The do’s and don’t’s of taping your tubeless rim

Setting up your wheels tubeless can be tricky and very messy but spending a little more time and following a few simple tips can make your life a whole lot easier when initially setting up tubeless and when changing tyres in the future.

Do, make sure the rim is clean before you start.

Remove the rim tape that was previously on the rim, if it was an adhesive tape then it can be worth heating the tape up with a hair dryer before and as you remove it, this can reduce the amount of sticky residue left on the rim once the tape is removed.

If the wheel was previously tubeless and the rim tape wasn’t sufficient then you may find that sealant could have leaked into the rim (like the rim here) if this is the case then your best bet is to wash the sealant out with a hose. A lot of sealants are water based so water is the best thing to use to wash it out without leaving much residue which could stop the new rim tape from sticking efficiently.

Don’t, leave any old rim tape on the rim and tape over it.

Some rims come with a thin piece of rim tape fitted that just covers the spoke holes, it’s best not to leave this on when fitting the tubeless tape or to try taping over some old tape as you will get the best seal when the tape is stuck to as much of the rim as possible.

Do, use rime tape that is wider than the internal rim width.

I like to use tape that is around 5mm wider than the measured internal rim width, for example on a 30mm rim I will use a 35mm rim tape (like the rim here). I find that this gives the best coverage of the rim with enough tape to cover down into the well at the centre of the rim and right to the edge of the rim and even up the sidewalls slightly. This means that the tyre sits on the rim tape and won’t peel the tape back as the tyre is pushed off the bead when removing it.

Do, use rim tape that is very sticky and has an element of stretch to it.

Some rim tapes don’t have any stretch and this makes them a nightmare to fit to certain rims that have deeper wells in the centre of them. A tape with a bit of stretch, like the Peaty’s tape, can make it a lot easier to get the tape to conform to the shape of the rim.

Do, overlap the tape at the ends.

I always make sure to overlap the tape by at least a few spoke holes, this makes sure that there’s less chance of the sealant getting under the tape, even if the end of the tape does peel up a bit.

Don’t, use tyre levers to fit the tyre!

Only use tyre levers to remove a tyre, not to fit it. Using a tyre lever to fit a tyre can damage the rim tape, and even the rim if a metal tyre lever is used. This is what has happened to the rim here which caused the tyre to not seal and sealant to leak into the rim.

Do, use a hair dryer to make sure the tape is stuck.

Now, this isn’t a necessity but it can help hugely to make sure the rim tape has stuck to as much of the rim as possible. Go round the rim with the hair dryer to heat up the rim and the tape then once everything has warmed up a bit it should make it easier to push the tape down and help it stick properly. I also like to use a plastic tyre lever to run round the bead of the rim and make sure the tape has stuck everywhere.

If you have time and really want to make sure the tape has stuck sufficiently then you can fit a tyre with a tube once you have taped the rim, pump it up hard and leave it overnight, this will really make sure the tape has stuck and you should be good to go!

Hopefully these tips will come in useful, let me know if they were and if you’ve got any tips of your own by dropping me an email on: rpbiketech@gmail.com

Watch out for more Tech Tuesday post’s coming soon!