Rim tape

sorry for not UTFSing, on my phone and it don't handle search well. need some rim tape, 3 wheels worth, any recommendations or is it all much for muchness?

need today so was going to head to a london LBS.

Velox cloth tape, 17mm ideally. Cloth is better than plastic as it doesn't slide round, allegedly. Done. Next.

look theres even a link above SP's post!
how useful.

I wonder- if I start a thread on russian brides, will hippy buy one?

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread18940.html

[I really like SJS Cycles and the way the banners work is really helpful and unobtrusive IMO]

My wheel builder uses Fibre glass tape, the tape with strands of fibre glass running along it, sports shops sell it for cricket bats, its a lot lighter than rim tape, sticks well and really cheap too.

Electrical tape, job done.

Looks fantastic too.

Velox creeps, rots, and holds moisture next to your eyelets so they can rust quicker. Also usually needs replacing if you break a spoke. Schwalbe blue plastic for general use, Veloplugs for racing. Some people like a belt and braces approach of electricians' PVC tape over Veloplugs, although I haven't tried it myself.

Not the Halfords ones! They slip about and caused a blowout 7 miles into my ride. First time I had to use my inflation/repair foam can which didn't work as the hole was too big (gone back to carrying a tube!)
A 7 mile ride home on a flat tyre wasn't much fun. Was using Armadillos at the time which allowed me to ride flat, albeit at a very slow speed but better than walking.

Using Velox now as it sticks in place but didn't think about rotting, getting wet etc,.

If you are only using electrical tape it can become loose if wet and under heavy rim braking your rims heat up which also loosens tape. I don't want to risk a high speed blowout for the latter.

If you are only using electrical tape it can become loose if wet and under heavy rim braking your rims heat up which also loosens tape. I don't want to risk a high speed blowout for the latter.

I've always used it and it never gave me a problem, including cycling in Ireland, which is wet, and hilly. So the wetness/warm rims caused me a problem.

I am only giving my experience of using electrical tape, when it did shift due to getting wet when changing a puncture in the pissing rain leading me, further down the road getting a puncture from the spokes to change it again. Hence why I wouldn't recommend it. Of course if you are using no brakes or discs then the heating issue won't be a problem.

thanks guys. have bought one pack of teh continental plastic stuff, one of the velox and one gonna try some skateboard grip tape i've got left over...reckon no slippage and good spoke barrier...

Grip tape? SRSLY?

Why not just use sandpaper.

nah not really...

3 wheels, 2 will be velox, one Conti plastic and gonna see how they all perform...

I used electrical tape and the tube pressure went through it like a hole punch after a few weeks. Went to using a strip of old inner tube after that which worked fine

I used electrical tape and the tube pressure went through it like a hole punch after a few weeks. Went to using a strip of old inner tube after that which worked fine

Sounds a bit backward to me. Inner tubes are stretchy and flexible, the very reason why your ACTUAL inflated tube needs a rim tape to protect it in the first place. PVC tape is pretty tough and not stretchy a couple of layers does a great job. You can see if it might have been stretching around each spoke hole, just add more as necessary.

Yeah, inner tube was a bit backward but it was all I had to hand and needed to get it on the road + not as flexible as electrical tape imo. Eventually worked out that proper rim tape costs fuck all anyway so gave up on improvising

Velox creeps, rots, and holds moisture next to your eyelets so they can rust quicker. Also usually needs replacing if you break a spoke. Schwalbe blue plastic for general use, Veloplugs for racing. Some people like a belt and braces approach of electricians' PVC tape over Veloplugs, although I haven't tried it myself.

Building some XC wheel with veloplugs.
Partly out of curiosity,
partly because I may give tubeless a bash later (might even put the rim-strip over the top, depends on tyre seating),
partly because I may replace my disc-side spokes (revs with super comps) if the wheels dont behave.

They seem like a nice flexible alternative to me.

Building some XC wheel with veloplugs.

The one time I had a problem with Veloplugs was using a tyre substantially wider than the rim + relatively low pressure, which is pretty much a definition of XC equipment although mine was 700x40 tyres on a DT TK7.1 rim. The tyre moves around quite a bit, taking the tube with it, and the plugs can fall out as they're dragged around. Hugely embarrassing as it was a new super-dooper wheelset and my brother still gives me rim tapes for Christmas by way of ritual piss taking.

For road race and TT wheels, i.e. 700x20-23s on 20mm rims + 6 bar tyre pressure, they're great. For bigger lower pressure tyres, I'd go with Schwalbe or Conti plastic loops. If it's more than a few spokes you're changing, pulling off the plastic loop strips is no more time consuming than extracting plugs.

Personally, I wouldn't touch any of the 'fake-tubeless' solutions with a ten foot pole. For me, it has to the real thing - Mavic Fore-drilled UST rims - and then there is no tape required.

Electrical tape, job done.

Looks fantastic too.

Yes I'm thrilled by the way my cavity wall insulation looks too. I just wish people could see it to admire it :-)

Yes I'm thrilled by the way my cavity wall insulation looks too. I just wish people could see it to admire it :-)

You've really gotta appreciate the little things.

i use vittoria rim tape currently. no issue.s