Best rim tape

Struggling with my ARC 30 rims to seal them properly. What rim tape is everyone using…

Lifeline tape went on very easily for me, but only tested on 1 pair of wheels so far.

Based on recent experience I’d use 32mm DT Swiss tubeless tape on a 30mm rim.

I don’t mind the Wtb / Stan’s / Tesa tape but I think the DT Swiss stuff is better. It’s easier to get it on completely smooth and it looks great (not that looks are really a factor in rim tape obvs)!

I had a nightmare with arc27 rims. Solution for me was to sand them with very coarse paper. Clean thoroughly with meths. Couple of wraps of decent electrical tape then tesa or stans tape. Hairdryer and plenty of pressure needed when installing.

Gorilla sealed easier but was a nightmare to clean off all the gunk once the adhesive broke down and the sealant got under the tape and they started leaking.

Specialized 2Bliss Ready Rim Strips cheap, easy to fit and available in a few sizes, the 29 x 31mm does my 30mm rims fine.

+1 for the Lifeline tape.

Bit more sticky and flexible than normal Stan’s / Tesa tape IME.

When i had ARC35 rims I had to do about five wraps on one of them (Tesa tape), they seem to come up a bit looser than most rims.

Schwalbe by far the best I’ve used.

T-Rex … sticks to anything (even underwater) and comes off clean with a wipe of Isopropyl.

Completely different type of adhesi9ve to gorilla tape.

Just removed some 5yrs old and probably that number of tyre changes after the kid was enthusiastic with tyre levers fitting some inserts.. it was still stuck down and waterproof.

The Schwalbe tape is made by DT.

Just set up 4 wheels with Muc-off tape which worked nicely. My mate tried the peatys tape which was rubbish, didn’t want to stick down even on a completely clean rim, so we replaced it with the Mucoff and it sealed straightaway.
Otherwise had DT swiss and stans in the past with no problems

Do Peaty’s make anything good? Their sealant isn’t meant to be very good either.

I was going to say the schwalbe tape looks very similar to the DT tape – makes sense they’re the same / manufactured by the same company.

DT Swiss/Schwalbe for me. Always seem to have trouble using anything else.

DT Swiss and Muc Off have been good for me.

Found some cheap Dt Swiss. So I’ll try that. Thanks everyone!

Link pls gk

Trick with the DT tape is to put plenty of tension on it as you apply it, having the wheel in a truing stand or fixed in a bike helps.

With a bit of tension it goes on lovely and smoothly, no wrinkles or bubbles.

I found the muc off tape much better than stans/test/wtb. I have not tried the schwalbe so cannot compare to that.

Do Peaty’s make anything good?

The foaming drive chain degreaser is really good IMO.

The foaming drive chain degreaser is really good IMO.

I’ve had that, was v good.

Muc-off and lifeline tape been good for me with Muc-off just a wee bit better.

I bought a large roll of Stans/Tesa tape from eBay at a bargain price, thinking it would last ages. It has lasted ages but mainly because it is so rubbish that I never use it.

Found it cheap on eBay – 29mm under the heading DT tubeless tape

ive only used

2bliss, stans, wtb, gorilla, gaffa, schwalbe , continental and muc off.

while ive got all of them to work (and still a 30m roll of the wtb stuff) the muc off was by far the best imo. with the gorrila being the easiest to seal

Truth is, pretty much any half decent product works if you just fit it right, and none of them work if you don’t.

hatter
Full Member

Trick with the DT tape is to put plenty of tension on it as you apply it, having the wheel in a truing stand or fixed in a bike helps.

Same with most tapes tbh

the ARC rims are offset which puts the holes near the edge of the tape… which creates a real problem with sealing