Tubeless 20" tube vs tape

[Cocximus]

What does everyone prefer?

Tape... gorilla, clear gorilla, sheeting tape, strapping tape... blah blah always leaks in the end. I had proper bontrager or schawalbe tape. When I changed my tires it peeled. Tried gorilla clear after reading a bunch of threads. One tire sealed well the other had a slow leak. I opened it and found the tape peeling. That tape was supposed to come off nicely. Bull, I had to scrub it with varsol. Also the tire was pretty easy to burp by hand.

20 tube... After dealing with the mess left by the tape I decided to try the "ghetto tube". I got a skinny 20" schwalbe. I did not even split it. It sat right in the bead. I pinched the back of the valve and cut a small hole. No compressor need to inflate it. No trimming need on the outside as opposed to the split tube. Impossible to burp by hand.

So, what am I missing? Why bother with tape? Only reason I can see is weight. Tube is 90 grams. I guess I could reduce it by about 40 if I split it and cut it.

[kevin267]

I would say your an outlier. I've found tape (I've used gorilla and Stan's) to be easy and trouble free, most friends are the same. I have heard the split tube is better for resisting burping though.

Also I bet lots don't want to hunt down a presta valve 20" tube. Presta because lots of rims are presta only, people don't want to drill them, and you want that lock ring to tighten the valve to the rim. Did you use a Schrader? Without thread down the valve, does that work, guess the tube is tightly stretched around, I've never set it up before.

[grinch]

I've had good luck with the gorilla tape but I've also had it roll up on the edges and leak. Pain to clean off to reapply . Specialized 2bliss strips worked much better and ez on/off but still not perfect. Did one rim with one strip off gorilla tape then the 2 bliss strip over that and no issues for the 2-3 weeks that's been together. Just built some new wheels so going to try stans tape with the 2 bliss over that. My theory is the glued tape seals the spoke holes and the tight 2 bliss strip seals the glue from the sealant and keeps the glued tape from rolling up and exposing a spike hole(breaking the seal). To get the glued tape(gorilla or stans) the bike shop suggest putting a tire and tube and inflate it hard and let it sit for 10-15 so the tape really takes the shape of the rim channel

[Cocximus]

It's easy to find 20 threaded presta or schrader tubes. It's not really necessary because the tension holds the valve in place.

I probally just had bad luck. Usually just about any tape works for me. I took the tire off 3 times looking for a slow leak before the tape failed. In the end my slow leak was due to the porous Conti race sport sidewalls.

I found the best way to clean rims is Scotch Brite non scratch scrubbing pads and some mineral spirits.

[kingsalami]

I found the best way to clean rims is Scotch Brite non scratch scrubbing pads and some mineral spirits.

Ditto.
Ya gotta make sure the rim is spotless. After cleaning with a Scotch-brite pad & alcohol, I rough up the inner surface of my Chinese carbon rims with 800 grit sandpaper.
If you've got a heat gun or blow dryer, heat up the inner rim surface and the tape (Stan's) to make the adhesive nice & sticky.
Once the tape is applied, I install a tube, inflate to 40 psi, and let it sit for 12 hours or so.
I know it's a friggin' pain, but this method tends to stay leak-free the longest.

[aragon]

Ditto.
Ya gotta make sure the rim is spotless. After cleaning with a Scotch-brite pad & alcohol, I rough up the inner surface of my Chinese carbon rims with 800 grit sandpaper.
If you've got a heat gun or blow dryer, heat up the inner rim surface and the tape (Stan's) to make the adhesive nice & sticky.
Once the tape is applied, I install a tube, inflate to 40 psi, and let it sit for 12 hours or so.
I know it's a friggin' pain, but this method tends to stay leak-free the longest.

Like everything, doing it right once is better than doing it quickly/sloppily 5x. I use a variation (mainly based on what products I have available to me at the time) of this same technique and have had one minor tubeless issue in the last ~10 years of riding tubeless. And that one issue was 100% me trying to cut a corner.

[gravitylover]

Yeah when I have one that's being stubborn I set it up with a tube and leave it overnight. Next day pop one side, remove the tube and proceed as usual.

[kidwoo]

The plastic tape like stans and whiskey make has been working for me way better than gorilla tape ever did.

[creaky fossil]

Yeah when I have one that's being stubborn I set it up with a tube and leave it overnight. Next day pop one side, remove the tube and proceed as usual.

After a few leaky tape jobs in the past, now I just do a ride with a tube in there after taping, and don't even test to see if it's a stubborn one. That sets the tape nicely. Also that tubed ride gives one of those immediate reminders of the difference between tube & not since you go right to tubeless next ride.

[Dee Hubbs]

Stans tape 100% of the time. It's been tested and designed specifically for this job, and comes in the exact width needed.
As stated above prep is the key. Just like painting, staining, tiling, laying sod, etc, prepping the surface is the most important step.
I've never had to replace or retape a rim that was properly applied with Stans tape. I've seen plenty of troubled setup with gorilla, split tubes and other "getto setups"
The one trick I really like with the Stans tape is to punch the valve hole with a heated awl. It almost melts a perfectly clean hole for the valve, and I've never had a leak around the valve since using this technique.
Stans tape pulled tight, 1 layer, one spoke overlap at the valve, so the valve is cut through 2 layers, mount tire, add sealant, hand pump to 40psi to seat tire, reduce to 26psi, ride.

[kidwoo]

The one trick I really like with the Stans tape is to punch the valve hole with a heated awl. It almost melts a perfectly clean hole for the valve, and I've never had a leak around the valve since using this technique.

Downright artisan that is.
You should charge for that and advertise on mtbr.

[Dantheman]

Downright artisan that is.
You should charge for that and advertise on mtbr.

The guy who posted this last week would definitely pay for that service:

"My Yeti SB4.5 (67.5hta) is 6-8 minutes slower over 40 miles than my RKT9 (70 HTA) with the same length 120mm travel fork - both withing 250 grams of each other. That's huge. That climbing prowess owes to the steeper HTA."

Sometimes it's hard to decide what to laugh at first.

[kidwoo]

You can't argue with science bro!


God I hate mountain bikers.

[Dee Hubbs]

Downright artisan that is.
You should charge for that and advertise on mtbr.

I have the parental controls set on my computer to block such urls as MTBR.com and EPICSKI.com.
Shit like that will melt your brain.

[kidwoo]

Wisdom.


I screwed up my back a few months ago and had some downtime. I started poking around mtbr again. That place is kind of a shame because there are some people posting there who absolutely know a lot and have done some really productive tinkering with shocks, brakes seatposts etc.... It just gets so lost in the bullshit. It has however made me just sit around and think "I bet I can come up with something simple to rip all these morons off pretty easily"

[teledad]

I've used Gorilla and Stan's. Gorilla is easy to set up but eventually the glue fails and it curls up and leaks. Then you have to spend forever cleaning all the old tape residue off the rim. Stan's is a bit trickier to set up (need nice even tension while wrapping) but seems to last better. I now only use Stan's (unless I'm out and it's an emergency).

[plugboots]

kingsalami heater, followed by creaky's ride with a tube inside first and now add dee hubbs heated awl trick is the new standard.

Do not waver.

[creaky fossil]

kingsalami heater, followed by creaky's ride with a tube inside first and now add dee hubbs heated awl trick is the new standard.

Do not waver.

only until dee hubbs buys 250 discount awls & puts them up for sale at a 750% margin, "World's best tubeless tape piercer, guaranteed to NEVER LEAK around your valve stem if you use our tape piercer. Regularly $79.95, but a recent turn of events has allowed us to offer this amazing tool at the incredible price of $64.95. Plus shipping and handling."

I'll leave the naming to you marketing wizards.