Replacement Rim Tape

[ricnott]

I have had a spate of 5 rear puntures on my commuting bike recently. The 1st was down to worn tyres hitting a pot hole and 'cutting' the tyre and tube. So new tyres installed an I've had a further 4 punctures, all rear. I have THOROUGHLY checked the tyre inside and out and now believe that the cause is worn rim tape, has covered over 5000miles. So I have got new tape today and will fit it tomorrow. The existing tape is the caootn/canvas stuff and the replacement is nice woven specialzed stuff. Is it worth removing the old tape and just putting the new in or can I just tape over the top for added protection. I know that this will make the void in the tyre slightly smaller. Any comments welcome.

 

[Biker Joe]

I would remove the old tape first and then put in the new.

 

[smokeysmoo]

+1, whip out the old, slam in the new.

[EDIT] I agree with Rob on the rim strip as well. I've just put Vittoria rim strips in both my bikes, £2 odd from Wiggle IIRC

 

[Rob3rt]

Replace the tape completelly. I prefer rim strip to adhesive tape.

 

[alicat]

Are your tyres sufficiently inflated? The first puncture you describe, known as a snake bite puncture because of the shape of the cut, is commonly caused by under-inflated tyres.

 

[Graham]

Have you had a look at where the hole in the tyres is? If its on the inside of the tube (i.e. on a similar line as the valve) then I'd agree its the spokes. If its on the outside i.e. touching the tyre then perhaps its not the spokes. Also, is the puncture in the same place? Punctures caused by spokes are fairly rare, so to have 4 punctures caused by 4 different spokes seems unusual.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Electrical insulating tape works a treat and is cheap as chips.

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Electrical insulating tape works a treat and is cheap as chips.

Yeh but with the price of potatoes being what they currently are - that would make replacing the whole wheel cheaper! :-)

 

[Kies]

Electrical insulating tape works a treat and is cheap as chips.

Many moons ago i bought a heavy front sus mtb .... Puncture on the way home with new bike
Back next day for a inner tube and yet another puncture 2 days later .... Electrical tape twice round the rim and i never suffered another puncture on that bike.
Rim tape - bah humbug

 

[biggs682]

i use the plastic rimtape never had an issue

 

[02GF74]

Yeh but with the price of potatoes being what they currently are - that would make replacing the whole wheel cheaper! :-)

I wouldn't put my trust in chips - they may be contaminated with carrot DNA.

but back to OP - remove the old tape. do not fit the new tape over it. what makes you think the rim tape is not going it's job?

 

[ricnott]

Thanks for the replys. I took the old cloth tape out and have replaced it with the new Spesh rim tape. On close inspection the punctures are all on the inside and I can see where the rim tape has worn through on 1 spoke hole. The wheels have done 5000 miles without new rim tape and only 7 punctures, across both wheels, so not bad really. The 1st puncture really was a 'cut' that was across th whole of the face of the tyre. pretty scary when I got home and looked to see a clear cut through the rubber and could see that it was just the bead and the threads holding the tyre together. All seems fine now that I have put the new tape in. Did manage to snap the chain on the way to work on Friday. Not fun as I had 45 miles to ride that day for meetings. Managed to get a new chain on the way to my meeting incase it went again. New chain fitted over the weekend and all is well in the land of commuting. For now. Whole groupset change due in Spring/Summer.