TESA 4289

I got a big old reel off eBay last time - but it was the 30mm stuff sold in the UK. If you can squeeze the 25mm version in (and it does lens down into the spoke bed, so 25mm will more than fit on a 23mm rim) then I'd go that way.

Yep. The extra width never bothers me i just fit it centrally ish. Then take a scalpel and run it round the rim.

Sorry should have clarified - it’s a 21mm carbon rim hence wanting 23mm tape. I’m a bit scalpel cautious on the carbon…!

Ali is your man

I just got mine off ebay.

You'll need 2 layers for road wheels with spoke holes so it might be worth getting one tape narrower to go over the holes then the wider tape on top depending on how tight the bead seat is already.

That, and if you don't already know, get the wheel and tape nice and warm before you start, it makes the adhesive tacky. Leave them on a radiator for a bit before you start. The glue is pressure activated so the tighter you can stretch it on, the better it will stick to the layer below.

Sorry should have clarified – it’s a 21mm carbon rim hence wanting 23mm tape. I’m a bit scalpel cautious on the carbon…!

You only have to stroke the tape witha scalpel. If you scratch th carbon in anyway you are a cack handed gibbon 😀

You’ll need 2 layers for road wheels with spoke holes so it might be worth getting one tape narrower to go over the holes then the wider tape on top depending on how tight the bead seat is already.

So I've found some 23mm - how much narrower for the initial layer do you recommend? will 19mm do?

If you scratch th carbon in anyway you are a cack handed gibbon ?

Ha ha - fair enough. Although a straight cut is possibly quite beyond my capabilities!

Always used this. https://www.twistedcogs.shop/product/black-tubeless-tape-25mmx60m

I just got mine off ebay.

You’ll need 2 layers for road wheels with spoke holes so it might be worth getting one tape narrower to go over the holes then the wider tape on top depending on how tight the bead seat is already.

Hmm - I only use a single wide layer - so 25mm internal rim is used with 30mm tape and with an overlap of 15cm or so.  I use wider tyres at 32mm, and only at 55psi, but on a weekly basis, my tyres lose around 15psi.  Do you lose less with 2 layers?

but on a weekly basis, my tyres lose around 15psi

I'd definitely be re-taping those

That black stuff from twisted cogs looks like 4288 which is billed as "medium duty" rather than "heavy duty" in the 4289 description.

4288 has tensile strength of 300N/cm as opposed to 4289 420N/cm. Not sure how much difference if any that makes when used as tubeless tape... The 4289 is thicker too, 144um compared to 114um.

I’d definitely be re-taping those

That’s 15psi on nearly 9 hours of riding and 250km. And it’s a decreasing amount over multiple weeks.  After 3 weeks in the summer (1 week riding 2 weeks just in the garage) they’d dropped from 48/51 to 25/25.  I’m not sure I’ve seen much less even with tubes.

My 30mm GP5000s lose about 15-20 psi from 65 over a week. They are factory taped Rovals. Its these I want to re tape to see if that makes a difference. Schwalbe tape is supposed to be good and only needs 1 layer they say. My seller on eBay of 23mm TESA contacted to say it’s out of stock and I can’t find any anywhere else other than 25mm. I CBA to trim it so I’ll try some 25mm MucOff that is due for the skip to see if it fits and then maybe get 25mm TESA and some 19mm as a base layer… If not I’ll try the Schwalbe high pressure stuff….

Don't use muc off!!! For me it lifted at the join and the sticker they provide was useless. But worse  was removing the residue, what a nightmare.

Yeah - most MucOff stuff is awful. I’ve got some 23mm TESA coming now so I’ll try that double layered with some 19mm.

So I tried some 4289 27mm on a 25mm internal rim for gravel duties. After thoroughly cleaning the rim bed with IPA, I got the tape warm (ish) from the radiator and stretched it nice and tight while applying. I then left an inner tube in overnight.

Observations:

It's very thick compared to other tapes I have used so I only used one layer (38mm tyres going on so less than 50 psi required)

Managed to get most if not all of the air bubbles out but the extreme edges of the tape where it met the edges of the rim bed didn't seem to stick fully down even after leaving the tube in.

Inflated without sealant and one held some air, the other went flat in a few hours - these tyres had been mounted tubeless previously and one had suffered a puncture so not surprised they went down with no sealant.

Sealant added and tyre shaken about - lost about 20 psi overnight.

Reinflated and wheels spun around for a few minutes on the bike while in a stand - 2-3 psi lost overnight.

Not ridden the wheels but spinning in the stand should have got sealant in most areas and 3psi loss from 50 psi in 12 hours or so is no better than anything else. Planning a ride possibly later so will see what happens after that.

Initial thoughts are that this doesn't seem to be any better than any other tubeless tapes I've tried and is a bit more difficult to apply. I can't see the benefit of adding an extra layer though, I'm not even sure why this is recommended other than to avoid stretch/failure around the spoke holes I suppose but if that was commonplace surely most tapes would address this. I would imagine two layers of this already thick tape would make some tyres really difficult to mount. It's much cheaper though...

You don’t need two layers for road wheels.  All of mine have a single layer and a 20-30cm overlap around the valve hole.  All of them lose around 20% air pressure in a week over around 200-300km of riding.  This is the same whether at 50psi on the 32s or 80psi on the 28s.  I have 7 sets of road/gravel wheels and they all behave the same.  The MTB wheels lose less percentage but are rarely above 25psi.

I’ve done my overlap at the opposite side to the valve hole.

The Stan’s instructions for applying their tape (which I gather is the same stuff) say 2 layers above 45psi or something. Good to know that you don’t use 2 layers @daffy and have no issues.

Ive just realised that I forgot to check that I was taping  in the opposite direction to the rotation so that the sealant isn’t constantly being pushed against the trailing edge of the tape end. Not sure if that helps even but I have done it in the past.

“Don’t use muc off!!!”

A good rule to follow more generally.

Obvious question is obvious. If the hard to find tape you're looking for is the same as Stans, why not just use Stans?

I’ve found it on eBay now as above and then reason for not using Stan’s is that 66m on eBay is the same price as 10m of Stan’s branded…

Sorry I never checked back and saw the follow-up question.

Obviously I never read the instructions with my stans tape and just put one layer on. At ~100psi it looked like someone had used an ineffective holepunch on the tape after a week or so.

I never noticed any difference between Stans and the Tesa version.

On MTB's I've sometimes done a layer of Stans then a layer of decent quality (not the hard plasticy stuff) 50mm PVC electrical tape over the top and trimmed with a scalpel.  The PVC tape is easier to handle and stretch so while the Stans tape is doing the bulk of the work bridging the spoke holes and rim joint the PVC tape does a better job of sealing right up under the bead.

Interesting differing opinions on whether or not two layers is required. What happens when you get a puncture at 100psi?? If the answer is “nothing it just seals” - what sealant are you using??

Interesting differing opinions on whether or not two layers is required. What happens when you get a puncture at 100psi?? If the answer is “nothing it just seals” – what sealant are you using??

Stans Race, bit of a PITA to use as you can't inject it through the valve, but does seal small thorns and flints.  Usually it'll PSSSSSSSSSSsssssssststssssssssssssststssssssssststsssssssssssststsssssssssstt...........tt...........tt...........t down to about 60-70psi which is enough to limp onto the cafe stop, then it's fine to top up again.  I think I've only had to use an anchovy / patch a couple of times.

Fairly moot these days when ZIPP specify a pressure limit of 72psi on their new wheels! It's only luddites like me still riding around on old frames with 25c tyres that'll struggle

I used 4289 and 4288. Someone recommended the 4288 for MTB because it is more compliant and easier to work with.

In terms of the the break strength you could probably work it out base on the size of spoke holes and tyre pressure. But I'd suggest both just work.

You need to be a bit wider on the tape. Your internal rim width is point to point, not following the shape of the rime which will likely be curved. If it goes slightly up the inner wall it has always been fine for me.

Only double taped when I've had baggy tyres that I struggled to seat. In those cases I went for one width down. I seem to have collected all the widths over the years.

Been using tesa since I stopped going ghetto with a BMX tube. Been a while! Never given me a problem.

You need to be a bit wider on the tape.

I have tapes in various widths 2mm wider than the rim width.  I have  a roll of narrower stuff in case I needed to double up with one narrower wrap first then a wider one over the top to keep the overall thickness to a minimum…

I’ll not be running any tyres at 100psi for sure - max 70.

4288 is slightly thinner according to specs but I now have 2000 years worth of 4289 in various sizes so I’ll stick with that.

1 layer is going to be my favoured approach.