seat a tubeless ready tire. Two layers of rim tape is not quite enough.

Telkwa

biker128 -
Are you saying you put on 3 layers of rim tape??
I remember months ago a guy on this forum saying that it's better to place two layers when dealing with an asymmetric rim. Not sure what his reasoning was.
I saw a YouTube video yesterday where a gal put on a layer of rim tape, then two strips of electrical tape, side by side. That seemed a bit excessive, and a lot of material filling up the center channel.
The Bontrager rim strips also fill the center channel more than rim tape.
Anyone have any thoughts on the right size Bontrager rim strip? For a 22mm wide rim, should it be the 22.5mm rim strip?

EDIT: I talked with the manager at nearest Trek store, and found a guide on the Trek website. 22.5 rim strip is the right size for DusterElite 22mm wide rim. When I first went t/l over a year ago they sold me the wrong rim strips for my bike, and the wrong rim strips for my wife's 27.5" wheels too.