Bicycle Mechanics - Rim-Tape Roulette

Repaired a flat last night. The puncture I'm sure came from a spoke. I recently had the wheels trued; the spoke take was ripped in a couple spots. (Tape hasn't been changed in ages.) My question is not whether I need new rimp tape. (I do, right?) But can I get away with riding the bike to the LBS to buy the rim tape? And while I'm at it, what kind of tape do I need? (This is for a road bike with 28C in front and 25C in rear.)

Thanks.

You can use a couple of layers of electrical tape as a temporary measure. Velox rim tape is the tried and true brand. I use a plastic tape, forget the make, and havent had a problem, since I got the right width. Make sure you get the width that matches the rim width

Velox rim tape is the tried and true brand.

+1 on the Velox, it is good stuff. I used it on my road bike and will be installing it on my hybrid as well, as soon as I get a chance.

Thanks, guys. But how urgent is this? Do I have a day or two of riding, or is this like running with scissors?

do at least a temp fix as soon as you can. otherwise you're on borrowed time until a flat occurs.

It sounds like the person that trued you wheel left some spoke ends protruding from the back of the nipples. Ant decent mechanic would have filed those off as part of the job. Find a better mechanic or, better yet, learn to do it yourself.

Thanks, guys. But how urgent is this? Do I have a day or two of riding, or is this like running with scissors?

I would not ride around without rim tape or with failed rim tape. As others have said, do the temp fix, ride to your LBS and buy proper rim tape. Now quit running aournd with them scissors!

Repaired a flat last night. The puncture I'm sure came from a spoke. I recently had the wheels trued; the spoke take was ripped in a couple spots. (Tape hasn't been changed in ages.) My question is not whether I need new rimp tape. (I do, right?) But can I get away with riding the bike to the LBS to buy the rim tape? And while I'm at it, what kind of tape do I need? (This is for a road bike with 28C in front and 25C in rear.)

Thanks.

I'm thinking that there might be more to your problem than just rim tape.

Single wall rims, right? I suspect that when your wheels were trued some of the spokes have stuck through the nipples and that's what's causing your problem. If that's the case, a couple layers of electrical tape or even the vaunted Velox rim tape probably isn't going to solve your problem. You need to get a little file and file down all of the offending spoke tips before replacing the rim tape.

If you have double wall rims the spoke ends probably won't stick up far enough to damage your inner tube. What happens, however, is that if even the slightest crescent of a spoke hole is exposed, your tire pressure will push your inner tube into that space and cut the inner tube. If that's your problem the important thing is to get rim tape that is the right width to fit the whole space from rim flange to rim flange.

As for riding your bike to the LBS, how far is it, how lucky do you feel, and how are you going to feel if you have to replace yet another innertube halfway to the shop? If it was my bike, this is one repair that I'd do at home.

Velox costs around $3 per roll. I keep reading posts of people using electrical tape and medical tape, etc. I have to ask, why? Is $3 too much? I think it is worth the peace of mind knowing you have everything covered, pretty cheap for $3.

A few layers (read: 2 at least, 3 preferred) of duct tape works just fine.