boofont Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 (edited) Topic of the month this one eh? Put a new rim tape on the rear, had no faith in the other one. I can't get it to sit flat against the wheel, its all tucked in the groove but the tape is bulging out as if there's air trapped underneath! Has this happened to any one else? It did the same on the last one and I've had two full attempts at re-fitting this tape too! Its begining to wind me up! Edited April 25, 2005 by boofont Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boofont Posted April 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 No, I've not used silicon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan bechard Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 I think you are exactly correct, it is air underneath, pull up the strip at the bubble, plenty of lube of your choice, I use Slime, then reseat into the lips squishing out excess slime / air. The strip should be sitting nicely against the rim. Keep playing with it, they are a pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boofont Posted April 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 (edited) I don't think its air. The tape sits nicely right up to the point where I push the last bit under the lip. It then puffs up with the bubble that runs about 50% of the way round the rim. Its like the tape is too large and the bubble is caused by being squeezed in to the groove on the wheel. Here's a pic that gives some impression of whats going on. Edited April 25, 2005 by boofont Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest coflet Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 It must be some kind of white mans magic , ive been building wheels for years but cannot get a rim tape to seal. As said before use silicon dont blather it up just a thin bead all the way round the edge not on the spoke nipples, seals every time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boofont Posted April 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 Do you silicon before putting the tape on or apply a bead after? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest coflet Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 You put the silicon on the rim first , then put the tape on, once its on let the silicon go off for a while , by the way it does get a bit messy/sticky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel dabster Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 This is not abnormal. What you do is starting at the valve, asuming this is seated snug as should be, work your way towards the opposite side pushing the tape towards the valve as you go. Flip to valve other way round and do the same ending at your buble opposite the valve. This has the effect of evening out the stretch and should mean the bubble is somewhat smaller. Push one side of the rim tape into the groove so that side of the tape is correct. Then using something like a tyre lever ie not sharpe, push the little bit that remains on the other side downwards into its groove little by little. This should have the effect of correctly locating the last side, but sometimes, usually if you have messed about for a while, leaves a little bubble in the middle but the edge is seated fine. Pop the tyre on using a beader and leave overnight with say 40 psi and this will smooth out the tape. (you can take the tyre off to check if you want! If it holds pressure (test with soapy water at low pressure) then job done, if not go for silicone on rim tape edge only, repeating the process above. I always check the valve stem sealing and usually put a little sikaflex around this to make sure it is, any re used valve stem can be tricky as the rubber o ring doesn't like to be reused. Make sense? if not call me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physco Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 GORDON BENNETT!!!!!!!!!!!!,waterproof white rock oil grease,plenty of it and you have a supple tyre seal,enough said!!!!!!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g4321 Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 I've had two full attempts at re-fitting this tape too! Its begining to wind me up! brickwall.gif Those black rims do look a little trick Mark. Persevere & you will get it sorted for the weekend. Best of luck for the Scottish, hopefully I will be down at least one day to watch you perform. Gordon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trials lad Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 You could just stick a montesa wheel on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feetup Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 Make sure there is plenty of lubricant on the rim band (grease worked great for me to also help w/ sealing any air leaking through the spokes). If you don't want to use grease, use soap to seat the band in the grooves. It takes time to work w/ your fingers, or careful work w/ a tire spoon to ensure that each side is seated properly in the groove. If you use enough lubricant, the tension of the band will start to actually seal itself in many places over about 5 minutes, it makes it much easier to get the rest of the job done. there is a PDF document on ryan young's website that explains this thorougly. cheers, robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixie Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 If you dont want to get to messy use silicon grease or petrolium jelly (any good dirt box lube will do it and its safe with rubber ) this will never fully set but is far more visceous than air so will not be forced through the area where your leak occurs the other thing is it will activly find small leaks as they happen and wont hinder future replacement or repair i only really had a problem on one of my scorpas but i think most of the wheels come from the same factory anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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