Why vinyl rim tape is a bad idea.

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Globalti

Globalti

Legendary Member
Not doubting you, but are you certain that the rim tape didn't have those 'bobbles' on it from new? My friend had a rim tape that was like this and the 'bobbles' actually sat in the holes in the rim. I have no idea what the rim tape was as it's been a fair few years now. Probably just some generic/OEM rim tape.

Ha ha, no, when the wheels were new the tape was flat. It has simply softened under the heat of braking, been forced into the holes by the inner tube then hardened again. It would be ridiculous to manufacture a tape like that; your friend's tape will have undergone the same transformation.
 

migrantwing

Veteran
So you have to buy rim tapes with the same number of bobbles as your wheel has spokes? How about the two smaller hernias to fit where the rim is joined?

Just saying what I saw regards my friend. The wheels were virtually new and un-ridden.
 

migrantwing

Veteran
Ha ha, no, when the wheels were new the tape was flat. It has simply softened under the heat of braking, been forced into the holes by the inner tube then hardened again. It would be ridiculous to manufacture a tape like that; your friend's tape will have undergone the same transformation.

Fair play. That's what I would have thought but thought I'd mention it :smile: The odd thing was, in the instance of my friend, the wheels were virtually brand new.
 

zacklaws

Guru
Location
Beverley
I stopped using plastic rim tape after a couple of front wheel blowouts when the rim overheated distorting the rim tape. The first time it was not so bad and I could get the rim tape to fit again but on the second occasion, the rim tape had expanded that much it would no longer fit the rim but a few wraps over the top of it with insulation tape solved the problem. Oddly enough on the second occasion is was on a very steep hill with 90 degree bends when it went, after fixing it I carried on to Settle to the bike shop to get some new rim tape and inner tube
 

screenman

Squire
Ha ha, no, when the wheels were new the tape was flat. It has simply softened under the heat of braking, been forced into the holes by the inner tube then hardened again. It would be ridiculous to manufacture a tape like that; your friend's tape will have undergone the same transformation.

Can we see a picture of the other side?
 
OP
OP
Globalti

Globalti

Legendary Member
The other side looks the same in reverse. It's the standard tape that comes on Superstar Components wheels, which are cheap, light and probably not very long-lasting but they do the job well enough.

You can have cheap, light and strong but only two of those at any time.
 

mrandmrspoves

Middle aged bald git.
Location
Narfuk
This seems to be an effect produced by proximity to Settle, which is alarming to me as I live here :-\

A small price to pay for living in God's own country!
 

Broadside

Guru
Location
Fleet, Hants
The other side looks the same in reverse. It's the standard tape that comes on Superstar Components wheels, which are cheap, light and probably not very long-lasting but they do the job well enough.

You can have cheap, light and strong but only two of those at any time.

I've got some Superstar Pave28 wheels on my road bike, I think
I'm going to buy some new rim tape now!! I did actually have a latex tube blowout soon after getting them so switched back to butyl, it did go on the inner side of the tube and the rim tape had herniated a bit but not as much in the pictures above.
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
Another point is no rim tape lasts forever.

Replacing it every time you change a tyre is probably overkill, but replacing it occasionally is worthwhile.
 
OP
OP
Globalti

Globalti

Legendary Member
No, it's just their regular cheapo vinyl rim tape. I don't imagine for one second that it would enable you to go tubeless.

Superstar Components wheels are cheap and light and stiff but they achieve this by being thin-walled. Gti Junior has had to have two rebuilds (£30 a time and done very well and very quickly) when he bent his SC rims in incidents, which I suspect would not have affected a top quality rim like Ksyrium. The wheels are marked with a "maximum 100 psi" warning, I guess because as the braking surfaces wear there's a risk that high pressure could push them outwards. As I wrote above, you can have cheap, strong and light but only two of those at any one time. SC wheels are cheap and light but not very strong. Ksyrium wheels on the other hand are strong and light but not cheap.

Both GtiJ and my cycling buddy are using SC Pavé 28 wheels, which they like very much but I don't expect them to last more than a couple of seasons of brake wear.

On tubes, latex inner tubes are superbly flexible and light and will make an already good tyre ride even better. But latex being extremely stretchy, it will find the smallest weakness in a rim or tyre and burst straight through it. I've had a latex inner come though a tiny cut in a tyre like bubblegum and go pop. A butyl inner tube will bridge over small flaws and a butyl/latex lightweight tube is about halfway between the two. My buddy whose tube burst through the rim tape outside Settle uses the butyl/latex mix tubes.
 
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Pale Rider

Legendary Member
I am thinking that could be their tape for tubeless conversions, if so it works great, just not with inner tubes.

The instructions for one of the conversion kits - might be Stan's - tell you to use a double wrap of rim tape.

I think that also tells you something about conversions.
 

screenman

Squire
The instructions for one of the conversion kits - might be Stan's - tell you to use a double wrap of rim tape.

I think that also tells you something about conversions.

I think the idea of a conversion tape is for it to be softer so that it seals spoke holes etc, just like the one in the picture has.

I find the Stans conversion brilliant.
 
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