Bicycle Mechanics - For Bicyclists In Medicine Or Biotech...

I think I just discovered something.

Cloth bandage/surgical tape and bicycle rimtape appear to be one and the same! It's even the same width for roadbike rims. I took a used roll from the lab and applied it to my 700c wheels, and it works fine.

So is there anything special about the rimtape they sell in bikeshops that I should know about? Are there some differences that I should be aware of that might be detrimental to my bike? As far as I know, the stuff is exactly the same! And if it is, I may have stumbled upon a really cheap (read: free) alternative.

My 2cents is good quality genuine and modern rim tape is much better, lasts a very long time and provides ulitimate peace of mind...hence I don't mind paying for it (and I'm tight!)

When you say "good quality, genuine and modern rim tape" what exactly do you mean? I'm not being confrontive, or anything. I just don't know. When I overhauled an old road bike as a hobby to learn about bikes, I found it had a large rubber band in its 27" wheels. I was told by the LBS that no one uses those anymore, and promptly sold me rolls of rimtape that cost $7 apiece. Even after applying them carefully I got several pinch flats because they didn't cover the spoke holes completely. Then I noticed at work that the cloth bandage tape looked and felt exatly the same. It was also slightly wider, which helped stop all those pinch flats. The only thing they were missing were the valve hole and the high pricetag.

So other than brand name and niche marketing, is there a reason to use rimtape that I'm totally missing? This is a TOTALLY sincere question, as I'm new to all this stuff.

Edit: Here's a link to the product I used- http://www.allmed.net/catalog/showitem.php/3368

First, if the LBS really did charge you $7.00 a roll for rim tape, you need to find a new LBS! That price is about double the going price for the best rim tape available. Secondly, I can't imagine surgical bandage tape that is as thick and coarse as rim tape, Ugh!

The acknowledged best rim tape is Velox. It's qualities are it's thick enough to prevent the sharp edges of the spoke holes from coming through, it doesn't harden or deteriorate over long periods of time, and it's thickness/width is very consistent. There are other good brands of rim tape, but Velox has been the king of rim tapes for decades, and costs about the same. (at a good, honest LBS)

People have been trying all sorts of things for rim tape for generations. A lot of things seem to work acceptably. A lot of things seem to work acceptably, and then reveal problems later.

Rim tape obviously needs to hold its shape and not move around or squirm. It needs to be the right width, which will be different for different rims, so it needs to come in a variety of sizes (sounds like your LBS might have sold you the wrong width).

The adhesive needs to be just enough to keep the tape in place, and of a type that won't dry out and powder or turn into an unremovable gummy mess. This is probably one important difference between rim tape and other kinds of tape.

A couple of rolls of Velox costs $6 and will last the lifetime of a wheel. If you have well-built wheels, that could be decades. Why experiment?

RichC

Thanks everyone! This has been very informative. I did some quick research on Velox tape, (the one that the LBS sold me), and on the Kendall Curity tape I used on my rims. Velox makes their tape out of a cotton/poly blend, Kendall is a rayon/acetate. I'm not totally sure what that means, but I think the man-made properties of rayon keep if from shrinking over time, unlike cotton. And since it's used to hold bandages, tubes, and other surgical supplies, I don't think I have to worry about it eating away at my innertubes with some weird chemical reaction. As for the adhesive on the surgical tape- that could be a problem. It's designed for short-term use on sensitive materials near skin. So it may or may not get all gummy after time. I guess I'll find out. (It cleans up nicely when alcohol is applied, however.)

Experimentation is the basis of creativity and evolution. I bought my bike at a thriftstore for $25, then built it up as an experiment/hobby. If I try something and it works gangbusters, (or turns out to be a horrific nightmare), I'll share it with you all. If the tape thing works out we'll all have an inexpensive alternative. If not, I'll become a spokesman for Velox. :)

I think that one of the problems you may encounter with your hospital tape is that it may not be stiff enough to remain in place (not squirm around) underneath the tube. That's why the Velox is somewhat rigid.

Hi,
a lot of things are variations of cheesecloth. A hundred years ago people had literally hundreds of uses for cheesecloth. They were slowly replaced (in most cases) with specially designed products that did a better job. My granparent always had some around, and used it a lot.

The differences in rim tapes isnt the squirming around effect under the inner tube but the ability of them to resisit deforming under pressure. Remember there are rubber and plastic rim tapes with no adhesives. If your tape is the proper width it will hold itself in place.

The problem is pressure. Remember the yellow Michelin rim tape you had to stretch around the rims? You could slip those around the rim easliy. Talk about squirm!!!! Those were so rigid they developed cracks from the tire pressure over the recessed sopke holes leading to flats. Some rim tapes will deform into the spoke holes without cracking leading to flats caused by the spoke hole eyelets. This is the problem with your medical tape. If will deform under pressure. Velox tape is cloth so it wont cut into the tubes and its thick and somewhat rigid so it wont deform into spoke holes. Of course this assumes its the proper width.

ex-mechanic that works with hospital tape everyday.

One last thing, and I've not seen it mentioned here, is that the rims can get quite warm and even hot under heavy braking. That could melt some adhesives or perhaps break down the 'non' bicycling rim tape. If this were to happen at critical moment, flats could occur. Common no, but entirely possible.

The only problem I see with your experiment is that if it fails you will be stuck somewhere with a flat and no spare roll of rim tape. I don't know anyone who carries that particular item with them.