What is your favorite type of rim tape?

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uart
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What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby uart » Sun Dec 17, 2017 4:25 pm

I've got to change out the rim tape on a lot of my wheels, just wondering what type most people prefer or recommend.

In the past I've used various types, cloth, rubber, plastic etc. Lately I've noticed that many modern inner tubes don't seem to be as resilient as they used to be, and unless the rim tape is absolutely perfect then even minor divots or deflections into the spoke holes seem to cause tubes to split.

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redsonic
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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby redsonic » Sun Dec 17, 2017 8:25 pm

I had a lot of trouble finding rim tape for my asymmetric, 19mm wide DT swiss rear rim. Whatever I used couldn't cope with the off centre spoke holes. The edge of the tape would shift a tiny bit when putting the tyre on; this was enough to cause exposure/excessive dimpling over the holes and hence more flats.
I have been very happy with Ritchey Snap on Rim strips. 20mm with in my 19mm rims has my problem sorted.

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uart
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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby uart » Sun Dec 17, 2017 8:48 pm

redsonic wrote:The edge of the tape would shift a tiny bit when putting the tyre on; this was enough to cause exposure/excessive dimpling over the holes and hence more flats.
Yeah I've had that problem too. It's actually the main reason that I want to redo the tape on all my wheels. One little work around is to place a short piece (or two) of paper masking tape over every spoke hole, and then lay your rim tape on top of that. You wouldn't think it would do much, but it really does help a lot. That's my temporary solution anyway. :)
I have been very happy with Ritchey Snap on Rim strips. 20mm with in my 19mm rims has my problem sorted.
Thanks Redsonic, that stuff looks fairly substantial, like it would resist dimpling fairly well.
BTW. When you buy that item online, do they come as a pair or is it just the one?

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby eeksll » Sun Dec 17, 2017 8:54 pm

i use Velox Rim tape on mine, mainly because that is what seemed to be "the one to get". I had to replace due to original plastic type literally wearing through.

Its very thick so would resist the dimpling quite well. However if the rim well is shallow and tyres are hard to fit on, this tape would probably make it a bit worse.

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby trailgumby » Sun Dec 17, 2017 9:43 pm

Stan's. Seals everything nicely.

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uart
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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby uart » Sun Dec 17, 2017 9:58 pm

trailgumby wrote:Stan's. Seals everything nicely.
But is unnecessarily costly if you don't run tubeless.

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby redsonic » Mon Dec 18, 2017 10:55 am

uart wrote:Thanks Redsonic, that stuff looks fairly substantial, like it would resist dimpling fairly well.
BTW. When you buy that item online, do they come as a pair or is it just the one?
Yes, they come in a pair

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby Nate » Mon Dec 18, 2017 1:59 pm

Only ever velox cloth.

its superb because its a little tacky & never moves about.
The other trick is a tiny amount of contact adhesive to hold a good plastic rim tape in place.

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby defy1 » Mon Dec 18, 2017 2:01 pm

Nortons blue bear outdoor masking tape - works tubeless also.

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby MelodyWheels » Mon Dec 18, 2017 9:42 pm

Good question!!!

I dont think there is a clear answer. Its mostly about choosing the right rim tape for the rim. I keep around 20 bulk rolls of rim tape to cover every rim size from 15mm to 50mm wide. The majority of new wheels these days are tubeless compatible which means they are really designed to work with adhesive plastic tape even if they are being run with regular tubes (i.e. most road wheels). Traditional cloth tape is less than ideal on these rims because the friction of the tight tyre bead can pull cloth tape sideways and expose the rim wholes, as the tyre pops into the rim bead seat. Some snap-band type rim tapes seem to work better with tubeless compatible rims. I prefer these because they can be reused if the wheels need to be trued with an internal driver. Its pretty annoying having to replace a plastic adheasive tape every a wheel needs service using internal nipple drives, but its become very common now. Pretty much every Roval wheel.

The best adhesive rim tape (i.e. tubeless compatible) I've found is the DT Swiss tape. Don't know who makes its but its not the Stans/Tesa tape. Its far more ductile when taping up wide mtb rims (plus 30mm internal width) so it conforms better with the shape of the rim. Its also less prone to tearing around the valve hole.

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby baabaa » Mon Dec 18, 2017 10:32 pm

Loads of my own view here as I see tape is tape is tape. No doubt you can make velox fit the best and I still like it but not so much for the off road stuff as I do like to feel in and around the tape for sharp bits each time I get a flat, the yellow ritchey stuff works well on road and is easy to clean but is tight to get off and the Schwalbe high pressure stuff is thick, rubbery and more a long distance touring type.
Hope wheels come with some very good stuff but must be The-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as it comes unbranded which is a shame as it just works.
Last edited by baabaa on Mon Dec 18, 2017 11:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby Derny Driver » Mon Dec 18, 2017 11:22 pm

Nate wrote: Only ever velox cloth.
Ditto

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby 10speedsemiracer » Wed Jan 17, 2018 2:35 pm

Derny Driver wrote:
Nate wrote: Only ever velox cloth.
Ditto
Also ditto. (As in I mean the same as above, not that I use Ditto brand rim tape, just in case it exists).
I like the Velox for its mallyabil.....malllea, flexible nature
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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby Derny Driver » Wed Jan 17, 2018 5:03 pm

Nitto bars and stem, ditto tape :)

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby 10speedsemiracer » Wed Jan 17, 2018 5:07 pm

Derny Driver wrote:Nitto bars and stem, ditto tape :)
Well now my brain hurts...believe it or not I actually have some Nitto branded (and embossed) black electrical-type tape which I use as finishing tape on bar wraps.

So your comment could have been (clears throat)
ditto for the Nitto
except we were talking about Velox so all that typing is now irrelevant and mired in crapulence
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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby Duck! » Wed Jan 17, 2018 7:03 pm

MelodyWheels wrote: I dont think there is a clear answer. Its mostly about choosing the right rim tape for the rim. .... The majority of new wheels these days are tubeless compatible which means they are really designed to work with adhesive plastic tape even if they are being run with regular tubes (i.e. most road wheels). Traditional cloth tape is less than ideal on these rims because the friction of the tight tyre bead can pull cloth tape sideways and expose the rim wholes, as the tyre pops into the rim bead seat.
+1 to this! There is no absolute ultimate rim tape that's best for everything. Velox (and similar) tape is damn good, but due to its thickness and the inherent tighter fit of tubeless-compatible rims, it should not be used on those rims unless you really want to make life difficult for yourself.

Schwalbe do a thinner cloth tape, in a couple of different widths, which is good for tubeless-compatible rims with tubes (but not tubeless, it's too porous), but it's still adhesive, so doesn't get around the annoyance with internal nipples. Snap-on tapes such as the Ritchey above are probably the best all-rounders for use with tubes.

The blue Bear tape also mentioned previously is awesome for MTB tubeless, but being quite a thin tape I have misgivings about its suitability for the higher pressure of road tyres. Multiple-wrapping will help, but will affect tyre fit tolerance. The roll width is also just slightly too wide for most road rims.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby Robdog » Thu Jan 18, 2018 2:58 pm

Sorry if I've misunderstood, since I've never had to use rim tape - but why is it used on tubeless compatible rims?

I've run Dura Ace 7801 and Campag Zonda 2-way fit wheels, and ridden Campag Shamal (the model before the 2-way fit but still had the double wall), and Fulcrum Zero 2-way fits. All four sets had a smooth, solid inner wall that didn't require rim tape and have worked flawlessly with the exception of the Shimanos which corroded badly from the sealant.

The answer to the question is no rim tape IMO
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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby queequeg » Thu Jan 18, 2018 3:47 pm

My go to used to the cloth tape, but as I have moved to rims like the HED Belgium+, some wide Hunt Wheels and now some H Plus Son rims, they are all "Tubeless Ready", and therefore are designed in such a way that using the cloth tape results in a tyre that becomes impossible to get onto the rim. The cloth tape prevents the tyre getting deep enough into the shallow well, then it drags the tape to one side when you inflate it.

So, my HED rims cames with the HED Rim Tape, which is very similar to the Stans Tape (which I used on the H Plus Son rims). My Hunt Wheels came with their own version of rim tape, but again it is a very thin tape that has maintains a low profile.

At the bike shop, they also suggested a common "hack" is to just go around the rim with Nitto electrical tape. Just go around twice, with an offset to cover wider rims. That apparently works pretty well. I'll be adding some Nitto tape to my saddle bag for emergencies, as it also good for holding busted spokes etc.
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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby Duck! » Thu Jan 18, 2018 4:11 pm

Robdog wrote:Sorry if I've misunderstood, since I've never had to use rim tape - but why is it used on tubeless compatible rims?
Because not all tubeless-compatible rims have sealed inner walls.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby Robdog » Thu Jan 18, 2018 4:39 pm

So they've only really got the tubeless bead-hook? Only sounds like half a solution to me, not really 'tubeless compatible'.
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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby Duck! » Thu Jan 18, 2018 4:52 pm

The locking bead is what differentiates a tubeless rim from a regular clincher, not the absence of spoke holes (vis, you still need to tape over the holes in order for a rim to be tube compatible too, so really tubeless compatible is no different). There are several models of wheels from Campagnolo and Mavic which have sealed rims, therefore don't require tape, but are definitely not tubeless compatible.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby Duck! » Sat Jan 20, 2018 1:27 am

queequeg wrote:At the bike shop, they also suggested a common "hack" is to just go around the rim with Nitto electrical tape. Just go around twice, with an offset to cover wider rims. That apparently works pretty well. I'll be adding some Nitto tape to my saddle bag for emergencies, as it also good for holding busted spokes etc.
Common maybe, but not ideal, except for cheap basic single-wall rims where you're taping directly over the nipple heads. Nitto tape is better than most leckie tapes, but it's still too soft & stretchy to handle the presure over the holes of double-wall rims, even with multiple layers. I've used it before, with poor results. Save it for bar tape finishing, where it performs admirably.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby uart » Sun Jan 21, 2018 12:33 pm

Duck! wrote:+1 to this! There is no absolute ultimate rim tape that's best for everything. Velox (and similar) tape is damn good, but due to its thickness and the inherent tighter fit of tubeless-compatible rims, it should not be used on those rims unless you really want to make life difficult for yourself.
Yeah I've definitely noticed that too duck. Actually I put double rim tape on a wheel recently (just as an interim measure while I was waiting for new tape to arrive) and wow that tyre was hard to fit. :)
Duck! wrote:There are several models of wheels from Campagnolo and Mavic which have sealed rims, therefore don't require tape
Can someone help out an old guy who doesn't own anything newer than about 1990's, and explain how do you get the nipples into those sealed rims that don't have the holes?

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby Duck! » Sun Jan 21, 2018 2:33 pm

Stick your tongue out at the correct angle and use lots of naughty words. :-P

Most have special nipples or nipple retaining collars that screw into the outer wall of the rim. Others - particularly Campag/Fulcrum - need a little magnet inserted into the nipple, then another magnet to capture and pull the nipple around to the desired hole.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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Re: What is your favorite type of rim tape?

Postby uart » Sun Jan 21, 2018 2:50 pm

Duck! wrote:Others - particularly Campag/Fulcrum - need a little magnet inserted into the nipple, then another magnet to capture and pull the nipple around to the desired hole.
You mean put them in through valve hole and then shake and drag them around with the magnet to the hole you want. :shock:

Wow that sounds really painful. Yes, definitely need a good vocabulary of rude words for that job. ;)

I suppose on the plus side, if you've got good quality strong nipples then you probably only have to do it once in the life of a wheel. I find when I replace broken spokes I can often re-use the nipples if I want to.

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