i tried at the weekend but without a compressor i had no chance of inflation.

i think i need to build up the rim a bit but then i`m adding loads of weight??

never had a problem inflating tyres with bmx innertube but gaffertape is cheaper and more easily re-useable.

any advice gems?

cheers mark

electrical tape for me… gaffa is too wide. go round the rim 3 times to cover it / build it up a bit…

Done 4 wheels this way…

Not quite the same thing, but I'd been having probs with a Stans 355 rim and a Bonty tyre. It burped a couple of times when new. I put a layer or two of gaffer tape around on top of the yellow tape and it's been fine since.
I'm sure it should work for ghetto, but you'll just have to get the thickness spot on. You should need strong tyre levers to put the tyre on.

HTH!

I like the sound of this.

So do you fill in the recessed part where the rim strip usually sits with tape or the whole thing so you just have a couple of mm below the hook for the tyre bead to get into?

Also are you just gaffing in a cut off valve from an old tube?

You fill in the entire floor of the rim, edge to edge, but not up the sides. That's why gaffer tape is good as you can tear it off in even strips. That way when the tyre is inflated it's compressing against the tape and has more than just air pressure to hold it in place.

Cut out presta valves work fine with soft rim strips like these, but proper ones are always more secure. It's worth putting double locknuts on the valve to be sure it's going to stay in place.

i just wound a full width strip of gaffa over the rim thinking that it can be trimmed after and will squish into teh bead better and the baggy bit would seal the tyre better for inflation.

the problem i had was the recess in the rim was too deep/ tyre too loose. it was tight enough with a bmx tube.

its interesting to read you guys dont go up the wall of the rim…

i dont want to add loads of tape to the rim as you are adding loads of weight for no reason.

i think i need a compressor.

Van,

just tape round the spoke holes, not up the sides… 3 layers one in the middle, then one off center to the right, and one off to the left…

I have used old valves… but now use the no flats specific valves… worth the expense as they hold a lot better and last, just replace the core as and when.

like bikewhisperer said, double locknuts are a must.

I use this stuff to seal my rims. 2 or 3 layers is usually fine. Very sticky, reliable and tough. I've done maybe five wheelsets this way (running UST tyres) and had no issues. Just get the rim very clean before applying.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1-x-ROLL-19mm-x-50m-Crossweave-Reinforced-Tape-/180337800112?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Packaging_Materials&hash=item29fcf873b0

So how far below the hook (think that's what the bit of the rim the thyre bead sits in is called?) are you building the gaffer tape up to? Surly if you go too high there will be no room left for the bead?

CO2 cannisters are the cheap alternative to buying a compressor and work just as well.

YouTube "superghetto tyre"
very detailed video- easy step by step.

I've run some wheels using gaffa too… I'm thinking of putting some elecy tape on first then two runs of gaffa – found before the sealant leaked into the rim / spoke bed.

Dead easy to do. but getting the tyre inflated was interesting.

I've used electrical tape to seal the spoke bed and then used a layer of the stuff reggiegasket linked to above, worked a treat, although I had to trim a few mm off of the packing tape stuff to get a perfect fit. Went up OK with Bontrager TR tyres and a bit of a track pump pumping frenzy.

Used the gaffa tape method on my bonty rims. Split the roll down the middle for perfect width. Tyres off, wheel in frame upside down. Stick down the end and then pull taught – this naturally curves the tape helping it sit into the rim cavity. I Dudley the tape sit on the sides just below the bead lock. Twice round and an extra bit over the stans valve to seal it in. Don't forget to make a hole in it for the air though! Bonty tlr tyres on and inflated with a track pump first time

I used the gaffer tape method on my Stans 355 rims and normal Nobby Nic/Racing Ralph combo.

Was a major biatch to inflate using a track pump due to the RR being so tight on the rim – it wouldn't pop into the bead bit, went up eventually though 😀

I have ghetto'd a few sets of wheels using various tapes/20in tubes/draught excluder etc. All with acceptable results. The trick is to match the thickness of tape in the rim to the "bagginess" of the tyre. If the tyre will not get that initial seal you need a couple more layers and likewise if the bead wont seat you probably have too much. Conti's are notorius for being a bit tight. Valves with removable cores are a bonus as you can top up the milk with a syringe. As to gaffer tape? havn't done it yet but I see no reason why not.

just out of interest, by the time you've fecked about with gaffer/electrical tape, valves form different sources etc.. why not just fit a stans or joes no flats (much cheaper) rim strip and get it done nice and easily?

A roll of gaffa tape and two valves is about 15 quid, a lot cheaper than a stans kit!

Well I've got stan's rims, proper tape, proper valves, no rim strip and a normal maxxis ardent 2.4 on the front with a normal conti speedking on the back chucked some sealant in and use a topeak track pump which works fine!

It takes a couple of attempts to pump up initially but I find just holding the tyre down by the valve area helps get the air in, and make sure the tyre is wet with soapy water as this helps!

A roll of gaffa tape and two valves is about 15 quid, a lot cheaper than a stans kit!

I'd rather spend the extra 25 quid and get a complete joes no flats kit including the sealant and have it done in about 10 minutes for both wheels 😀

I've found the 25mm notubes yellow rim tape works a treat on dt5.1 rims in conjunction with notubes valves and stans latex (works out at about £8 per wheel). Mud X's went on with track pump but some non ust spesh tyres needed a compressor though.

A roll of gaffa tape and two valves is about 15 quid, a lot cheaper than a stans kit!

Pair of Bmx Tubes £10 – am I missing something

Igm – much easier to swap tyres using the tape method.

Tazzy – fair point, I already had gaffa tape so thought I'd give it a whirl.

much easier to swap tyres using the tape method

I swapped a Bonty Mud X for a Bonty Revolt Super X with an audience and a track pump at SSEC (BMX tube ghetto and up first time).

It's very easy to swap tyres provided you don't trim the BMX tube after the you fit the tyre. Let it stick out by a few mm and swapping tyres is simplicity itself.

Honest.