ordered some stuff from JRA and thought id make a start tonight. havent got a small round file to make the valve hole, so thought id get as far as putting the yellow tape on and carry on in a day or so when i get a file from work.
it wasnt as id expected it really. bit of a faff getting the tape on. i took my time, and tried to squeeze air out etc, but it was just so tight in the rim that it didnt go in perfectly straight all the way round. or smoothly come to that.

so my question is…..does it matter? as long as air cant get to the spoke holes then itll be fine wont it?

the one thing that puzzled me was, theyre tubeless rims. so made to locate the tyre bead better, and grip it better etc. and then you go and put a load of tape along it, a bit bumpy in places, higher on the rim in some places then others…….

starting to think 'ghetto' would give a better seal than this will…

couple of photos below. does everyones look as shite as that? 🙁

points and laughs

It should go on nice and smooth and in the middle of the rim.

Did a second set of Flow rims a couple of days ago and it went on dead easy.

Did you pull the tape tight and try to stretch it onto the rim as you went?

ooh rough as rats. mine looked pretty uniform though my rim looked wider.

hmmm im wondering if theres different widths and theyve given me the wrong stuff. it says it fits stans flow rims, and a few others, but doesnt mention my 355s. and its defo too wide to just lay in the centre, it climbs the inside of the rim 🙁

as for stretching it tight, i tried to push it in as tight as poss, but its certainly not stretchy. or that sticky really :-/

bit of a balls up really int it 🙂

That is a pretty shit job Dave… 😉 As Stu said, you need to pull it quite tight as you put it on. Also helps to heat it up a little, let it sit on top of a heater for a bit before you put it on. Need to make sure rims are totally clean as well. Given that you've already got it on there though, I'd mount a tyre with a tube in it and pump it up hard and leave it for a while to make sure it's stuck down as well as possible. If it then doesn't hold air tubeless you may have to start again.

am i right in thinking then, that rim tape up the inside of the rim would compromise the seal?

It does come in two widths – 21mm and 25mm. You need 21mm for the 355s. That could also be a big part of your problem…

rim tape up the inside of the rim would compromise the seal

Not necessarily

At this point I'd be inclined to try it and see as you've already laid out the cash for the tape.

Can you not trim the bits that are sticking into the rim lock with a Stanley knife.

Then make some very small holes in the tape with a needle and put a tube in as Sam said.

The tiny holes will allow the air out from under the tape and help it stick down better.

grrrr……..just been out to the garage to measure it and its 25mm. so they sent me the wrong stuff >-(
i told em what rims they were too.

i think rather than carry on with the wrong stuff, on a job thats dodgy enough anyway, ill give em a ring in the morning and ask em to send me the right tape :-/

make holes in it??????? er……..was that a joke? 🙂

make holes in tape thats supposed to keep air in? 🙂

That's how they tell you to get any small air bubbles out.

Oh and it works for me.

After I took the tube out of mine they were dead smooth with no bubbles at all.

So there. 😛 😉

This might help you out a bit.

http://www.notubes.com/movietape.php

also i dont really feel that i should be scoring the inside of the rim with a stanley :-/

no, i told em what rims i had, so i think they should send me the right stuff really.

did you have problems like this then stu?

I had a couple of very small air bubbles that I got rid of with the above method.

Have a look at the vid before you try again though.

what vid? ive been looking at ghetto vids on youtube. is there a proper one on JRA website?

There's a link on my post up there you fool. 😉

Dave, I'll email you in a mo.

ah right. will have a peek ta 🙂

video looks just like mine 🙂

Yep.

It's hard to tell the difference…..

For when you get the right tape – Sticking in a tube and tyre at 40psi over night helps stick the tape well down. I didn't file the tape out of the hole, I just cut a cross and pushed the valve through. Hasn't caused any problems so far.

Just Riding Along website says you can use 21mm with 355's but they RECOMMEND 25mm. After fitting+inflating a tube+tyre the tape will be flatter.

you reckon itll stick back ok if i take it off and try again?

but i still reckon 21mm would be easier 🙂

one question before i carry on with this next week…… i dont understand the compressor thing.

if ive put sealant in my tyre, and now the tyre is seated, and the wheels on a jig or hung somewhere, why does it matter how fast the tyre is pumped up? in fact id have thought thered be more call for it to be inflated slower, so you can keep tweaking the tyre all the way round as it inflates, to try and make sure it seats better.

why the need for a fast inflate?

Good work. I think the compressor is to help get more air in than is coming out until it's seated.

The compressor is just to get the tyre to seat in the rim in the first place. If you can get it to make a ping-type noise and stay seated with a track pump then that's fine. Then you can shake etc like in the Stans video to seal any leaks.

It can be tough to get the bead to snap into the rim and that's when you need to get in air quicker than it escapes. Your first ride on these wheels is going to feel good after all this effort!

now the tyre is seated

You won't be able to seat the tyre without getting a good amount of air pressure behind the beads to force them on to the rim.

yeah just had a play with the track pump. nowt doing 🙂

probably have to use a compressor from the nearest garage :-/ dont fancy having a 'badger' moment tho in front of a forecourt full 🙂

I couldn't find a forecourt pump that could blow quickly enough so had to ask a mechanic to use his compressor. He was astounded that you could get tubeless bicycle wheels. I also needed to get an adaptor so the compressor nozzle would fit onto the valve.

If you use watery soap on the beads they pop on at about 40psi IME

Put a tube in it overnight at 40psi, it helps to stretch the bead into place (and settle your yellow tape). Leave one bead still on when you take the tube out, plenty of watery soap on the open side and have another go with the track pump.

ok, update time. just tried that anthony, and no good. id left a tube in for a couple of days anyway on one of the wheels, so just did as you suggested and no good. loses the air straight away.

so…….just taken wheels to petrol station, and STILL no good. i tried another garage, and it seems these modern compressors arent very tubeless mtb wheel friendly at all 🙂

they rely on pressure being in in the first place. but theres a 'flat tyre' button to get you started. which i tried. but i swear the air comes out faster with my bike pump than that thing!! and after about a minute, if its not feeling pressure in there it packs in. 2 X 20p's wasted 🙂

this isnt going very well is it 🙂

Inflate the tyres with tubes for a day or so, then try tubeless again. I always have trouble with new tyres that have been folded up, but have no problem reseating them unless they have been packed away in the shed for a while.

(sorry, I see you've already tried that in the above post)

A small co2 inflator has never failed me when trying to seat stubborn tyres 🙂

never looked at them mate. how much are they? and do you have to buy your air? or refill? or is it a case of once youve bought it, it costs you nothing after that?

Jesus – just about to venture tubeless myself – this thread is not filling me with joy!

hmmm just been looking, and i think rather than keep chucking money at it with inflators, ive GOT to try getting air into them for free first!!! :-/

To be honest I've never had much trouble.

The CO2 inflator we've had for over a year, I think we've used two cylinders in that time…its just there as a last resort. Its an Innovations inflator, not sure if they are all the same, but this one you can inflate one tyre, then when you release it self seals, then you can use it again for the other tyre. I think some just pierce the canister and its a case of use it or lose it over the next few seconds!

so how many wheels can a canister do? loads? i was under the impression it was 1 canister for 1 wheel.