[Closed] Leaky spoke

If your tape goes anywhere on the rim the air will creep under it and escape via the easiest route. It's usually the valve so you spend ages messing with it when you should be looking inside for the leak.

Sorry, but get your tyre off and have a proper look.

Sorry, but get your tyre off and have a proper look.

Thanks for the input. Deep down I knew it was heading this way, not sure why I bothered asking. RIP the skin on my fingers.

Iffy rim tape does my head in,you can get the single spoke leak that you hope will eventually seal or the pressurised valve that’s relying on the rubber outside o-ring so all seems fine till you go past a pressure that it can’t (and shouldnt be) holding.

I tend to pull it all apart clean and retry using a lot of soapy water to see what’s happening,it’s a pain but the only way.

I’m currently playing with terratape under rim tape which seems to be holding fine although my new found worry is tyres that won’t easily trailside mount if they go too flat(probably should carry a co2 for that eventuality but meh)

And a sucking eggs thing but don’t forget to get the tyre beads into the middle of the tyre which should make life easier, in theory the tyre will have also loosened up so any drama involved in getting it on originally may not exist ymmv and plenty of soap 😉

Agreed - although you could try adding more sealant and agitating it just to see if that fixes it...

The spoke nipple sits in a separate hollow channel below the rim bed. If you've got air coming out of any spokes it means the rim bed isn't sealed and air is getting into that channel.

Make sure you're using rim tape that goes the whole with of the rim bed so that the tyre beads are in contact with the tape when seated. That way the seal is formed completely between the tyre and tape.

Wheel in bits, removed all the tape, cleaned and dried the rim, new tape, remounted everything. Seems to be okay now and it wasn’t even too much of a faff getting the insert and tyre remounted.

Submerging it in water proved there’s no air escaping any more, let’s hope it stays that way!

That was fast. A leaky tyre would be another 3 weeks off the bike for me.

Haha, it’s been bothering me all week knowing the tyre is out there all flat and useless. What if I’d needed to make a quick 150mm trail bike based getaway?

i just assume the rim tape will have been applied cackhandedly* so I do a wrap of the goodstuff over then a wrap of lecky tape across the whole bed including the bead flats.

*by me

What if I’d needed to make a quick 150mm trail bike based getaway?

What kind of job do you have where this is a regular occurrence?

I'm guessing you are a secret agent based high in some mountain hideout; when the black helicopters show up, jump on bike and out-ride ninja warriors on motocross bikes armed with poison darts.

I’m guessing you are a secret agent based high in some mountain hideout; when the black helicopters show up, jump on bike and out-ride ninja warriors on motocross bikes armed with poison darts.

I’ve been rumbled! To the mountain bike!