cyclezealot

That adhesive backed , paper-like stuff known as Zefal or that plastic like, Stretchy kind. I think generally known as Velox..
Seems I go without flats for months on end , then they come in an unending series.
Almost all of my flats of late have been adjacent to my rim tape.
Awhile back , I used velox.. Plastic.. Then after about four flats in a row. I noticed the indentations in my velox. . My velox had maybe been in use two years.. You could see indentations adjacent to where the spoke nipples coincided with the tape's indentations. But, the Velox was still intact..
.Next, I switched to Zefal.. It worked just fine for several months, : . I am sure when I applied the tape it was flat to the surface of the rim.. But, a couple flats later, I noticed the tape had doubled over and the rough crease end was causing a friction point adjacent to where the puncture was found on my tube.. Would just the pressure of the tube cause the tape to double over in a crease.. After each flat, I am pretty sure the tape was lying flat to the metal rim..
. Any tips as to which tape you prefer and how to keep the rim tape functioning properly. . Maybe the velox worked better, but it should be changed every year or so.? I could care less about the concerns of weight wienies.. I just want flat free riding, if there is such a thing.
Thanks.

Drew Eckhardt 

Velox is a cloth tape that's white and has FONDE DE JANTE (French for bottom of the rim) printed on it.

Plastic tape is not Velox.

Velox has a weak adhesive (with 3000-4000+ pounds of pressure from the inflated tube it's just a convenience to hold the tape in place until you get the tube inflated) that stays tacky so it's easy to remove for rim replacement and reuse.

It lasts pretty much indefinitely although I misplaced the 12-14 year old piece on my front wheel when I last replaced the rim and had to buy a new one.

Tight rims with shallow wells in the middle (like Kinlin XR-300s) are the only reason to avoid it because the thickness makes tires too tight to install and remove without tools.

Velox works great as long as your favorite tires aren't too tight on the rim.

fietsbob

My Koga Miyata WTR came built up with Mavic ex721 rims ,
their extrusion included a rim tape channel
in that channel there was an elastomer rim tape from Herrmans ,
A perfect fit, the rim strip's company is NL or German, I suppose .

it snaps in the channel in the rim, and comes out easily when rebuilding the wheel.
(I laced a Schmidt dyno hub in the front rim shortly after I got the Bike )

Velocity has made a Plug to cover the inside drilling of their double wall rims .
also a good idea, broken spoke means just remove the plug where the problem is,
rather than un tape the whole sticky cotton rim tape.

Rubber rim tapes are fine for single wall rims,
as they just need to cover the bump of the spoke nipple head.
they occasionally break where the hole is punched in them , but are cheap to replace.
dont span the inner hole of a double wall rim, though, ..

jimc101

Schwalbe blue plastic rim tape, does the same as Velox, but doesn't leave a sticky residue when removed, also doesn't bunch up if you catch tire levers on it.

dsbrantjr

Continental Easy Tape, thin and slippery, makes tight-fitting tires easier to mount, otherwise Velox.

cyclezealot

Traditionally , I used the adhesive backed paper tape more often than the blue plastic tape.. Over the years, I can't recall ever having as many flats adjacent to the rim tape as I have of late... .. The explanation, that tire levers doubled over the paper tape is the likely explanation . .. I am sort of in a quandary because my shop's mechanic favors the blue plastic tape and I favor the paper tape.. Guess, he's more experienced than I at judging what works and what doesn't.

UberGeek

Velox tape. It seems to never wear out.

jeepr

x2

JTGraphics

Any good cloth tape is ok with me.

gyozadude

I've tried quite a few of them over the years. Various polymer types - rubberized paper types, nylon strips, etc. Some were no-name, some from Mavic, Ritchey, Enve, Avenir, etc. But in the end, the best stuff that lasts the longest is still: Velox - Fond de Jante cloth tape. Ironically, I stock the stuff, but it lasts so long and is even re-usable to the point I don't need a lot of it.

squirtdad

velox

bradtx

cyclezealot, Velox is available in at least three different widths. Measure the rim's channel. I haven't tried it, but Pedros has a cloth tape also.

Brad

cyclezealot

Thanks.. My tubes are 700 x 23.. My mechanic said my rim tape should be the medium width..

Al1943

Velox needs to fit the bottom of the rim. You need to know the width of the bottom of the rim, not the tube size.

Velox is my choice but Velox and other cloth tape should not be used if you expect to have you rims under water or ride in the rain often because cloth tape holds water for some time and can accelerate oxidation and corrosion of eyelets and possibly other wheel components.

Elvo

Veloplugs

LesterOfPuppets

I Like Velox too. Zefal seems to work just as well so far, just had it in one wheel for a month though.

Camilo

+1

HillRider

Velox, period!!! It is indeed cloth and has a mild adhesive so it stays put but is easy to realign during installation.

It does come in three widths and you have to choose the correct one for your rims. 10 mm is for single wall rims with a narrow center channel. 17 mm is for most double wall road rims and covers the inner wall almost to the bead hook. 22 mm is for double wall wider MTB rims.

Install it correctly and it should last the life of the rim.

TimmyT 

I love the velox, too; but my LBS only stocks the FSA red rim strips (plastic). The FSA seems to work OK (3 months on it so far, about 1500 miles), but I will probably need to replace it at some point. My rims originally came with a rubber like substance. That stretched, and I was getting flats along the rim where the metal was exposed.

I'm much more comfortable with the velox.

bsektzer

^^ This

JohnDThompson 

FWIW, I have wheels with Velox rim tape that hasn't been changed in 30 years and still doing fine.

lverhagen

I prefer cloth rim tape (and bar tape for that matter) so I go with Newbaum's, which is similar to Zefal and Velox, but made in the good ol' USA and held on the rim with a far tackier adhesive. However, I've never had to bad of an experience with the plastic/rubber rims strips except for when the narrow ones break and fall off the rim (common on older, lower end road bikes). Good luck!

Cheers
lverhagen

cyclezealot

I am envious.. I had three flats on one ride.. Two separate inner tubes were used.. Each time the flat coincided with the same spoke nipple.. Looking at the Velox , it showed just a little indentation , nothing too rough, that I thought would cause a flat.

Kimmo

I like the Velox but the Sun Mistrals I scored a couple of years ago came with these brown plastic strips that work so well I think I prefer them to the Velox.

A rim strip should:

1. Be the right size and not foul the bead
2. Work, ie not be responsible for any flats
3. Last forever.

If your rim strip can't satisfy those criteria, it's sub par.

rydabent

+ on Velox cloth

Also it comes in 2 or 3 different sizes to be sure to use the right size.