Originally Posted by
tiger1964
(A) OK, just had my second flat of the season, without running over anything. In both cases, one front and one rear, the hole in the rim (where the spoke nipples are inserted) was exposed enough that the edge came into contact with the tube; the rim tapes was not centered in the depressed path in the rim. I do not recall installing the rim tape that sloppily (indeed, the rear tape meandered like the Mississippi River), but perhaps refrain from sipping a glass of wine during bike assembly? Anyway, what I am wondering is, can the tape wander a bit after installation. The tape is Velox, not super impressed with the adhesive during initial installation, but I’d think once everything is in place, what pressures would cause the tape to move sideways? Data points: Ukai rims with a nice deep channel for the tape, Continental GP5000 tires, Continental tubes but do not recall model name. Is there better tape? When I was young, used rubber rim strips and never, ever had this problem.
If using old-school single-wall rims with a narrow deep center channel, use a narrow enough tape (or rubber rim strip) to sit within the channel so that it won't slide around.
If using double-wall rims, use tape that covers the entire base of the rim bed, so that it cannot slide left or right. If this is a modern tubeless-compatible rim, use a thin tubeless tape instead of cloth tape even if you do not intend to set the tire up tubelessly: tubeless rims have precise diameter that relies on thin taping to end up spot-on, and cloth tape will build the bead seat shoulders up too high for reasonable tire mounting.
(B) Well, now I have a tube in my underseat bag with a tiny pinhole in it, need to swap that out prior to my next ride. Hey, why shouldn’t I patch tubes instead of discarding them, at least for an emergency get-me-home tube in my bag? My last patch kit purchase was probably +/- 1973, came in a little blue plastic box. What’s a good patch kit these days? For (1) to keep a patch in my bag in case of a 2nd flat while riding, and also (2) for in-shop use.
REMA for glued patches. Park GP-2 for glueless.
If repairing latex tubes with a glued patch kit, a piece cut from an old latex tube makes a very effective patch. When doing this, it's not a bad idea to put the vulcanizing fluid on both the tube
and the patch.