fury413rb

Hey everyone

Set of old mavic tri bike wheels. When I changed what could have been the original tires there was no rim tape.

I rode about 1k miles on a set of GP4000s and conti tubes with no issues before changing the tubes again just because the valve stem length was super long and annoying. The tube had the bumps that these have but no failures.

Current set according to strava have about 1,300 miles that was installed at a bike shop while I was out of town. I got two flats at boulder 70.3 two or three weeks ago

First one at mile 42 went flat somewhat slowly. Failure on one of the little bumps. The second flat was about at mile 46 after crossing railroad tracks but in the exact same type of area. Same tire.

So, my question is should these have rim tape? I'm guessing this isn't normal but I got decent mileage out of them and the bike shop didnt say anything when the swapped them the second time.

Excuse my dirty fingernails - its been a crappy week at work.

Slash5

I'd say the rim tape is too soft for the pressure/tube you are running. Try a firmer rim tape.

fury413rb

I dont have any on there. That blue stuff feels like hard plastic?

dsbrantjr

You need rim tape. Continental Easy Tape is thinner than the ususal VELOX cloth tape and makes tire mounting easier. It has a high pressure line which claims to be good to 220 psi. I do not run high pressure so use the regular Easy Tape and recommend it.
https://blobs.continental-tires.com/w...ip-en-data.pdf

gsa103

That blue stuff is the old rim tape, you need to replace it.

alcjphil

+1 what else would that blue stuff be?

bradtx

fury413rb, The CXP14 requires rim tape and the blue tape you now have is worn. I bought some Kenda reinforced tape that is working very well. Measure the width of the old tape to buy the correct width.

Brad

PS nice sig

Retro Grouch 

Check the rim strip that's on your wheel now carefully. It's important that it completely covers every tiny little arc of spoke hole. If it doesn't you have 100 psi of air trying to push your thin ribber inner tube against the sharp edge of the spoke hole. Those hard plastic bands can sometimes get pushed to one side just enough to cause that problem.

ltxi

Just had this OEM/blue stuff eating the tube problem when I had a broken spoke replaced and the shop tech didn't replace the rim tape after punching a hole in it. Dumbass move from a normally very good/reliable shop. I use Velox.

texaspandj

Yes you should have rim tape.
I had the same issue with same wheels. CHANGE THE RIM TAPE.
I tried using the original blue green rubber rim tape ,but it gets hard and you dont realize it's rolling over every time you fix a flat, then it leads to more flats. Any regular tape will work, rubber or cloth.

MBurke

I had a issue with two flats this spring. I was getting a small pin hole on the inside of my tubes. The hole was in the same place on the tubes so after inspection I decided to change the rim tape. Took of the cheap factory thin tape and went with

" Velox Rim Strip"

...nice and heavy and wide enough to cover everything. I haven't had any flats since.

stingray66

i really do not get this rim tap thing I have had really good luck with electrical tape hey don't laugh it WORKS
my last bike ran it little over 5000 miles in three years with original tuff liners I never had a flat Wore out a set of tires BUT NO FLATS. I did the same on my two varsities i have now. My 72 varsity as of today has 875 miles on it since May electrical tape and tuffy liners and have had NO flats. Just like my old bike so laugh if you want but hey I do know it works

alcjphil

Old bikes like your Varsities have single wall rims. You simply cannot use electrical tape with double wall rims as found on newer, better quality bikes. If your bikes had that type of rim you wouldn't get more than a couple of miles down the road using electrical tape as rim tape

squirtdad 

Velox. it works. I have tried other options, just not the same

FeltF2Tarmac

Velox is good stuff get the correct width and problem solved.

Greggster

Those bumps on the tube is where the tube is trying to expand down into the spoke holes. Eventually they pop. Rim tape will stop that.

79pmooney

Another Velox fan. It lasts for years. You can pull it back (even years later) to replace a spoke nipple. I regularly reuse them when I replace rims.

I saw that a poster has had good luck with electrical tape for nearly 1000 miles. I expect more like 10,000 miles, below freezing and as hot as northern US cities ever get. Velox has never disappointed me (other than a roll that had petrified before it was given to me - decades old?).

Ben

3alarmer

.
...for a while I was running really high pressures in my tyres (160 psi), and I ended up using fiberglass strapping tape underneath Velox as the only solution that consistently worked. You buy the stuff in rolls and just tear off the width you need.

But at pressures of 120-130 psi and under, Velox seems to work fine by itself, and the strapping tape can be problematic when you go to remove it.

Velox is pretty good stuff, all things considered.

arex

Velox is good, but I think Newbaum's is better...better stickum on the back.