Rim tape won't stick properly

Having trouble getting rim tape to stick properly. Never had this problem before. Tried Stans yellow tape & Gorilla tape. All seems good when first put on, but after a while it starts to leak, and when checked bits have come unstuck. Rims are DT which I’ve cleaned, dried, used solvent cleaner, used hair drier on tape.

What else?

Cheers

Forget solvents .. green kitchen scourer then apply tape

Is the tape wide enough for the rim?

put in an inner tube overnight to press it down fully ?

Warmed the rims up first? I can never get Stans to stick in the garage, but no problem in the kitchen.

Aye, keep rims and tape in the house the night before.

Cheers. The tape’s wide enough – pretty much full width of rim. I was also reading a blog from a mechanic that reckoned he had more problems with tape that was the full width of the rim than just covering the holes.

Will try warming & scourer!

Agree with the scothbrite tip. Always worth getting the glaze off the anodising first. Wipe down with IPA, wait for it to flash off, then apply tape.

I was also reading a blog from a mechanic that reckoned he had more problems with tape that was the full width of the rim than just covering the holes.

I’m hardly a mechanicing guru but even I can work out that tape that runs edge-to-edge is more likely to be held in place by the bead of the tyre. In this case, the only place it can lift is at the overlap.

Had the same issue with DT Swiss (R511 db) rims not long ago, the scourer or some emery paper will do the trick, just take the glaze off the anodising.

Aye that’s what would have thought re tape width – just been doing my head in!

In this case, the only place it can lift is at the overlap.

And if you make it overlap just past the valve hole then it can’t lift there either because the valve will hold it in place . .

Putting a tube in helps too, you need something to compress the tape down as it should be a pressure-sensitive adhesive.

IME once Stans tape is in, it doesn’t come off without a fight.

Does anyone use any sort of tool to press the tape down into the gutter? I found it really difficult to get it to sit in there and it took much more effort than I ever expected, and my poor little fingers hurt before even getting half way round! My first tubeless rims were UST so I never knew the tubeless fight started with the rim tape 😥

The tighter you pull it when applying it, the more it sits in the well.

I warm tape with mrs b hairdryer ( I don’t own one) and press into place with small sponge when fitting

I had a nightmare getting Stan’s or Gorilla Tape to stick to my rear Spank rim’s weird shaped profile the last time I retaped it (yes, scrubbed well with isopropyl first). I ended up using one layer of electrical tape and then a layer of Gorilla Tape on top, all good.

as said,

– roughen rim with wet&dry
– wipe spotless with IPA
– warm rim with blowtorch – yeah!
– pull tape tight when fitting
– stick a tube in to push down

Leave wheels (with new tyres & tubes if appropriate) and tape in house for 48 hours to warm

Remove, apply rim tape as tight as possible. Add tyre & tube leave for a couple of hours.

Remove ONE side of the tyre, soap it, blow it up tubeless inserting jizz when appropriate.