no rim tape ? Or, damn you (lightly) Bens Cycle
 

BensCycle was supposed to send me some "free rim tape", but it was so damn free that it wasnt bothered to find its way into the box. Stuipidly, I , with much mashing of thumbs, managed to mount a continental tire onto a campy rim. Then I realized there was no rim tape on the rim.

So, unmount and remount the bastard, or leave it alone ? How long will a tube last without rim tape ? There arent any spoke heads poking out, but there are small depressions and a few rough edges.

i've been riding without rim tape for about 300 miles on these tubes and they are okay. but i've heard horror stories. yo should also get tire levers, your thumbs will love you for it. get the park brand ones.

i didn't have any tape on the rims that i bought from bens cycles either...i just did like 3 wraps of electrical tape and i haven't had a problem yet.

put some tape on! tube blowouts are not fun...

The idea of riding with no rim tape sounds scary (even if there are no spoke heads poking out) but I've never tried it, so I have no authority.

Wanted to add this thought: The best "tire lever" in my arsenal is an old flatblade screwdriver - bent the end in a vice so its got a nice curve, and filed down all the edges so it's smooth. Not the type of thing you want to use if you want to keep your rims pristine though (like, if they're Campy...). I've broken two Nashbar tire levers (not the best, I know) since Christmas working with these crazy kevlar tires, I feel like this homemade tool is what comes through for me every time.

no rim tape with my bensbike wheels either. but I wasn't expecting any.

but definetly throw some on. If you've infated your tires, I'm suprised that they haven't exploded yet.

I'll get some tire levers and wrap them with some packing tape, I hadnt considered a blowout, just a leak.

i just use elbow grease and leverage to get the tire onto the rim... i'm surprised y'all don't pop more tubes using levers to hook the bead on.

Have utilized narrow nylon strapping tape, works fine.
Crank Bros. tire tool is the easiest to use, even on hard to fit tires.

How the hell do you get tires off without a tire lever ? Or some other hooked instrument...

yeah, i've only used levers to get tires off, never on. i love my speed lever. i've heard of them breaking, but hasn't happened with me yet. it's speeeeeedy.

You'll probably be lucky to get them up to pressure before the tube forces itself into the spoke hole and ruptures. Been there done that. That's one of those heart-breaking sensations: as you're pumping up the tire, "HISS!!!!"

I like to use electrical tape the (many) times I forget to get rim tape. Stretch it nice and tight as you go around the rim and do 3 to 5 orbits. Punch a hole for the valve and voila. Good to at least 120 psi.

i certainly use 'em to get the tire off, but never on. it seemed like others were suggesting using them to get those pesky and stiff kevlar tires mounted onto their rims.

Yea, Ben's bike kinda get me vexed too. They have really good prices and sell many things on ebay, but they're like the only seller on ebay who dosen't accept paypal...
Too bad for them, they lost my business...

they're decent though. Give them a call, they're really good guys over the phone.

Use tape and levers! I've got legit rim tape on my rear wheel, and a layer of gaffer's tape up front, which seems to work just as well. Blowouts suck - don't feel like you have to indulge in one.

As for levers, the two best kinds ever are the Crank Bros speed lever and the Park heavy duty steel kind, though you can do things like kill a rim or rip the bead out of a tire with the latter. Handy in a fight, though...

Maybe they'll accept my paypal over the phone...?? ;)
It sucks because I really wanna buy stuff from them, but they don't accept paypal... jerks.

christ, buy some rim tape. It's what, $3? It took one flat ~5 miles from home to realize that the nylon ribbon stuck to my bensbike rims was not a good substitute.

furthermore, I'm drunk and fixed gear ****ing rules.

Just watch out for the back ends of Ford Explorers...

no rim tape is like pie without a crust, you can call it a pie, but its just not a pie, and one day it will just pop, like tire without rim tape. . . or something

something about keeping a roll of rim tape in yer stash pocket, no?

On the topic of levers, my lbs says these work well.

I posted over in the mechanics forum, but at this point I've got thousands of miles on electrical tape and what's more, I'm not the only one.

Sure, rim tape is cheap and if it were just a matter of the money I wouldn't think twice about it. It's really the realizing at 9pm on a weeknight or 11am on a Saturday, as you're working on your bike in your pyjamas, that you forgot the damn rim tape. That's when you turn to other solutions.

They don't accept paypal, I'm assuming, because of fees and whathaveyou. When you buy something from them, they include like a reciept, because they've got a register at their shop that does like ATM debit ****. If you want to buy something from them, just do it and all it'll ask for is your CC information; it cuts out the middleman of paypal.

dean, I know about the fees and such for paypal, but when you sell on ebay where around 95%+ of the other bidders/sellers use paypal, it's more than a minor inconvienence.

EDIT: WTF? why is card censored? This place is fuc_ked up sometimes.