Rim Tape Width for Tubeless – what are people using?

(Admission – this is kind of pov spec market research……)

I’m currently designing a little tool to cut a standard tape reel (like Gorilla tape) down to a certain width.
Given that I am currently in bike luddite land, I think the internal rim width of my 26″ rims is only something like 21/22mm.

I’m curious to find out what range of sizes people are using/require. Are there really that many people out there running rims with 30mm+ internal rim width?

22mm Gorilla.

Internal rim width plus 3-5mm

Tesa 4288 tape, 25mm, had some pretty good results with it so far.

weeksy Subscriber

22mm Gorilla.

Do you cut a roll down using a stanley knife?

scotroutes Member

Internal rim width plus 3-5mm

Internal rim width in your case being…. 😉

Woodentop Member

Tesa 4288 tape, 25mm, had some pretty good results with it so far.

This stuff looks pretty good, if it’s the correct width as it comes.

TESA 4289 tape 19mm covers a lot of bases and is thrifty vs the identical Stans’ tape. IME Gorilla tape isn’t the best tubeless tape. It works OK initially but seems to fail after a year or so and is a git to remove fully,

Road bike is 19mm inner rim width but not gone tubeless yet. One mtb is 25mm inner width and uses 27mm wtb tape. The other is 30mm inner rim width and uses 32mm rim tape.

I used to use some 40mm WTB tape, then cut it down to size in the lathe, held the tape in the chuck then had a dodgy Stanley knife mounted to part the tape off, used to work ok, but this Tesa tape is far less hassle.
It only comes in 25mm, I just overlap to cover the width, always been fine.

+1 on tesa tape (that is stans without the brand name), running 26mm on an xc bike and 30mm on two mtb’s perfect width for me,

the 25mm x 66 metres at £12 will last me forever.

ps. i would never use gorilla tape again.. takes hours to get off.

30mm internal with 32mm DTSwiss tape here.

Tesa 21mm and Stans 25mm

Need wider than that for plus or fat rims.

@tomd – how does the Gorilla tape fail?

21mm Tesa tape off ebay…

@tomd – how does the Gorilla tape fail?

IME (on 2 sets of rims used for year round riding set up tubeless with Gorilla brand tape) was that that the adhesive goes hard and comes away from the top layers letting air slowly seep out. It was particularly an issue after changing tyres.

Don’t get wrong, the Gorilla tape does a job, is cheap and widely available but I prefer the TESA / Stans.

Internal rim width in your case being…. 😉

A range from 23mm to 45mm (not gone tubeless on the fatbike)

Very useful! Ta.

It sounds like for MTB a range from 22-38mm covers most bases, apart from fat bikes…

+1 what tomd said about Gorilla, I used it with my old Hope Tech rims and it was painful. Stopped using it now in favour of the DT Swiss stuff that has been fantastic. Never had an issue with Stans stuff previously, either.

The trick with Gorilla tape is to line your rim with electrical tape first. That glue is an absolute pig to remove but I only made that mistake once.

So I’ve got the normal 1 inch Gorilla tape in my Hope 35w. Two runs of it, up against the rim bead and overlapping in the middle. Been running fine for nearly 2 years.

Obviously I’ve got electrical tape underneath it so I don’t have to sacrifice another set of finger nails when I come to remove it.

I’ve had some issues with getting the Stans/Tesla tape to stick down and have found that fills the rim bead to bead is the way to go (for my Hope XC wheels that’s 25mm).

I just order rims with a non drilled rim bed. Makes lacing a bit slower but never have to worry about tape.

Hmmm. I’ve not long taped my rims with Gorilla tape (having previously had good success with just electrical tape). I feel this might not have been the best move!

A non drilled rim bed will make lacing abit slower!!
I can imagine that being an absolute pain in the arse!!

Why is tape width important? Surely as long as it covers the spoke holes job done, all I’ve used for years is electrical tape round the centre, maybe 4 to 5 wraps, warm it up a bit with hairdryer once on and firmly press it down.
Just taped some hope 35w wheels the same, 5 or 6 rides in and no probs.
I’ve founded wider tape fails easier as the tyre catches the edges when fitting and sealant starts to work its way under, specially gorilla tape.

I’ve founded wider tape fails easier as the tyre catches the edges when fitting and sealant starts to work its way under, specially gorilla tape.

Done properly (tape should go just up the side) the tyre seals against the tape so there’s no way the sealant could get under it. Also, a lot of aluminium rims the join isn’t airtight so you have to cover the full width anyway.

25mm tape on 25mm internal width rims.
The 30mm internal width rims I have on other bike came taped from new so unknown.

My 26″ rims are 19mm ID but are not tubless. My 27.5 rims are old skool 21mm mavics, 22.5mm and 25mm DT Swiss. Never used any rim tape, just the rim strips that came with the wheels but these have all worked fine tubeless (still have an unopened roll off 25mm stans tape I bought years ago thinking i needed to tape the rims but never needed it).

Done properly (tape should go just up the side) the tyre seals against the tape so there’s no way the sealant could get under it. Also, a lot of aluminium rims the join isn’t airtight so you have to cover the full width anyway.

This.

I only ever use TESA 25mm even on 30mm rims. Just one wrap. Never has any issues. So cheap too. Gorilla tape is poor by contrast.

The problem with Gorilla, Duck and other cloth backed tape is they absorb sealant over time – plus they adhesive sticks to the rim, rather than the tape when you remove it. Gorilla Clear Repair Tape is good for carbon fatbike rims – peels off easily as people have delaminated rims with the other stuff.
I always run the tape slightly wider than the rim to stop the tyre bead catching.
Tesa tape is OK for narrower rim – but you need to warm it on a radiator / hairdryer to warm and allow it to stretch / stick better.

my tubeless set up done on both my wheelsets by LBS.

29 er – orange seal tape i27, orange seal sealant, stans valves (black)
27.5+ – gorilla tubeless tape i38, orange seal sealant, stans valves (black)

they didnt have orange seal tape for i38 in stock. they recommend OS over stans sealant (which is what i wanted anyway) but they said the stans valves are better so I went with that, as long as they were black.