Toughest Rim Tapes

On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 09:56:49 GMT, "Cychlo-path" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi All,

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

You might want to consider these little suckers
http://www.veloplug.com/

Velox cloth tape is good new, but it rots and is hard to remove for
replacement; modern 1- piece plastic tapes are just as good, and they
don't need adhesive. Still not as good as veloplugs, though.

Kinky Cowboy*

*Batteries not included
May contain traces of nuts
Your milage may vary

Cychlo-path said:

Hi All,

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

Thanks

Schwalbe plastic ones come in many widths. I like those.

Joseph

Cychlo-path said:

Hi All,

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

Thanks

Cloth tapes such as Velox are fine in general, *but*, they are a bit
thick (compared to plastic rim strips) and have more friction between
the strip and the tube (again, compared to plastic rim strips). This
makes installing narrow and/or "tight" tires a bit more difficult.
(IME/O, YMMV, etc., etc., etc.)

Cychlo-path said:

Hi All,

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

Thanks

They come in specific lengths, so you should be able to find them that
will fit a 27" rim properly.

I still prefer the fabric stick-ons.
I've seen more problems with the plastic ones (shifting while
reinstalling a tire/tube). Especially if you happen to end up buying the
plastic liners separate of the rims; some liner strips seem to fit
loose on some rims, worsening the problem.

The hole-plugs would seem (to me) to be more trouble and expense than
they're worth. The only good aspect of them is that they make it easier
to get the tire on and off, but most tires will fit over most rims with
only reasonable effort anyway, if proper technique is used.

My latest wheel purchase came with the un-adhesive plastics, but if
there's a problem with either of them they're both coming off and
fabric's going on. I've /never/ had to take a fabric strip off because
it didn't work.
~

"Cychlo-path" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi All,

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need
them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

Thanks

Plastic rim strips DO at times fail fatally and subtly. I had a set of
Michelin plastics strips on a wheel that flatted 4 times in 25 miles about
8-10 years ago, all small cuts on the inside of the tube with no apparent
source. The strips looked perfect. BUT, when you removed a strip and
flexed it just so you could discern a fine split over each spoke hole. At
120 psi these would flex open enough to nip the tube. This was a fairly
notorious failure mode for them. It's back to Velox for me.

Jeffrey

As mentioned, they are thick (and can make some tires a wee bit harder
to install than other thinner tapes). However, as you said "toughest",
the Velox strips might just be immortal.

Cychlo-path said:

Hi All,

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

Thanks

In article <[email hidden]>,

Cychlo-path said:

Hi All,

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

Cloth tape is known to work. Everyone agrees. We have
reports of plastic tape migrating away from the very
sharp edges it is supposed to mask, leading to tube
puncture.

Some folks tell us that glass fibre packing tape is an
effective rim tape. This makes sense, as glass does not
creep. Apparently, all resins creep.

On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 15:56:38 GMT, Michael Press <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Cychlo-path said:

Hi All,

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

Cloth tape is known to work. Everyone agrees. We have
reports of plastic tape migrating away from the very
sharp edges it is supposed to mask, leading to tube
puncture.

Some folks tell us that glass fibre packing tape is an
effective rim tape. This makes sense, as glass does not
creep. Apparently, all resins creep.

The plastic ones split and cut the tube.

They also slide sideways and let sharp bits nick the tube.

As for "creep" not occuring in plastics, consider the source.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Kinky Cowboy said:

On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 09:56:49 GMT, "Cychlo-path" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi All,

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

You might want to consider these little suckers
http://www.veloplug.com/

Velox cloth tape is good new, but it rots

Rode hard, put away wet.
It never rotted on me. I do not ride in the wet.

Quoted message said:

and is hard to remove for

Again, not for me. I have pulled it and reused it.

Quoted message said:

replacement; modern 1- piece plastic tapes are just as good, and they
don't need adhesive. Still not as good as veloplugs, though.

Kinky Cowboy <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Velox cloth tape is good new, but it rots and is hard to remove for
replacement; modern 1- piece plastic tapes are just as good, and they
don't need adhesive. Still not as good as veloplugs, though.

I've had plastic tapes melt and they make bigger dimples in the spoke holes
that can ultimately fail tubes. I don't find Velox difficult to remove at
all.

--
Mike DeMicco <[email hidden]>

Michael Press said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Cychlo-path said:

Hi All,

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

Cloth tape is known to work. Everyone agrees. We have
reports of plastic tape migrating away from the very
sharp edges it is supposed to mask, leading to tube
puncture.

Some folks tell us that glass fibre packing tape is an
effective rim tape. This makes sense, as glass does not
creep. Apparently, all resins creep.

<irony>
but but but cotton is a polymer, so it's gotta "creep" too...
</irony>

Cychlo-path said:

Hi All,

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

Thanks

plastic is light, strong, and at pressures employed by normal mortals in
clinchers, very reliable. the only thing it's not so good for is field
repairs in the event of spoke breakage at the nipple end that would
require nipple replacement. but i'm not aware of plastic strips being
available for 27", so maybe that makes their consideration academic and
your choice has been decided for you.

[email hidden] wrote:
<snip>>

Quoted message said:

As for "creep" not occuring in plastics, consider the source.

to the uninitiated, /that/ is a perfect example of ad hominem!

jim beam said:

Cychlo-path said:

Hi All,

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

Thanks

plastic is light, strong, and at pressures employed by normal mortals in
clinchers, very reliable. the only thing it's not so good for is field
repairs in the event of spoke breakage at the nipple end that would
require nipple replacement. but i'm not aware of plastic strips being
available for 27", so maybe that makes their consideration academic and
your choice has been decided for you.

I had plastic strips before 700c wheels (and tyres, of the cluncher
variety) were commonly available; we used 27" wheels, and they were no
good for that size, or I suspect, any other.

Cloth is best.

Quoted message said:

jim beam said:

Cychlo-path said:

Hi All,

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

Thanks

plastic is light, strong, and at pressures employed by normal mortals in
clinchers, very reliable. the only thing it's not so good for is field
repairs in the event of spoke breakage at the nipple end that would
require nipple replacement. but i'm not aware of plastic strips being
available for 27", so maybe that makes their consideration academic and
your choice has been decided for you.

I had plastic strips before 700c wheels (and tyres, of the cluncher
variety) were commonly available; we used 27" wheels, and they were no
good for that size, or I suspect, any other.

Cloth is best.

dude, what's with this logical disconnect problem you're having at the
moment? almost every post you make has the same issue. whether or not
a plastic strip fits a 27" rim has no bearing on the material's
appropriateness for the application whatsoever.

On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 08:54:28 -0600, DougC <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Cychlo-path said:

Hi All,

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

The hole-plugs would seem (to me) to be more trouble and expense than
they're worth. The only good aspect of them is that they make it easier
to get the tire on and off, but most tires will fit over most rims with
only reasonable effort anyway, if proper technique is used.

You're overlooking the fact that weight weenies can save over 10g per
wheel by using veloplugs :-)

Actually, they're barely more trouble to fit than a one-piece plastic
tape, and definitely less hassle than adhesive cloth tape. At about
GBP6 per wheel they're 6 times the price of tape, but still cheap
enough to be lost in the noise in the context of a wheel/tyre package
in the GBP300 range, let alone anything expensive.

Kinky Cowboy*

*Batteries not included
May contain traces of nuts
Your milage may vary

On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 16:23:29 GMT, Michael Press <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Kinky Cowboy said:

On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 09:56:49 GMT, "Cychlo-path" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi All,

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

You might want to consider these little suckers
http://www.veloplug.com/

Velox cloth tape is good new, but it rots

Rode hard, put away wet.
It never rotted on me. I do not ride in the wet.

You've correctly described the problem, and your solution. My
experience is with a commuter bike in the UK, where there wasn't much
choice about riding in the rain

Given that Velox is no good for a commuter bike, and too heavy for a
race bike (given that the lighter alternatives do the job at least as
well), I'd be inclined to confine its use to retro projects where
every detail must be period :-)

Kinky Cowboy*

*Batteries not included
May contain traces of nuts
Your milage may vary

jim beam said:

Cychlo-path said:

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

plastic is light, strong, and at pressures employed by normal mortals in
clinchers, very reliable. the only thing it's not so good for is field
repairs in the event of spoke breakage at the nipple end that would
require nipple replacement. but i'm not aware of plastic strips being
available for 27", so maybe that makes their consideration academic and
your choice has been decided for you.

My experience is that plastic rim strips have failed on three separate
family bicycles within their respective first two years. (Failed in
this context means stretched at the spoke holes until either the
plastic split, leading to flatting, or stretched until the tube
contacted the spoke head, leading to flatting. Pressure ranged from
40 psi to 75 psi, easily attainable by mortal with a decent pump.)
All replaced with Velox cloth tapes, and somehow, 4-8 years later, the
Velox is still working fine on all the wheels.

Pat

Email address works as is.

Patrick Lamb said:

jim beam said:

Cychlo-path said:

What are your suggestions for the best rim tapes? I'm reading that cloth
tapes are best for high pressure tubes/tyre combos. Is this true or
nostalgia, as it appears to read on some sites? I'm looking a Velox, any
good? Any other brands which come in 10 and 13mm widths? Oh, and I need them
to be long enough for 27" racer wheels.

plastic is light, strong, and at pressures employed by normal mortals in
clinchers, very reliable. the only thing it's not so good for is field
repairs in the event of spoke breakage at the nipple end that would
require nipple replacement. but i'm not aware of plastic strips being
available for 27", so maybe that makes their consideration academic and
your choice has been decided for you.

My experience is that plastic rim strips have failed on three separate
family bicycles within their respective first two years. (Failed in
this context means stretched at the spoke holes until either the
plastic split, leading to flatting, or stretched until the tube
contacted the spoke head, leading to flatting. Pressure ranged from
40 psi to 75 psi, easily attainable by mortal with a decent pump.)
All replaced with Velox cloth tapes, and somehow, 4-8 years later, the
Velox is still working fine on all the wheels.

Pat

Email address works as is.

that's unfortunate. i've been riding plastic exclusively, mountain and
road, since about 1997 and i've never experienced the problem you describe.