OK, kids, guess what happens when the rim tape shifts and exposes a spoke hole to the tube?

Pop goes the weasel?

We have a winner! It was pretty funny, too. We were at a rest stop, yakking it up, and out of nowhere BANG...ssssssss. And down went the tire. I pulled it off, found the issue, and made the repair. I'll replace the rim tape with Velox tomorrow. Velox won't move.

I've had Velox move.

Well, technically, it moves when the wheel rolls.

I've had velox move too. I use Stan's tubeless rim tape now. Seems to stay put and is nice and thin so makes getting tyres on and off easier. It works just fine as a rim tape on normal tubed wheels despite being made mainly for tubeless.

What's with the current trend for that happening? Never heard of it before a couple of years ago. I mean decades of reading and never encountered it. Could it be the wider wheels? Maybe using too narrow tape with wide rims? Honestly, I'm trying to help.

In the 80s I used to use P-222 Kapton tape. I wonder if anything is better - still. But as I have a hard time getting it Velox and Stans work. I like Stans better.

I believe it is the wider wheels. Since going to them, I don't like how the differing tapes shift, and the real wide seems to intersect with the bead, and lifts when the tire comes off. I've since gone back to Veloplugs.

+1

This is what I think too. This never happens on my road wheels (19mm).

It could also be due to imperfections inside the wheel. What I did with my set of wider wheels was to run 600-grit sandpaper around the inside of the wheel, followed up with steel wool. So far so good. If I need to I'll cut down a couple of wide rolls of Velox to make a custom fit for the wheel if I have further problems.

Wider wheels should take wider rim tape. That is if they also have a standard profile bead seat.

Perhaps part of the problem might be the "tubeless ready" rims that are apparently designed for the rim tape just in the center channel, while also having greater curvature around the nipple holes.

And, of course, rim holes that are sharp. No finishing the edges or deburring.

In my case it happened, I believe, because the rim strip was not repositioned properly after a broken spoke was replaced. Honestly, this is a first for me. I'll see how the Velox does. I've used it in the past and never had any issues.

But it did get some laughs...

Same thing happened to me last week on a pair of Dura Ace C-24's.

Rim strip is some sort of plastic material with no adhesive, so it can move some. Plus the rear spoke holes are not drilled symmetrically around the center of the rim, but offset to one side... so there is just enough play to have exposed the edge of a hole. Boo, hiss.

Stans > Velox

Is the Velox tape sold by Stans any different?

Happened to me. I used tape that was too narrow for the rim.

Though heavier than many wheels, Ultegras do have some advantages.

The rim tape that came on my cheap Vuelta Corsa SLRs was horrible. Rough edge, not adhesive, impossible to keep centered. I replaced it with Velox.

Usually you don't hear a BANG unless the tire blew off the rim - did that happen in your case? - a puncture from a spoke would be more like a slow leak hiss, or maybe a little pop. Shifting rim tape can certainly cause punctures, but a blow-off would cause a huge rip in the tube.

It surprised me, as well. I think the hole was just big enough so when the tube stretched to the breaking point it went all at once. The hole in the tube matched up with the spoke hole, so there's not much doubt what happened. There was a rip in the tube.

I checked the tread and sidewall of the tire, as well as the bead and it was all intact, so that left only one possibility. I've since replaced the rim strips on both wheels with Velox tape and after a couple of rides all seems normal. That fix, plus the GP 4 Seasons will, I hope, mean no more tire issues for a while.

I got a spoke-hole cut once. It resulted in a rapid deflation but no bang. The tube had a small arc-shaped cut in it. If the tire blew with a bang, a pinched tube would be my prime suspect.

I got a couple of these. Tube held air until after the ride, then once it cooled down rapidly deflated. Little crescent shaped tear at the spoke hole.

I think it's a matter of wide rim beds + old-style rim tape. If you have a 23mm or wider rim it's very easy to buy "road" rim tape that is a couple of mm too narrow. Especially if you're buying a thing of the cheapest whatever at Performance.

Most definitely. Even C2, Velox and Enve wide tape would shift, and after a tire was mounted for a good amount of time, it would pull up with dismounting. Velox just made the tire a bear to mount because it was a tad thicker. Never instilled confidence, and I'm happy I don't deal with it anymore.

Pretty hard to beat.
https://www.nitto.com/us/en/products...resistant/012/