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the GF's Trnce arrived the other day.
using Giant's blue rim tape the front was no problem. the tape stuck down as you would expect, tyre went up.
on the rear however the tape just wouldn't stick to the rim despite me cleaning it with alcohol.
this mens i need new rim tape. have got a load of electricians tape, some gaffa, or should i stump up for something proper? and if so, what?
Gorilla tape 25mm handy roll - usually about £2.99 for 10m - works brilliantly. Just stretch and 'wiggle' into the rim base.
I've got some chunky 32mm internal rims that I need the wider gorilla tape for so I have to cut it down which is an arse. It does however work well and sticks like shit.
What he said - Gorilla Tape
Or the proper stuff - stans/superstar/tesa? in price order. Less sticky mess if/when you need to swap it.
Don't use electrical tape. Good for a short term emergency, but deforms too much into the spoke holes and doesn't stay put.
I found the blue Giant stuff flimsy and after asking on here went with Stans, (actually the eBay Tesa version) which has been fine.
Electrical tape stretches a bit too much into the holes for my liking. Gaffer tape would work, run a sharp knife around the roll to cut it to width.
ok... Gorilla tape it is then... will pick some up monday from Homebase.
Clear gorilla tape is fine, but doesn't come in narrow rolls so you have to cut it. Cloth ie black gorilla tape works great but is a horror to remove once it's been on for a while, bad enough to stop me using it.
Quality electrical tape is actually fine ime, as long as you give it at least 2 wraps. But I use tesa tape mostly.
Northwind +1, except I use 3 wraps of electrical tape
That's funny, I used cut-down Gorilla Tape and after about three tyre changes the issue was it had come loose at one point*. It came off easily, a bit of white spirit got the glue residue off.
* I evo-stick the overlapping ends together as it always seems to end up flapping in the breeze there otherwise. It came loose part of the way round probably as a result of tyre on/off, the bit on the bead shelf slipped into the well causing a circumferential ruck in the tape.
TESA 4289 is actually cheaper than Gorilla tape per meter at £10 off ebay for 66m in 25mm. It's actually better if you have to remove it as doesn't leave a mess.
How many wraps of the Tesa tape do people normally use? Is the standard 'once round, starting/finishing a couple of spokes form the valve hole' sufficient? For a tenner for 66m, that seems like excellent value!
leccy tape til the ebay Tesa tape turns up. 2 or three wraps and it'll be dead easy to remove in a week's time. Does deform into the spoke holes as others have said, isn't suitable long term.
Gorilla tape shifts when you change tyres and the glue gets smooshed around, it's a pain to clean off the rim and can end up with gobs of it on your tyres which can prevent a decent tubeless seal next time round till you've picked it all off.
Is the standard 'once round, starting/finishing a couple of spokes form the valve hole' sufficient?
Yup, unless you need to put more round to pack out for a baggy tyre.
If you're using tubes then quality electricians tape is fine for a good while. 3 wraps on the rear of my MTB lasted a good 2 years. Front is still fine after 5.
Just get Stans trust me overpriced but worth it .
I bought a huge reel of tesa tape from eBay that will last "forever". Wasn't expensive either.
Goes on easy, doesn't deform much and comes off in seconds and leaves rim totally clean if you need to remove it.
How many wraps of the Tesa tape do people normally use? Is the standard 'once round, starting/finishing a couple of spokes form the valve hole' sufficient?
If using something like Tesa or Stans or the WTB precut tape (better value than Stan's and good range of handy widths, not as cheap as Ebay Tesa) then a single run with a few inches over run at the end should be fine. You should only need more than one turn if the tape isn't wide enough.