oboeguy

I got a flat last night during the darkest part of my commute, about 1.5 miles from home (well that's when I noticed it and couldn't continue to ride). I walked the rest of the way home rather than fix it by the side of the MUP in the dark (I have plenty of lighting but it made sense at that point to walk the short distance). Later at home I was able to figure out the cause of the flat: the rim tape (on the back wheel) was out of place enough to let the inflated tube squeeze into a "spoke hole" (whatever it's called) and, I presume, pinch flat (deepish aero wheels, so it wasn't a puncture from the spoke).

There was a longish hole in the tube which looked more like a slice than a typical pinch or puncture. Being stubborn I decided to try to patch the thing... The first patch blew open. The second patch did too. After that, I did what my better half had suggested in the first place (and she's no bike mechanic!): I put on a fresh tube after resetting the rim tape PSA: Check yours!!!

Nessism

Plastic/rubber rim strips are evil. Take them straight to the dumptster and get some proper cloth tape like god entended.

Ed

Mentor58

AMEN... I know that some people have had great luck with all kinds of substitutes, but all I know is that on my Shimano 550 wheels, (semi-aero), anything other than Velox tape would eventually cause a problem. Considering the cost of the tape, vs the time and aggravation with flats, it's a no-brainer for me.

Steve W.

oboeguy

I actually have sticky cloth ones, but apparently during the last spoke replacement it didn't get laid down right, or I messed it up as I put the tire / tube back on afterwards. Either way, I need fresh tape for this wheel; the stickiness is lacking.

A propos, how is rim tape sized? (and how are rims measured for it?)

dbg

Was on a trip with a guy who flatted 4 times in one morning. And once it was a freshly changed new tube -- first inflation. I suggested removing the rim tape, feeling around for a bur somewhere, then replacing with wider rim tape. I eventually just gave him a wheel off my spare bike.

(Strangely, on that trip I left a few days early and had already loaned out a front, a rear, and a rack to folks whose equipment had failed)

Nessism

I don't like to reuse cloth rim tape after it's pulled up since it looses its takiness. For width, it should cover the holes in the rim with a few mm overlap on the edges.

Swiss Hoser

Good point about rim tape.
I've been sloppy in that regard myself, and have paid for it.
The devil is in the details!

Ciao for now.

caloso

Amen! I had three flats in 75 miles one day. Since I only had two CO2 cartridges I had to call the spousal unit to come pick me up and she was not happy about it.

When I got home, I discovered the same thing. Rather than replacing the whole thing I just put in a small square of cloth athletic tape and it worked fine.

DieselDan

You should replace rim tape once a year.

Al1943

I have to pull the Velox off of my aero wheels once a year when I true them. I always put the same tape back on the wheels and have never had a problem. I've done this for the last 7 years and see no reason to replace it with new tape. I'm careful to keep it clean.

Velox goes on all of my wheels but there is one downside to cloth tape, it absorbs water and holds the water against the rim and eyelets. It can also trap water in the spoke holes and cause corrosion on the spokes and nibbles as well. Another type of tape may be better for wheels that are often wet.

Al

supcom

Nonsense.

Brian

It's $8/rim here, and what, 99 cents in the US? Buy good cloth tape, and reuse or replace as needed. I bought 2 huge rolls of rim tape on ebay last year, so I don't have to get ripped off by the LBS any more. Oh, I work there part time now.

stinkyonions

$8!!!

I think it is something like $1 or $2 here, nothing to get up in cahoots over.

Brian

Yeah, when they told me $16, I thought they misunderstood my request. I think the rolls I bought after that are 30 metres each. That's probably good for 10 wheelsets?